Bibliophile [The Passage]

The bibliophile strikes again.

The Passage, Justin Cronin
The genre of The Passage was a bit of a departure for me- I suppose you'd call it suspense, or horror, or books-that-contain-vampires. It is an extremely long book (I think like 700 pages? It's hard to know these things when you read on the Kindle). Here's your blurb:

An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

Stephen King said it was "enthralling", but he would, since the premise is basically the exact same as his novel The Strand. It's a good story, a story about "a girl who saves the world", by the author's admission. The first third of the book you will love, no diggity no doubt. It's well written, engrossing, confusing enough to keep you turning pages, and packed with character development and plot action. After that, you're going to feel a little let down (at least, I did). I read the whole thing, and I did enjoy it, but it's like fast food: totally love it all the way through, maybe not worth the calories (or hours) once it's gone. I remember enjoying myself- D will tell you I read it voraciously- but when I was done I felt a bit empty and like maybe I should read some classics to get over my light-reading hangover. I'm being kindof negative here, because I read the whole thing and enjoyed it...maybe it's more like a roller coaster than fast food- it's totally thrilling when you're on it, but don't expect it to be a philosophical or intellectual endeavor, or as satisfying as a long conversation with your best friend. Kinda reminds me of Hunger Games in that sense.


Anyone else concur? Or think I'm a moron with no literary sense?