You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Kristie and I are targeting the beginning of October for a buddy read on The Ferryman.

All are welcome to participate.

Woot! Looking forward to finally getting this one off my shelf!

You and me both. I can even fit it into my constellation challenge.

Me too! :)

I need a horror book for another challenge in October and my library has this, so I am in!!

I didn't even realize this one had a tag of horror! I thought it was just a science fiction or fantasy read. That suits October perfectly!

Yay! I'm glad you're going to join Jayme. I didn't realize the was tagged as horror, but there it is on the main page. I wonder if people are automatically tagging Justin Cronin as horror because of his trilogy The Passage. It will be interesting to see our determinations once it's finished.

This is a long one.

I am going join you.

I'm getting ahead of myself. It's October we're reading it and not next week. Phew! I'm glad you're going to join us Almeta.

If I can get it a copy from Libby in time, I'll join the discussion. I've put it on hold and they say 4 weeks but sometimes it comes sooner. I can use it for the yearlong.

Do we want to pick a date for this? I think we should wait until after the first week of October so we can do the monthly group reads if we want to or if one of our books is selected. So maybe a week in, around the 7th or so? I'm happy to wait a little later in the month if that works better.

I'm glad you're all joining the discussion! This will be fun to have a bunch of people again.

Oct 7th works for me.

Oct 7th works for me.

Oct 7th works for me.

It's going to be a party.

Are we still on for Oct 7, which is tomorrow! I'm in the middle of Island of Sea Women, but will take a break from it to start this buddy read.

Oh boy! The first week of October went by very quickly. I'm a little behind on my current reads too. I can also start tomorrow or I'd be fine with waiting a couple days depending on where everyone else is with their reads. I have the audio of this one, so I can read it alongside my other reads if everyone is ready to go. Either way works for me.

I can hold off for a couple of days too. I'm happy to start tomorrow or in a few days, depending on works best for everyone.

I'll be a little late to the party. I'm #1 on the waitlist but Libby is showing a 2 week wait. It'll probably be less.

I can start today, but would be happy to wait a few days to finish my current book. But it is not a problem to start later today.

I'm going to start tomorrow. I'm at 75% on my current read and it's a page turner. I will finish it tonight.

I'll start tomorrow too.

Me too.

Incredible! I just got an email that my hold copy is available. I'll start it in a couple of days after all.

Excellent, Roz! Yay!

That's awesome, Roz. Perfect timing.

I have read through chapter 2 and (view spoiler)[ what?!? I am trying to figure out if the people are part robot and human and what is the ulterior motive to live in a world like this. I can't imagine doing what he did to his father/not father. So many questions. What is the rational of not having children or anyone under the age of 16. Are the people so self-absorbed? Are children to messy and unpredictable? And what is "Oranios"? (hide spoiler)]
Though this is a bit of a chunkster, I can not put it down -need to know what happens next.

So glad it grabbed you right from the beginning, Jayme. That's a good sign.

Sounds promising. You definitely want something that grabs you right off the bat when you're faced with a chunkster.

I read through the prologue and chapter one tonight. I am happy to report that this time it has my interest. This is the third time I've tried to read this one.

I'll get through chapter two tomorrow and read your spoiler, Jayme. It's already midnight here.

I'm at the same spot, Kristie.

(view spoiler)[ I had forgotten the premise of the book, so pretty much went into the story blind. The prologue seemed off. On the surface, it sounded like a typical suburban housewife - lunches with her friends after tennis, a home overlooking the sea... but there was some strange terms that said this wasn't your ordinary life. And then she talked about adopting their son, who turned out to be 6' tall. And he was called a ward. Then there were wires attached to a port in his arm. Are these aliens?

Chapter 1 switches to Proctor's point of view. It reinforced that Stepford Wives feel. I'd call it a manufactured feel. He's the ferryman, and he's received directions on someone to be retired. Is it him? Is he supposed to retire and rebels instead?

