Wednesday 14 September 2011

The Passage Readalong - Co hosting with The Book Memoirs

Today it is my turn to host The Passage Read -along. We are on Week 4 of our journey through the book and we are covering Chapters 19 to 22. My partners in crime are Elle and Kate from The Book Memoirs,who will probably put their thoughts up on their blog later, however, I am aware that Elle has not been well, so she might not post today.

The more I progress through this book, the more I feel like someone has been playing with their craft sets and carried out a little bit of cutting, gluing and sticking. From Chapter 19 onwards, I seriously felt like I was reading a different book. The tone is completely different from the previous chapters I have read.

Chapter 19 very much sets the scene of the new world in which all that is left in society lives in. Think The Village by M. Night Shyamalan and you will have an extremely accurate picture of the new enclosed society. The village is small in numbers and completely cut off from the rest of the world, which they believe is now full of the virus infected creatures, leaving no other humans alive.  This new dystopian world made me feel rather claustrophobic and uncomfortable - I hate to think of anything shut in like that.

To be honest, I struggled with this chapter and found myself skimming through it. It is very detailed and I understand that the author wanted to set the scene for his new society, but I lost interest in it. I am an Action girl at heart and need to see the story progressing. If nothings seems to be happening, I quickly move on.

Chapter 20 brings the characters of the new world alive, but at this point I found I could not connect to them. This chapter passed by in a bit of a blur for me.

By Chapter 21, we discover that the batteries are beginning to run out, which means at some point, their lights will stop working, leaving them in darkness and available as easy pickings for the viral creatures that lurk outside. As far as a couple of them are concerned, the end is nigh!

Chapter 21 saved this book for me, as my interest was reignited. I found myself intrigued by Michael, Elton and Sarah and I felt compassion for their situation.  Especially, when I read about their time in the Sanctuary ending and how their bubble of reality bursts dramatically. They have no control over their destiny and it was all rather scary.

If I hadn't read Chapter 21 in this section, I may have abandoned this read-along. I felt it put me back into the interested zone. It is a rather strange book and I am intrigued by the journey it will take. I will continue onwards...

I have one question though to leave you pondering if you happen to be reading this book with us.

WHERE THE HELL IS AMY???

3 comments:

  1. I never made it past page 40...yeah I am bad

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  2. i LISTENED to this book on audio--it was a monster of a saga at 29 discs--but scott brick was masterful as a narrator. i had no real idea what the book was about before i started listening and as it progressed i found myself swept up in the craziness. i also didn't realize it's the first book in a trilogy; will probably have to reread it before i move on to the next book.

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