The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

“Next to impossible to put down . . . exciting, mysterious, and totally satisfying.”—STEPHEN KING From the New York Times bestselling author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia—where the truth isn't what it seems. Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh. Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process—and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he’s been dreaming—which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry. Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors spreading of a resistance group—known as “Arrivalists”—who may be fomenting revolution. Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized—and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.

3.5 - was a little disappointed by the ending

This book was layers upon layers—and I loved every bit of it. Truly everything one could want from SF/dystopian fiction, and so much to take in. There are some deeply triggering topics, but that shouldn't come as a surprise in this genre. I need someone to scream about this book with, so if you read it and are on my friends list, please talk to me about it!

”Arrival come.”

This was my first Justin Cronin book, and I went into it blind without anything but the summary to go by. I'm pretty sure I liked it? I'm pretty sure I liked it a whole lot, actually? But I also have problems with it? I don't know, my feelings are very mixed, but I don't have the heart to give it a 3 star rating because there's just so much good here.

So, just as a vague, incomplete, surface-level summary, Prospera is a utopian society created to shield its residents from the world collapsing outside. Within Prospera as a Prosperan, life is what you make of it. You can spend your time doing whatever it is that fulfills you, in the manner you see fit. Your life is forever ticking down though, and when the meter in your arm falls below a certain point, you're sent off to the Nursery. Your memories are wiped clean, your body is renewed and refreshed, and you start again in a new life with a new purpose. Life is calm, perfect, and grand. Prospera requires its fair share of custodians however, and these people make up the population of the Annex, your housekeepers, nannies, groundskeepers, and a whole host of residents who keep the island running. Life isn't as grand and perfect as it is for the Prosperans, and tension rises between them constantly as a result.

The story is told from two points of view – first person from the point of view of Proctor, a “ferryman” whose job involves picking up the Prosperans whose meters fall below acceptable levels and dropping them off at the Nursery, and third person from the point of view of Thea, a resident of the Annex and part-time seditionist working with a group in the Annex. In addition to the conventional rising tensions between the Prosperans (“Prossies”) and the Annex, there's quite a bit of sci-fi mystery overtones. What does Proctor's dad's final words about “Ouranios” mean? Who is Caeli? What is this “arrival come” religion that has taken hold in the Annex? Why does Proctor dream at night but nobody else does?

There's a lot going on with this book. I was deeply, heavily, intensely invested in the answers to all the sci-fi weirdness that kept cropping up, so much so that I was willing to overlook how slow the start is. There's quite a bit of worldbuilding and stakes to set up at the beginning, and it isn't until after the first third of the book is up or so that the actual rollercoaster ride starts. Things get incredibly wild, and even though I thought I had things more or less figured out, it turns out I really didn't. I like that unexpectedness, honestly.

I'm going to put what I didn't like in spoilers, because a lot is contingent on plot. Suffice it to say that the answers have flaws if you think about it too much. Intense ending spoilers here: What I didn't like was how messy the answers end up being. There's a lot of stuff to wrap up, and I was surprised to see most of it addressed at around the 60% mark. If you're like me, once you have the answers, the book starts to lose its shine a bit because nothing's mysterious anymore. I also didn't like that Proctor essentially avoided the judgment of the colonists by dropping them all off, turning the ship around, and throwing himself back into the simulation while he headed back to Earth, presumably to....see what happened? It felt like a cop-out on Proctor's part and rather than face all the outrage at what had been done to them within the simulation, he ran away. Also also, Proctor was the one who set up the police state to begin with? What the hell? I dunno, it didn't seem like something Proctor would do, but then again, we only really got to know simulation-Proctor and not Director Proctor.

BUT... there's a ton to like here, and overall I really enjoyed the wild ride. I've even been compelled to seek out Cronin's other series, The Passage, to see what that's all about. Just a really unique experience all around that I'm glad I took the time to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.