The Ferryman is the story of Proctor, a man who lives in a "perfect" society, where people are scientifically reborn over and over as they do their sweet nothings on a secluded island. If course, Proctor starts to find the dark truths behind his not so perfect life, and the story gets more twisty and complicated from there.

What this book reminded me most of, in tone and premise, was The Giver. We've got this protagonist that is listless and sad, and the more they discover about their not-so-perfect world, the more melancholy things get. Throw in some mystery-box and isolation feelings of Lost, and what you get is this book.

After a few chapters, none of the characters felt real to me. They all felt like satellites to Proctor, doing the jobs that the narrative needed of them. The wife is micromanaging, the mother in law is part of the evil conspiracy, the trainee is much too clingy and makes the job harder; but none of them seem to have any emotions or independent thoughts.

It's a fine book. Perhaps a little too long, a little too boring. I would recommend it to fans of slow dystopian tales.

A video review including this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at youtube.com/@ChloeFrizzle

Thanks to Ballentine Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.