The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
Ballantine Books (May 2023)
560 pages; $20.99 paperback; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms
For those familiar with Justin Cronin’s previous works, particularly The Passage and City of Mirrors, it’s readily apparent that nothing is straightforward. The author loves to create labyrinthine plots with characters more layered than a Greek maze. The Ferryman doesn’t disappoint. It might just be his best work yet. It’s nearly impossible to describe. Part thriller, part science fiction, part dystopia, and elements of mystery and horror sprinkled in will keep readers’ minds churning to figure out the endgame.
Prospera is an utopian creation, an island where creativity and imagination are paramount (wouldn’t that be an amazing place?!), created by the unknown “Designer.” Residents enjoy their lives in peace, enjoying creature comforts in a land some time in the future after an unnamed disaster ruined most of the world.
Logan’s Run references are sure to be plentiful but that would be a disservice to stop there. Dark City and The Giver also fit as partial descriptors of Cronin’s mesmerizing tale. People wear monitors embedded in their flesh to measure life energy, which can be altered by many variables. Once someone reaches less than ten percent, they are destined to travel to the Nursery, another island where people are “renewed.” It’s a promise that most take at face value, akin to turning 30 in Willian Nolan’s seminal novel. The promise of being born again, memories and lives forgotten, is somehow okay with the residents.
Proctor Bennett, the protagonist, is named with a plethora of symbolism, yet Cronin never lets it bog down the story. Proctor is a ferryman, a worker who delivers those whose time has come. Something odd is happening to him — he’s dreaming — something that doesn’t happen on Prospera.
The Support Staff live on a lesser island, with echoes of eugenics present. Again, symbolic names? A Poe tale, maybe? The crowds are restless and a revolt is brewing, headed by a group known as “Arrivalists.”
After a traumatic personal encounter, Proctor’s monitor plummets, signaling his own ferry trip to be wiped clean.
If it sounds simple, it’s not. If it sounds busy, it’s only the first step. Cronin twists and turns the plot into ways most won’t see coming. It’s way out there, but it works beautifully.
In his deft hands, the author has written an epic tale that will be tough to pigeonhole.
Highly recommended reading but be prepared for breaks to allow for the realities to take hold.