I'm intrigued. I have since read the premise, so I'm not in the dark. I'm looking forward to reading on. (hide spoiler)]

Finished through chapter 15 and there is a lot going on. I think a flow chart of characters would be helpful. I think I figured out why (view spoiler)[they start the people at age 16 - less physical changes. If you have a child they grow and change so much it might be difficult to replace the wires in the arms? And why are there only just wires in the arm? I don't think they are robots, but they are connected to something.
OK what is going on? So many more questions. When Thea and Proctor were on the boat was the storm manufactured to keep them from going to far out to sea? I think they are all living in a capsule of some sort - a ship? Are they even alive? Maybe this is one big dream? Is Mother Mayor Calista? I just have this feeling... And I think Proctor is holding back on something or something he can't remember. THis book is making my head swim, but in a good way. (hide spoiler)]

You're really making progress Jayme.

Janice wrote: "I'm at the same spot, Kristie.
..."

I have also forgotten, but haven't re-read the blurb yet. I still might read it. (view spoiler)[ I was really draw in by the end of the first chapter. Certainly an ending that makes you want to keep reading. I also thought it might be him, but that didn't make much sense to me because I thought he was going to be the main character. Is it his dad? Or the young girl with the scar? That would be sad. I never considered he could try to flee. That's a good guess. (hide spoiler)]

Jayme wrote: "Finished through chapter 15 and there is a lot going on. I think a flow chart of characters would be helpful. I think I figured out why ..."

Oh, maybe I should keep a flow chart then. There are also little tidbits about the way things work in their world. I feel like it might be harder to keep everyone straight when there's a lot of additional info.

I hope it comes together more and you don't need that later. Sometimes the characters become more memorable over time or some fall off and only a few are important.

Janice wrote: "You're really making progress Jayme."

Henry had his second infusion and side effects are little bit more intense, so I've been hanging out at home keeping one eye on him and one eye in my book.

I hope it gets better for Henry.

Sorry to see that, Jayme. I hope the side effects go away soon.

Wow, these chapters are so long. I'm at 23% and in chapter 6. Am I right in figuring (view spoiler)[ everyone Thea was interacting with in the Annex is human? I'm a little confused because the Prosperans are supposed to be about 3x the size of the humans that work for them and live in the Annex. I feel like she would definitely stand out, even with different clothes and makeup. It didn't sound like there were any Prosperans living in the Annex, just visiting to gawk. (hide spoiler)]

I finished the book, but will comment as other people post. I read the large print version so was really flipping pages!

My overall take was that I enjoyed the story (4 stars). It's been awhile since I've read sci-fi. My 3 main concerns and not really that major are (view spoiler)[ Cronin seems to want put as many sci-fi tropes as he can into one book - spaceship to a new world, people suspended in dream state, people in power squashing those that aren't, climate change destroying the world due to our negligence, we are the original colonists on found planet.

Also, towards the end when we discover who Proctor is I just kept getting Elon Musk vibes ( smart guy, the guy in charge, creates his own space agency) and just couldn't completely commit to liking him, but that's on me.

And I was a bit confused about the abandoned ice planet. There was just a passing mention that the past inhabitants were us. Did anyone pick up on that? It never gets discussed. I think Pappi mentions it at the end when he's talking to Thea on the beach rock. (hide spoiler)]

Don't read spoiler until you've finished book 😉

Kristie wrote: "Wow, these chapters are so long. I'm at 23% and in chapter 6. Am I right in figuring [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I didn't catch that they were 3x as tall/big. (hide spoiler)]

Wow! Great job, Jayme. I even went to bed an hour earlier so I could read longer, except I fell asleep sooner. Ack!

Jayme wrote: "Kristie wrote: "Wow, these chapters are so long. I'm at 23% and in chapter 6. Am I right in figuring [spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Yes, that was near the beginning. I think chapter one, but maybe the prologue. Somehow in my head I have a hard time picturing it. (hide spoiler)]

I'm at the end of Chapter 3, - 17%

(view spoiler)[It was his father that Proctor was to "retire". While I was reading the discussion between him and his father, it felt like they were kind of disengaged - like they were just going through the motions. As I said before very "Stepford Wives". Yet, strong emotions were demonstrated - Malcolm's fear, Proctor's anger.

