Been too long, true believers. Been a busy writing fool. I also recently had a great time at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference. If you haven’t, do. But I digress. I simply wanted to post a quick blurb for you to stop whatever you are doing, and go read The Passage. Now. From the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a professor at Rice University, author Justin Cronin has crafted a vampiric masterpiece. 766 pages of pure adrenaline, sweet prose, and superb hooks. I may even dare say this horror epic rivals King’s The Stand…

So what’s the hubbub? A truly wonderful narrative thread. Superb characterization. Unique, while staying true to vampire lore. Don’t believe me? From Ron Charles at the Washington Post:

In the same way that “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” gave us a mature alternative to “Harry Potter,” “The Passage” is for adults who’ve been bitten but can’t swallow the teenybopper misogyny of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series.

And Mike Peed at the NY Times:

“The Passage,” is a 766-page doorstop, a dystopian epic that’s the first installment in a projected vampire trilogy. Ballantine Books bought the lot for over $3 million, and the film rights to the novel sold before the book was completed.

A vampire fiction epic sold before the manuscript was even done. Movie rights? Well, Ridley Scott gobbled those up way back on 2007. Think: The Next Harry Potter movie franchise. The author’s website is here. Pick up the hardcover at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com. Sony eReader, Kindle, whatever.

Just read the darn book.