Passage by Connie Willis
01/09/2002 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
Pub: Voyager/HarperCollins. 780 page paperback. Price: £ 6.99(UK). ISBN: 0-00-711826-0. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. Check out website: www.voyager-books.com
Any Connie Willis book release tends to
be an event and this is no exception. ‘Passage’ centres around a
hospital research project into near-death experiences.
 Psychologist
Dr. Joanna Lander combines her efforts with the more scientific
scans of Dr. Richard Wright. They also do their best to avoid Maurice
Mandrake, a resident writer - care of the board of directors - who
is doing similar research but is really leading patients to his
way of thinking rather than getting accurate reports.
There is also a selection of patients like Maisie who is waiting
for a heart transplant to Mr. Wojakowski and his contradictory WW2
time stories to former teacher and Alzheimer’s sufferer Mr. Briarley.
As to the staff and friends...well, they are equally vivid.
Willis has a remarkable ability to bringing her characters to life
in a way that you really do care for them. In many respects, a
large part of the novel acts like a detective story with Lander
out to discover the meaning of the Titanic appearing when she is
put under by drugs for her own near-death experience.
This is no ‘Flatliners’, by the way, they were short of volunteers.
Willis even gives reference to that and other experiences from various
sources. To give away too much where this plot is going is to
spoil surprises.
Saying that in connection with the biggest surprise is that the
beats seemed too even rather than bring up the shock factor of the
event more. This is definitely a page-turner. I’m equally surprised
that publisher Voyager hasn’t tried to market this book in the general
fiction arena.
With its modern day setting and events not too far removed from
what is currently going on, the general public might not regard
this as Science Fiction until they’re hooked.
This is still very much SF and well worth spending some time reading.
GF Willmetts
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