The Twelve (The Passage #2) by Justin Cronin
In his internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed novel The Passage, Justin Cronin constructed an unforgettable world transformed by a government experiment gone horribly wrong. Now the scope widens and the intensity deepens as the epic story surges forward with The Twelve.
In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned-and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.
One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind’s salvation...unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved, and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man’s extinction. If the Twelve are to fall, one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.
There’s a lot to take in with this book: a myriad of characters, different times, different places; I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to get back to the trilogy. Luckily, there are enough hints and explanations that I was able to re-pick up the threads of the story.
The stories of the present and future neatly intertwine, as the live and actions of those of the present affect the lives and events of the future. As we follow those lives, the story of how things came to be slowly unfolds. I did find that the switch from character driven (the present,) to plot driven (the future,) slowed things down a bit, but not so much that I found it disconcerting.
My one complaint, and it’s a relatively small one, is that I would have liked more focus on the characters of Peter and Amy. I had the impression that they would be the center of the fight against the virals, those changed by the virus. They are, but in a very peripheral way.
The book is claimed by both the Horror and Science Fiction genres; I’d say it has much of both.
Mount TBR 2023 Book Links
Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.
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22. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated by Eric H. Cline
23. Wanderers (Wanderers #1) by Chuck Wendig
24. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
25. A Dog's History of the World: Canines and the Domestication of Humans by Laura Hobgood-Oster
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33. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
34. Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O'Farrell
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37. A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species by Rob Dunn
38. Sparta: Rise of a Warrior Nation by Philip Matyszak
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42. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
43. Day Zero (Sea of Rust #0) by C. Robert Cargill
44. Dog Days by Ericka Waller
45. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
46. The Passage (The Passage #1) by Justin Cronin
47. Kallocain by Karin Boye, Gustaf Lannestock (Translator), Richard B. Vowles (Introduction)
48. The Book of Koli (Rampart Trilogy #1) by M.R. Carey
49. Different Seasons by Stephen King
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51. Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner
52. Jackdaw (Jackdaw #1) by K.J. Charles
53. Blightborn (Heartland #2) by Chuck Wendig
54. The Harvest (Heartland #3) by Chuck Wendig
55. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
56. Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
57. The Change by Kirsten Miller
58. The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
59. The Witching Hour (Lives of the Mayfair Witches #1) by Anne Rice
60. Abandon by Blake Crouch
61. Planet B (Architects of the Apocalypse #1) by Jasper T. Scott
62. Shiver by Allie Reynolds
63. The Starlite Drive-In by Marjorie Reynolds
64. The Snow by Flint Maxwell
65. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe
66. December by Phil Rickman
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68. Ariadne's Crown by Meadoe Hora
69. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
70. A Dog's Perfect Christmas by W. Bruce Cameron
71. The Lodge by Jeremy Eads
72. The Twelve (The Passage #2) by Justin Cronin
Black, red, or white cover
1. The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles
2, Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
3. The Lodge by Jeremy Eads
4. The Twelve by Justin Cronin
