The result is a sensational speculative tale that is sure to get people talking. According to the author, his latest release, The Ferryman, is a thriller, a detective novel, a conspiracy novel, and speculative fiction in the tradition of golden-age sci-fi. Cronin’s firm command of the plot’s sinuous dynamics, and his creation of believable characters shaped by well-wrought strengths and flaws, make this bold gesture work. Having established the foundations for what appears to be a classic dystopian tale, Cronin then pulls the rug out from under his story, audaciously expanding its scope far beyond the hermetic parameters that have shaped Proctor’s account up to that point and pushing it into the realm of provocative conceptual science fiction. Now a dangerous fugitive on the run from his own forced iteration, Proctor enters an unlikely alliance with rebellious subversives inhabiting the Annex, the island that is home to Prospera’s disgruntled working class. Proctor discharges his duties with great professionalism-until the ferrying of his own father goes dramatically awry, exposing cracks in Prospera’s edenic veneer.

Proctor Bennett, an elite resident of the socially regimented archipelago world of Prospera, works as a “ferryman,” assisting aging fellow Prosperans to transition peacefully to their next “iteration,” the reconstitution of their personalities in younger bodies. Bestseller Cronin’s first novel since his Passage trilogy is a fantastic extravaganza all its own, with a plot that hinges on unpredictable twists that run far ahead of reader expectations.

Justin cronin the ferryman a novel