Dvanástka

The Passage #2

by Justin Cronin, Milan Kopecký (Translator)

Krátko po vypuknutí apokalypsy traja ľudia hľadajú, ako sa dostať zo všeobecného chaosu. Lekárku a nastávajúcu matku Lilu tak veľmi zasiahne rozšírenie epidémie a násilia, že sa radšej zatvára pred svetom a pripravuje sa na príchod dieťaťa, kým spoločnosť okolo nej sa rúca.

Kittridgea, známeho pod prezývkou Posledná denverská bašta, donútili okolnosti opustiť svoju pevnosť a vydať sa na cestu autom pomedzi nakazených len s niekoľkými zbraňami a plnou nádržou. Stredoškoláčka April bojuje, aby ochránila mladšieho brata v krajine plnej smrti a rozkladu. Títo traja zistia, že nie sú sami a že práve súdržnosť im dodá nádej aj v najtmavšej noci.

O sto rokov nato sa Amy a jej priatelia ďalej bijú za záchranu ľudstva, hoci nevedia, že pravidlá sa zmenili. Nepriateľ sa vyvinul do novej podoby a nová temná sila chystá svetu niečo oveľa desivejšie ako vykynoženie všetkého živého. Za porazenie Dvanástky bude musieť niekto zo statočných bojovníkov zaplatiť najvyššiu cenu.

Dvanástka je majstrovsky napísaný, dych vyrážajúci príbeh o prežití a sebaobetovaní.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Vampires

536 pages, Hardcover

First published October 16, 2012

About the author

In 2010, Justin Cronin’s The Passage was a phenomenon. The unforgettable tale that critics and readers compared to the novels of Cormac McCarthy, Michael Crichton, Stephen King, and Margaret Atwood became a runaway bestseller and enchanted readers around the globe. It spent 3 months on The New York Times bestseller list. It was featured on more than a dozen “Best of the Year” lists, including Time’s “Top 10 Fiction of 2010,” NPR’s “Year’s Most Transporting Books,” and Esquire’s “Best & Brightest of 2010.” It was a #1 Indie Next Selection. It sold in over 40 countries and became a bestseller in many of them. Stephen King called The Passage “enthralling… read this book and the ordinary world disappears.” Now, PEN/Hemingway Award-winner Justin Cronin bring us the conclusion to his epic trilogy with The City of Mirrors. For the last time, Amy—the Girl from Nowhere, who lived a thousand years—will join her friends and face down the demons that threaten the last of humanity. Justin Cronin is also the author of Mary and O’Neil (which won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Stephen Crane Prize), and The Summer Guest. Other honors for his writing include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Whiting Writer’s Award. A Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Rice University, he divides his time between Houston, Texas, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Mario the lone bookwolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve can be a very unlucky number

Quicker than the first horror
More action, twists, and active apocalypse make the second part more dynamic and the descriptions and focus on characterization are not as detailed as in the first part, as the conception switches from the protagonists to a plot- character hybrid.

Many apocalyptic body horror dark science fantasy ideas
Goosebumps are guaranteed, as there are some great shockers, including elements of disgust and close to anything humankind can do to make life as horrible as possible for others, using the popular trope of who the real monsters are. Especially the Sci-Fi elements make this horror hybrid unique, as there is always the question of if just a simple jumpscare or a metaplot twist around the evolution of the dark forces may wait lurking around the next corner.

Don´t forget the meta context
The story is a dark hero´s journey, a walk through hell instead of through fairylands, always reflecting on the sociological impacts of terrible events.

Recombine the horror tropes with imagination and a creative writing degree
One would think that there are some genres that can´t be told in unique ways the thousandth time, but as this example shows, it´s easily possible. At least as long the writer has a creative writing degree, makes an immense effort to write and finetune such a thing, and mixes new, fresh combinations of tropes just as the scientists creating the virus.

Maybe even a bit too big and complex
The only, but pretty big, problem might be that it´s too epic, complicated, and has too many characters and plotlines and that might be too much for readers who just want to have fun and not invest time in regularly remembering and memorizing. Especially if not reading it (or let´s say the whole series of 3 books) in a relatively short time or having a very good memory. It might have been better to simplify a bit or use more one time character scenes instead of overachieving so much that even I, a friend of complex and multi k page fantasy and sci-fi series, had my problems recapitulating what is just going on. A bit of author ego overkill may be another logical reason, a consequence of flexing too much of the lyrical muscles and unwittingly damaging the work a bit that way.