I find Thea to be an interesting character. At first I confused her with Caeli. Yes, I think perhaps keeping track of who's who is a good idea.

I found it interesting that the resistance group were able to evaluate the footage from the drone frame by frame to determine what Malcolm revealed to Proctor just before going on to the ferry. And yet, the authorities haven't been able to do the same.

My impression after finishing chapter 3 is Stepford Wives meet Clockwork Orange. In creating a utopian world, the nuances of human interaction are scrubbed. Yet, there's something sinister behind the creation of this utopian world. (hide spoiler)]

Jayme wrote: "I have read through chapter 2 and [spoilers removed]
Though this is a bit of a chunkster, I can not put it down -need to know what happens next."

I have similar questions. (view spoiler)[ My thought is that children are chaos. They can generate peaks and valleys of emotion. By having children processed in a "nursery" they eliminate all that and everyone remains calm... happy... Proctor was 6 feet tall when he arrived, but very much a boy in his mindset. People are being recycled. (hide spoiler)]

I've read to the end of Chapter 3 so I'm only going to read spoiler up to that point, so I don't "spoil" it for myself. I started taking notes and keeping a list of the characters so I wouldn't get confused. It's helping. So many questions.
(view spoiler)[ In the prologue Cynthia's suicide was being monitored by drones and watched on a monitor. Who's controlling the drones? Who and where are the "watchers"? Why are they monitoring people in the first place?
This is a strange utopian society that discourages strong emotional ties. Very controlled. A society where there's an elite class of sterile individuals who have a life span that's monitored through devices embedded in their arms. When they run down and no longer function the way they are designed to, they are sent back to the factory to be wiped clean and recycled. Much like recycling a computer. If they're machines, they pretty well designed.
I keep coming back to the question of who/what is behind all this.
In chapter 3 when Thea is having dinner with members of a movement on the Annex, they pray for the Arrival. What kind of arrival are we talking about? A religious type? A person? An event of some kind? The members are certainly concerned that Malcolm said Oranios out loud. So was Callista. So it must be something very important and secret.
I feel like there must be some connection between Callista and Elise, maybe Elise has been set up as a watchdog over Proctor given his past history and ties to the Bennetts.
I can see how the book can be reminiscent of the Stepford Wives, but I kept thinking of the Jim Carey movie, The Truman Show, where he's living in a manufactured world under a dome. (hide spoiler)]
I have to keep reading.

Roz wrote: "I've read to the end of Chapter 3 so I'm only going to read spoiler up to that point, so I don't "spoil" it for myself. I started taking notes and keeping a list of the characters so I wouldn't get..."

Roz that's (view spoiler)[ also the movie that I kept thinking about while reading. Especially when the weather was always beautiful and then they kept referencing how it has suddenly started to change for the worse. Ws something failing in this "perfect" world? (hide spoiler)]

Janice wrote: "Jayme wrote: "I have read through chapter 2 and [spoilers removed]
Though this is a bit of a chunkster, I can not put it down -need to know what happens next."

I have similar questions. [spoilers ..."

In the beginning they stated that (view spoiler)[ the people were all sterile as a side effect of the re-birth process, so none of the Prosperans are able to have children. My interpretation is that they are kind of putting the consciousness into a full sized body or maybe the bodies don't really age, so they just restart everything else. I'm not really sure how it works, but it feels pretty nefarious to me too. I'm guessing the inability to have children is intentional and the bodies were somehow lab created? (hide spoiler)]

Roz wrote: "I've read to the end of Chapter 3 so I'm only going to read spoiler up to that point, so I don't "spoil" it for myself. I started taking notes and keeping a list of the characters so I wouldn't get..."

That was my interpretation too and the same show I thought of, but (view spoiler)[ more controlled and a whole group of lab created "people". (hide spoiler)]