There are three important things you need to know about Justin Cronin's new epic novel, The Passage.

First: You'll want to cancel any appointments, meetings, and commitments you had planned for this week.  Trust me, they are no longer important.  Once you start reading this book you won't be able to put it down.  Cronin does a masterful job of quickly building tension and then maintaining it over the entire span of the novel.  Reading The Passage feels like reading Stephen King at the height of his game (fellow lovers of The Stand, this book is for you!), which is probably why King wrote a rave review for the dust jacket.  Just like with King’s novels I was afraid to keep reading, lest one of my favorite characters get killed or infected with the terrifying virus that plagues Cronin’s tale.  But the story was so compelling that I was afraid to stop reading!  I had to know what happened next so I kept reading, and reading, long into the night.  Which brings us to the important question of sleep.  Sleep no longer matters.