The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
The world we knew is gone. What world will rise in its place?
The Twelve have been destroyed and the terrifying hundred-year reign of darkness that descended upon the world has ended. The survivors are stepping outside their walls, determined to build society anew-and daring to dream of a hopeful future.
But far from them, in a dead metropolis, he waits: Zero. The First. Father of the Twelve. The anguish that shattered his human life haunts him, and the hatred spawned by his transformation burns bright. His fury will be quenched only when he destroys Amy-humanity’s only hope, the Girl from Nowhere who grew up to rise against him.
One last time light and dark will clash, and at last Amy and her friends will know their fate.
I’m of two minds when it comes to this book. There are parts that I enjoyed, mostly when it focused on the remaining humans. Not so much when it came to the long and sprawling story of of Zero, or Tim Fanning as he’s known in human form. Did I really care about his backstory? No, not really. Because, though Cronin tries hard to, what, humanize him, nothing can excuse what he does. Oh, boo hoo, you lost the woman you loved. Get in line.
So I skimmed huge segments of the book, only stopping when it appeared that something important was about to happen. Things do happen; it just seems to take an inordinate amount of time.
But worst is the ending Cronin writes for many of the characters. Not to give anything away, but some deserved better; one deserved far worse. I wish Cronin would have added a chapter or two to The Twelve, and given those characters the fates they deserved.
Mount TBR 2024 Book Links
Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.
1. Bone Walker (Anasazi Mysteries #3) by Kathleen O'Neal Gear, W. Michael Gear
2. Holly by Stephen King
3. Inferno (Inferno#1) by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
4. Fallout (Lois Lane #1) by Gwenda Bond
5. The Secret People by John Wyndham
6. Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
7. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
8. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
9. Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara
10. Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts by Shanna H. Swan, Stacey Colino
11. Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
12. Night Songs by Charles L. Grant
13. President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier by C.W. Goodyear
14. The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
MAR- Story, Hunt, Plot, City, You, Cry, Another, Paint
The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin