** spoiler alert ** 
 So I had heard a lot of good things about this book. The book read like a classic Stephen King novel. The story plays out like a giant opera with characters all over the globe and this sensation that they are all building up to something that will be similar to "The Stand". 
 Within the first 400 pages all the characters Cronin had developed so well begin to die off all at once in what felt like was only the beginning of the story. Sister Lacey who was an absolutely fascinating character sacrifices herself needlessly and Wolgast's partner, Doyle, who I had grown fond off dies off too. Suddenly all that's left is Wolgast, what I assumed was the main character and Amy a little girl that seems to be the center of the story. They are the sole survivors of a virus that seems to be ravaging the world. We only get glimpses of this in short scenes where Wolgast happens to find newspapers telling of the world's events. Then suddenly the world goes into a nuclear winter and Wolgast dies in the fallout. 
 Suddenly after page 450 we're in the future. So far into the future that the world is not even the same world anymore. It's like I started reading a sci fi novel about an human colony is space. And there are new characters and well it was suddenly a whole different book. One that I was not impressed with or cared too much for. So while I enjoyed the first half of this book, the second half was very disappointing.