The Season of Passage

I first read this book at age 12, when it was published in 1993. At the time the concepts were very mature and, in retrospect, I probably wouldn't let a thirteen-year old pick this up - but my mother recognized the author as a teen horror writer who was one of my very favorites and did not relaize the level of adult subject matter.
Something brought me back to this book again and again over the years. True, I often came back to many Pike books, but this one outlasted my maturation into adulthood and remains exalted on my bookshelf as my all-time favorite. At some point I vowed to read the book each and every year, and at 21 I have nearly succeeded and probably read it eight or so times.
This book is always new to me. It is always haunting, and beautiful, with multiple stories and characters who are so real that they live on in my memory long after I have put the book down. I used to spend hours lending names and faces of famous people to the characters, for the movie that I am convinced this could become.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is netiher horror nor romance, sci-fi nor mystery, but something strange and compelling which encompasses all genres. It may sound peculiar but I have never read another book that infuses such a feeling of ... well, rapture. Reading rapture! Hokey, yes. Nonetheless - this book will stay with you.
I cannot wait to read it again.

"The Season of Passage" takes place in the then-future of 2004. An expedition to Mars sets in motion an ancient curse set to to destroy mankind. They realize there are far worse things in the red planet than Martians. As far-fetched as that may seem, Pike grounds the story with believable, likable characters and a beautifully written story-within-a-story explains how everything fits together.

I've been a fan of Christopher Pike for about a decade now. When I first read "The Season of Passage" such a long time ago, it became an instant favorite of mine. I thought it was incredible and having re-read it recently I'm still amazed at how thought out and intricately woven everything was- how the little details mentioned early in the story being re-introduced and taking on larger significance later on. This is Pike's best novel.

As a Yale student, I have read, analyzed, and been lectured on the best works of the western world's literary cannon. But I've also read my share of supermarket fiction--some of which is good escapism, some of which is just awful. I was given Season of Passage for my birthday a number of years ago, and, expecting it to fit somehwere in the range of the supermarket fiction books, was greatly surprised to find that it belonged in a much higher class. This book is a masterpiece, and I mean that in the sense that it has true literary value. A brilliant page-turner, it's one of my favorite novels--along with Crime and Punishment and the Brothers Karamazov. The Season of Passage is a true gem for avid sci-fi fans, and definitely worth the interest of those fed on the classics. This is the only Pike book I have read, and whether or not he just got lucky in writing such a fabulous work, I do not know, but I will attest to the merits of Season.

I reviewed this book back in July of 2002 using lots of cheesy descriptors and verbosity. Well, I still love the book as much as ever, although this time I'm not compelled to launch into any cliches.

I DO however want to expand more on what you might THINK you know about this book. Pike is well known as an author of teen horror, but this is not a young adult novel. I feel that Pike's established reputation as a teen horror writer actually could have hurt this book because it makes it less likely to be taken seriously by adult readers and the literary community in general. It is most definitely for a mature audience and can MORE than hold its own for content and quality against the novels of any other respected authors of adult fiction. I find myself shocked that this book was never "discovered" by the literary community because it is really quite brilliant. Like most of the reviewers I grew up reading Pike's YA fiction and was actually a little surprised by this book, which is a very mature and adult story. You probably want me to get to some point, so here it is: This is NOT a young adult novel so please do not disregard it just because of Pike's reputation as a teen horror author. Don't make the mistake of the general literary community and overlook this book based on your preconceived notions about Pike's work.

On to another point. I was reading the reviews, and I was overwhelmed by a common thread that repeated over and over. Snippets like "I've read this book x number of times"... "I'm on my second copy because I read my first one out" ... "this is my favorite book of all time"... "10 years later this is still the best book I've ever read"... What's my new point? I see very few books with reviews that are so repetitive and consistent in such a manner. Almost everyone who discovers this book finds it to be something really special and worth coming back to over and over. Maybe one lone reviewer could be nuts, but take a quick look over the reviews, and you'll discover that almost all of us are saying the same thing. So give it a shot.

READ THIS BOOK.

This is my all-time favourite Christopher Pike book, and quite possible my favourite book in general. This superb blend of horror, science-fiction, and fantasy captivates the reader the whole way through and the story-within-a-story concept encourages the reader to keep on reading to find out what happens to Chaneen's kingdom and Lauren's expedition to Mars. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an open mind (don't you just hate those stubborn people who refuse to enjoy something different). I remember when I first read this book two summers ago, I was enchanted and unable to put it down (I even ignored my girlfriend), and since, I have lent it to all my friends. Please, read this. It is an extraordinary read and it changed my life.