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Summary: A Book in Search of an Editor
Review: I very much enjoyed Connie Willis' previous books, so I was very excited to read her latest, Passage. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my expectations. While the premise of the book was quite interesting (can near death experiences be simulated) the plot and character development falls flat. The book seemed endless and is full pages (whole chapters!) of dialog that don't advance the plot. (Why do we care what movies certain characters like?!!) There is one character who goes on for pages talking about his experiences during World War II. I kept waiting for Willis to make a point about all of this, but it never happened. The main characters are very chatty, again without advancing any aspect of the story. I often felt like I was eavesdropping on pointless conversations about popular movies. By the last two hundred pages, I was only reading every third paragraph and skipping the rest just to get the end. (Was her editor sleeping through the rough drafts?!) Overall, I was very disappointed with Willis' latest effort. I loved The Doomsday Book and count it among my very favorite books of all time. But this latest book is definitely one to skip.
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Summary: The rare disappointment from an amazingly great writer
Review: Connie Willis is by far my favorite author and I am disappointed to say that this book doesn't hold up to her best work. If you are new to Connie Willis, by all means pick up "Doomsday Book" first, a brilliant and moving tale of a young woman's journey back in time to 14th century England, or its sort of sequel "To Say Nothing of the Dog," a funny and clever examination of love, history, literature, time travel, Victorian manners and most of all fate. In "Passage" Ms. Willis explores the topic of near death experiences and life after death. While it starts out as an intriguing mystery, the book revisits both the style and substance of many of her short stories, particularly those in "Impossible Things," and runs out of steam far too quickly. Without giving away the mystery of the plot, suffice it to say that the second half of the book consists of almost a complete rehash of the first half as a second set of characters tries to figure out what went wrong with the lead character's research. Unfortunately, they don't have a different point of view or set of facts to work with, and the story is simply retold with a different set of character reactions. Ms. Willis has an interesting point of view about near-death experiences, but unfortunately can't sustain it for a full novel. Worth reading, but not her strongest effort and her short stories are much better explorations of the topic.
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Summary: Needed to Be 100 Pages Shorter
Review: I thought this book had an interesting premise but it didn't live up to it. Parts of it were boring and repetitive. She should have cut out at least 100 pages. There's an interesting plot twist 3/4 of the way through the novel which did make it a little more compelling. One thing that stuck out as unlikely was that the main character Joanna Lander, a clinical psychologist, couldn't identify that a man she had previously known had Alzheimer's disease. The thought didn't even cross her mind. It had to be explained to her. I could see a layman making this mistake, or even a psychologist who had not previously known the person. But in this case it stretched belief. I was somewhat puzzled by a reviewer on the back cover comparing Connie Willis to John Donne, the metaphysical poet. I even did a search on Amazon trying to find a modern writer of the same name. It's not who I would have first thought of. But perhaps he was thinking of Donne's theological works and not his poetry. The Doomsday Book, also by Connie Willis, is incredibly good and I would recommend that completely.
Rating: 
Summary: It was good, but I have a small gripe
Review: I found the story to be engaging and the characters were a bit stereotypical, but realistic and likeable. The scientific premise and the wonderful fine line between the knowable and the supernatural was handled beautifully. Highly recommended overall. My complaint is one that I have had with Willis' books before -- the artificial tension created by the reader knowing that one character has the information that another character needs to know, but they keep missing each other. In moderation, this is a wonderful device, but in Passage, it seems that the reader knew everything they needed to know to piece everything together by the end of the first 2/3, so the final section was just the frustration of trying to get everyone synced up. A little of this type of irony goes a long way. The ending (and plot twists) did surprise me.
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Summary: Interesting, exciting, terrifying, and tragic
Review: Interesting, exciting, terrifying, tragic, and thought-provoking. I very much enjoyed this book, and found both the characters and the premise very interesting. However, there are some long-winded characters which I found somewhat boring-- I wound up skimming over a few sections, impatient to find out what came next. Nevertheless, this is a very good book generally, as well as being well-done science fiction. Worth reading.
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Summary: I loved Passages!
Review: I was dismayed to read the first page of reviews for this book and found them in large part to be negative. I loved this book. It took the hype surrounding the movie Titanic several years ago and combined it in a creative way with research in near death experiences. Ms. Willis's expose of how researchers pollute their work with their own agenda makes this book a worthwhile read. I cared deeply about the characters and was devastated by the courageous ending. Less skilled authors would have tried to tie everything up in a neat bow with a happy ending but not Ms. Willis. Anyone who has worked in a large sprawling hospital will recognize the labyrinth she uses as a setting and love the pantheon of characters from the dying little girl, her clueless mother, the fake near death researcher that must be avoided at all costs and the housebound Alzheimer's caretaker. Each is used to good effect and provides thought provoking reflection on how we do or don't handle death. Passages is a must read for any Willis fan and anyone with a desire to reflect on how they feel about what occurs during the final moments of life.
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Summary: Passage by Connie Willis
Review: Ms. Willis had an excellent story idea and is a good writer, but badly needs a better editor. At almost 600 pages, the story should be cut by 1/3.
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Summary: It's About That Most Often Avoided Subject: Death
Review: Connie Willis writes about real death, not avoiding it but basking in it. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I never felt it bogged down for me, perhaps because I was imbued with Ms. Willis's fascination for Death early on in the novel, and never looked back. I looked forward to the beginning of each new chapter, with a quote from yet another person near death. If anything, I felt breathless as I lunged through this novel, picking up the feeling of characters who never seem to be able to get enough rest or something to eat. I agree that there is very little Science Fiction here, but a topic always skirted around in so many other works receives such a thorough exploration here, that I can heartily recommend it to Science Fiction and other readers alike.
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Summary: I wanted to like it ...
Review: I'm interested in the afterlife, and certainly interested in accounts of near death experiences, but "Passage" felt ... contrived. The premise that researchers had come up with a drug that could induce a near death experience was very interesting to me, and the book sounded great, but in my opinion, it just didn't deliver. As other reviewers have said, Connie Willis may have missed the boat, symbol-wise, and various little subplots popped up, but really didn't go anywhere. I found the main characters likeable, but not particularly deep. My biggest quibble with the book was its pace, which was sluggish at best. I've read that Willis wanted readers to puzzle along with the characters, but I didn't enjoy the puzzling. It just made me impatient. So many people have raved about her, that I'll try another of her books, but "Passage" just didn't win me over.
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Summary: READING THIS BOOK CAUSED ME A NDE
Review: I've read several of Connie Willis' books - To Say Nothing of the Dog; Doomsday Book; BellWeather - and I enjoyed them all immensely. So as I read Passage, I kept waiting for the book to hold my interest, and by the time I got to the end of the book I felt cheated to realize I had just finished reading a very silly story with flat characters, inane dialogue, and a pointless plot. Although the premise of the story is very intriguing, I just don't feel as though Willis had done anything worthwhile with her idea. Passage had none of the intelligence that Willis brought to her other books. If you are looking for a good book, don't pick this one.
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