Customer Comments

I picked up a copy of The Passage after several friends highly recommended the novel. It's not a book I would have picked out for myself (based on the description), but I am so glad that I did and didn't miss out on this epic tale. The other reviews previous to mine did a great job of giving a comprehensive plot synopsis, so I won't rehash that. But I will tell you what I liked about the story. Cronin's novel took a hold of my attention from the second paragraph and really never let go. I was riveted by the manner in which he tells his story...he uses traditional character narrative and mixes that with the non-traditional, such as emails, government documents, etc. His characters are not defined by the traditional "good guys" versus the "bad guys." Instead, there are characters who make good and bad decisions, which directly effects the fate of millions of people. Each character is defined by their own internal moral compass. Even the really, really big "baddies" (the so-called vampires created by a virus) still have something fundamentally soul-like inside of them. If I had any complaints at all, it would be that there are A LOT of characters in the book and when that happens, it's hard to keep track of them (and therefore, hard to connect with them or figure out what makes them tick). But the important ones are, of course, well defined and three dimensional. When the character list became too populated, I found myself not caring as much about the story, although the ending makes up for it all. I still wouldn't have missed this book for the world. This is the first part of a planned trilogy, which I love....I will most certainly be reading the next two as they are issued!

Author Susan Higginbotham consistently turns out first-rate historical fiction and her newest release, The Stolen Crown, is simply superb. This is the riveting story of Katherine Woodville and her infamous marriage to Henry Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham. Armed with a cast of historical figures that are enough to make the most jaded historical fiction fan shiver with joy, this novel is a veritable treasure trove of 15th-century nobility in England. For those of you unfamiliar with the basics of this little scandal, here's a short history catch-up: Elizabeth Woodville was the non-royal commoner that England's King Edward IV developed a serious case of the hots for and to everyone's shock, in 1464, he actually married her. This irked a lot of important people because, a) Kings were supposed to make strategic marriages of state to further the interests of their country; and b) Elizabeth wasn't averse to sweet-talking the King into making her own family very, very rich. Personally, I've always applauded ol' Liz for not giving away the milk for free, if you know what I mean. But I digress..... Liz made it a point of securing a bunch of advantageous marriages for her siblings (and there were a passel of them). One of the more scandalous matches she made was for her young sister, Katherine Woodville. Liz managed to marry Kate off to the fabulously wealthy Henry Stafford, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Harry went on to play a significant role in British history: he is one of the prime suspects for the murder of Edward IV's two young boys (the famous Princes in the Tower) and eventually would lose his head for trying to take the English Crown for himself. It's hard not to be intrigued by him. Higginbotham has, once again, taken page out of British history and brought it to life before our very eyes. She excels at taking known history and rendering it into riveting fiction. Her characters are thoughtful, the plot moves along at a near-perfect pace, and her knowledge of the time period is impressive. At no point does she allow history to become boring. There is an impressive list of characters to help you keep track of who's who (you'll need it!) and a very impressive author's note when all is said and done. Both are very much appreciated by this historical fiction afficianado. Higginbotham this is what separates the good from the "meh" historical fiction authors: to write within the confines of known history. After all, any writer could just make up their own history and hide behind the fiction label. Many, in fact, do. This doesn't make them terrible writers, but historical fiction authors are generally held to a higher standard. A good historical fiction author writes a fabulous novel in spite of historical limitations. Not an easy task. So hats off to Susan Higginbotham and others of her tier who consistently write historical fiction for the history lover.