The Passage by Justin Cronin

I picked up The Passage after reading a positive review in SFX magazine. I wanted to read something light while I was on holiday. While this is a rather thick book it is an easy read and it's fairly entertaining.

The Passage reminds me of the Stephen King books that I used to read when I was kid. I guess that the book is structurally and thematically very similar to The Stand as it combines supernatural elements with a post-apocalyptic setting. This is not some work of high literature but it is adequate as a holiday read.

The story revolves around an army experiment to create 'super soldiers' using a virus that promotes rapid healing. As you would expect this virus has the unfortunate side effect of creating a race of vampires who promptly kill 90% of the population of America. However a small girl who is also a victim of the experiments may be able to save mankind.

This book is the first part of a trilogy and film rights have already beem sold. I intend to read the next book in due course.