Objectivity is always such a thing
But all the complexity could have had its legitimation, as the third part is said to be the best of the trilogy and maybe my criticism was unfair and it was all just necessary preparation for the final culmination.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like I waited half a lifetime for this to be released and I'll admit, I'm pretty damn disappointed. The Passage blew me away and is one of my all-time favorites/ The Passage really took some patience and focus because Justin Cronin's writing is so intricately detailed that it's incredibly easy to miss something important but it was SO worth it. It all began with several individual story lines that had no apparent relation with one another but as time progressed they started to intersect with one another to form one hugely multi-faceted story. The Twelve brings that writing style back into the spotlight with a new array of characters and new storylines.

There were such an immense amount of characters and intersecting storylines from The Passage that I was more than a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to understand what was going on in The Twelve. Fortunately, we're given a refresher in the form of biblical writings from "The Book of Twelves". I thought that the way it was done in the prologue was sheer genius. (Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical at first by the biblical approach he took and continued to take throughout the extent of the book. It threw me a bit but Justin Cronin is a genius and it managed to work out.)

It's strange though, because if you really think about it the original story line from The Passage was solely focused on government conspiracies and the creation of a virus that went completely wrong and was unleashed on the world after the virus was given to death-row-inmates. In The Twelve, the story is centered around a city where individuals are utilizing vampire blood in order to achieve immortality. A far cry from the original story, which was a bit of a disappointment because I would have loved to find out more about the original Twelve.

The main difference for me between The Passage and The Twelve is how the multiple storylines inevitably intersected. With The Passage it was seamless and once everything came together there was the big 'Ahhh' moment where everything was clear and the light bulb went on. For me, I think when the 'Ahhh' moment was intended to happen my reaction was more along the lines of 'Uh... I still don't get it.' Completely riveting story lines, complex and detailed to the max, but ultimately lacked in coming full circle and left me with far too many questions than answers.

The City of Mirrors, the final installment, isn't due out for 2 years but I will of course be reading it. I'm hoping that questions are finally answered and aren't left as they have been: a bunch of hypothetical possibilities.

________________________________________

Update 3/8/2012: Checkout the new EW Magazine tomorrow for a brand new excerpt from The Twelve!

Preview of 'The Twelve' available here:

http://www.hachette.com.au/downloads/...

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking back at it, I’m not even sure why I read this book. The Passage left so little impression on me that I remembered almost nothing about it and could barely muster the energy to look on-line for a summary of it. So why read another 500 pages of that story? Maybe it was the hype? Or because I’m such a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories?

Actually, I now think that these books are like one of those B-level restaurants that you end up eating at all the time, but you don’t really know why. The food is just OK and the price is right and it’s close to your house and you never got a nasty case of the screaming greasies after eating there, but it’s not a place you’d recommend to any of your friends or pass up a decent frozen pizza for a meal there. Much like one of these middle-of-the-road restaurants provides gut pack for your belly, these books are gut pack for the mind. It’s not terrible, but you can think of a lot better options.

Which is weird because it’s a horror novel going for epic scale with no shortage of blood and monsters so you’d think it’d elicit some kind of response. Instead it just kept reminding me of other things I liked more. A post-apocalyptic world with a huge battle between good and evil is more satisfying in The Stand. Playing with the idea of different strains of vampires is done much better in Scott Snyder’s American Vampire comics. The crazy vampire lady concept was a lot more fun when Drusilla did it in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Blade wielding Alicia certainly resembles Alice in the Resident Evil films. (You know a book isn’t entertaining you much when you start daydreaming about watching Resident Evil movies instead of reading it.)

I don’t know if it’s because of his background writing the Serious Lit-A-Chur (I haven’t read any of his other books.), but it felt like Cronin glumly slogged through this and that his pulse rate never jumped once. If you’re going to write a post-apocalyptic novel, there needs to be a certain amount of inappropriate excitement involved. I read something by Stephen King once where he talked about taking grim satisfaction in destroying the world in The Stand and when you read that, you can feel the dark glee he took in just smashing the whole thing. Cronin just doesn't seem like he’s that into it. Why bother writing the end of civilization if you’re not gonna have some fun with it?

Part of the problem may be that Cronin skips over that phase for the most part. He showed us the beginnings of the vampire plague but then jumped forward by decades so we never really got to see things come undone. I think it’s telling that the part I enjoyed the most in both books was the glimpse we got of the world going belly up during the outbreak with Kittridge, Danny the autistic bus driver and all the others. That’s the one part of the book where the characters seemed distinctly different from one another and where there’s some real passion flowing. Even though I found the character of Lila extremely annoying because a pregnant surgeon who avoids dealing the with the on-going apocalypse by going crazy town banana pants and acting like nothing is wrong should be the first one to get her blood drained, at least she evoked some kind of reaction from me. Whereas the other characters in the book were essentially a big shrug.

