Well played, Justin Cronin

The question of the day: if I were to desire a black body con miniskirt, but didn't have one, what should be done about it? The answer, surprisingly enough, was a stretchy black tank top. I pulled it from its hanger, tried  it on, and found it to be almost perfect. The only problem was what to do about the straps, which were just sort of dangling around my hips. I put on my little bike shorts (worn under every skirt or dress) and tucked them in...and it worked! I might have to use this trick again, since I am always wanting the perfect black miniskirt.

I spent most of today in Joe's apartment, barreling my way through the last bit of The Passage by Justin Cronin. It's due back to the library tomorrow, and I have a hold to pick up, so I wanted to get to the end today. It was a fantastic book, a pseudo-vampire tale that actually delivers with a great story, well-formed characters and actual emotion depth. I say pseudo-vampire since the unfortunate creatures are a product of a virus manipulated from its natural form in an effort to create...well, never mind. I don't want to give too much away. At nearly eight hundred pages, it's more of a commitment than a book, but it moves well and the writing is admirable. It's the vampire book I wanted The Strain to be. The Strain was a collaboration between Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro, and while I knew little about the former, I'm a huge fan of del Toro's film Pan's Labyrinth and expected him to deliver in a big way. While that book was entertaining, it ultimately fell flat and relied heavily on archetypes. The Passage, however, is packed with characters, and each one is distinct and realistic. Cronin's voice is strong, his word choice pulled me in and kept me awash in the story. He is descriptive without being tedious. He creates suspense as well as he create drama. There's romance, but not annoying superfluous romance thrown in to satisfy a niche. It's a vampire novel that wasn't created in hopes of cashing in on a trend, but because it had to be vampires. The story called for them, needed them, couldn't have been without them. The Passage is the first in a trilogy that has the potential to be classic and enduring in a way other undead fad books like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, though fun and innovative in it's own way, cannot hope to be. 

Joe working on his paper. In his cool apartment.

The bad news is, I didn't know it was a trilogy until after I finished it, and now I have to wait for the others to come out. I hate that! Usually I try not to get in on a series until after all the books have been written so I can power through them  all at once. Well played, Justin Cronin. Now what am I supposed to read until the next one comes out?