This book is such a yawn that I had a hard time deciding on whether to give it 2 or 3 stars. I finally decided that giving it 2 stars would actually mean that I cared enough to downgrade it. But I don’t. This thing is the epitome of average so 3 stars it is.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good 💕

[switterbug (Betsey) · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE TWELVE, which is the second book of Cronin's towering trilogy, can be read as a complete book, whereas the first book stopped abruptly, like a gasp. However, I urge you to read THE PASSAGE first, because the epic as a whole is a finely calibrated accretion of history, plot and character. The Twelve refers to the twelve "parent" or original virals, the death-row-inmate subjects-turned-virals from "Project Noah," who must be liquidated in order to save the world. The thrust of this book is the hunt of the twelve by Amy, Alicia, Peter, and company.

"All eyes." Two words commonly spoken by the First Colony Watchers, starting in Book one--survivors of the end of the world as we know it. I shiver when I read it now, this sober siren call of fellowship to signal strength and vision, to defeat the virals. It carries an additional, deep and tacit message now--that I honor you, comrade (lover, brother, father, mother, friend, sister, soldier)--go bravely and stay safe. And keep your eyes forward, against the last remaining light of the day.

Cronin's weighty trilogy, a hybrid of mainstream and literary fiction, isn't just a story about these photophobic vampire virals, identified variously as dracs, smokes, flyers, jumps, and glowsticks. Rather, it is a portrait of humanity in extremis. Virals, caused by a military experiment gone awry, are a malignant, violent force of annihilation. But what reserves of strength keep us fighting? How do people live in a post-apocalyptic world? Is another end coming? Or a beginning? Is the world even worth saving? THE TWELVE, like THE PASSAGE, has as much anthropology, eschatology, psychology, and philosophy, as it does gore, battle and horror.

Cronin's tilted, unconventional structure has an elegant, understated, and circular pull and propulsion, muted at times, roaring at others. He periodically pauses in the progress of the plot for his intense and luminous miniatures--mystical, sensory flights of prose and backstory elaboration, (although briefer in THE TWELVE), which deepen the intricate plot strands as well as create a vivid landscape, emotionally and physically. Gradually, he braids it all together.

THE TWELVE isn't linear, but it is, ultimately, progressive. It starts back at year zero (the viral outbreak), providing new characters and expanding on previous ones, as it steadily brings us back to the present, approximately 97 A.V. (After Virus), five years after the end of THE PASSAGE. Peppered here and there are the terse, abstract texts dated 1003 A.V. And, yes, the cliffhanger ending of the first book, as well as all strands, are eventually returned to and understood. The author is in control of his sublime, colossal narrative.

Cronin traveled every mile in the book for his research, and it shows. His sense of place is so atmospheric and sensuous, alive and turbulent, that geography is a character in itself. From the benevolent but arch company of assembled defense forces in Kerrville, Texas; to a terrifying, totalitarian-ruled, labor camp in Iowa; and to a handful of scrappy iconoclasts that roam from place to place, the author's conception of a fractured world flashes and flickers with billion-kilowatt energy in every setting.

Cronin's complex character development equals any realistic literary novel. Amy, Alicia and Peter (and others) continue to evolve, although Peter, admittedly, was more of a placeholder in THE TWELVE, notwithstanding a few valorous confrontations with virals. There's no doubt in my mind that he will figure largely in the final book, now that Amy's character has expanded in surprising, startling, and inevitable ways. He and Amy are bound, as was determined in THE PASSAGE. However, as Amy is more revealed, Alicia becomes more eerie and enigmatic, and discovers an unpredictable and, well, animate love. You also unexpectedly learn more about her descendants.

But wait until you meet Guilder, and reconnect with Lila (Wolgast's ex-wife); the pages nearly howl with the portrayal of these two characters. From their skin and viscera to their organs and bowels, I have rarely encountered anyone comparable to Lila and Guilder in a horror or dystopian novel. And there are numerous and brilliant secondary characters, such as Carter, the twelfth original viral, that are graphic and memorable. Greer, from the first book, is now a military prisoner and seer. Grey, a sweeper from the first book, finds an opportunity to amend for his past sins, but it doesn't quite work out the way he planned. Also three-dimensional are the virals, a ripe and sentient life force of consummate destruction. And, there are some new developments in store regarding viral species transformation.

The final book, THE CITY OF MIRRORS, is due for release in 2014. The title is a terrific tease, but I believe I possess the prescience to interpret its significance. It gives me a soulful, excited feeling. I know what it means, where this is headed, and that makes it triply electrifying.

Addendum: Cronin is my homeboy, if you’ll pardon my colloquialism. He hails from my hometown (Boston), and lives where I have lived (Bellaire, Texas). He based the First Colony (THE PASSAGE) geography on Idyllwild, California, a place I once knew intimately. It was a superb sequestered setting for an isolated survivor community. Flyers, Justin!

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 to 3.5 stars - Not quite as good as the first one.

A similar pattern - a strong, entertaining, and intriguing start that lasts for the first third of the book. After that, there is an abrupt shift into a disjointed conglomeration of action sequences, supernatural oddities, and confusing conversations. With the first book, this reconciled itself into a strong finish. With this one, I knew what happened, but I was not quite sure WHAT happened!? (If that makes senses)

Characters - sooooo many characters with sooooo many odd relationships and interwoven backstories that I had a hard time keeping everyone straight. There were a few main characters/key players that I was able to keep track of. The rest I just had to say to myself "okay, I guess these two know each other" or, "oh, they both seemed moved by this discussion and what happened, so it must be a big deal for them." I gave up trying to keep specific tabs on the characters and their roles halfway through.

The story - with the first book I was really impressed with the creativity of the story. With this one I felt like he was making stuff up to move the story along. Now, obviously fiction is making up a story, but there is a fine line between making up a believable tale or sounding like you are pulling random stuff out of thin air. Book Two is more of the "thin air" variety to me.

I sound kind of down on this book, but it was okay. I will definitely read the next book in the series, but I am not quite as excited going into it as I was going into The Twelve after The Passage.

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys* · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I thought this whole book was going to be about Peter and crew hunting down the big bad original TWELVE and smashing them. It's not really that at all. This book goes back to the first few days after the 'virus' has started. You have a guy known as "the Last Stand in Denver." I wanted more of this guy. But then you have a whole lot of new characters getting thrown into the story.
You also get some extras in the form of:
Ferrari chase:


A sorta weird school bus storyline:


And my very favorite thing, We get more of Alicia:


To me this made the story of Cronin's world just come even more to life, in fact Saturday night I didn't sleep much because these damn Glow-worm Voldemort Blood suckers were in my dreams!


That's a test for me (even though I took Justin Cronin's name in vain several times.) If you make me dream about a book that means I'm really invested. Or it could just mean I have no life. It really could go either way.

I did like this book. Something about this story just pulls me in. I might not be invested in every second of all the words..because there is a TON of words that these books contain..but I can't stop reading them. Even when I got ragey because these characters are just TOO FRIGGING LUCKY.too much of the whole coincidence thing happens in these books. I mean come on, Sara still being alive? Then the whole daughter thing with Sara? THEN THE Nina chick just happening to be related? I know this is a small world but damn.


(I would have given four stars except for all that crap)

I'm going to start the third one soon..because I've drank the Cronin Kool-Aid and I want to know about what Zero is up to with his creepy self.


ETA: I'm like the total notbest buddy reader ever and forgot to mention my poor buddy that I read this with. Who I completely left behind because I couldn't wait to finish this book. That's what Ed gets for having a signed edition of this book and getting me addicted to these puppy squishers.


I don't think I've highlighted one of my friend mark monday's reviews but I should have.

[mark monday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cronin's second book in his Passage trilogy eschews much of the poetry and melancholy of the first book; this novel is rather more conventional in style and tone. it is basically a mosaic of events (set in various time periods) that gradually builds to a showdown between a demented fascist and a crowded gallery of bruised & battered heroines & heroes. much like the first book, it includes a novella-sized chunk in its first section that is entirely devoted to events taking place in Year Zero, i.e. The Dawn of the Vampire Apocalypse. no doubt this will also be many readers' favorite part, much like that first section in The Passage. overall i missed the poetry and melancholy of the first book (The Passage is up there with my favorite novels), but The Twelve is still a worthy successor and an excellent novel. a great vampire book, a great post-apocalypse book, a book full of intriguing mysteries and characters who are dynamic, sympathetic, real. i may have lost much of that enchanted feeling i had with its predecessor but i was still fairly spellbound from beginning to end.



some spoilers may follow, or not, who knows

Likes: Amy's transformations... the chapter "The Field" (a superb little bit that functions almost as a short story)... Alicia... Grey's characterization... Carter & Wolgast... that superb Year Zero section and its very human, fallible, addled, courageous protagonists. more things i liked, later.

Dislikes: Cronin reaches a bit much for poetry a couple times and it felt as if he was trying too hard - this came as a real surprise given the genuine beauty of much of The Passage - i reread the last paragraph of The Familiar and rolled my eyes because it unfortunately is reaching for beauty but was only so many pretty words on the page with little genuine meaning... two major supporting characters dispatched between books with barely a word about them - quite disappointing... an over-reliance on Mythic Titles For Different Characters That Are All Capitalized And Come Across As Obnoxious And Pretentious... and this is a minor and very personal one, but i just have to say it: for a series that really wants to operate on a wide canvas of humanity and so clearly wants to have a Multi-Racial Cast and Strong Independent Women and All Ages and All Types - and i appreciate it, really - why couldn't Cronin have included at least one lesbian or gay character? usually this doesn't bother me, but The Twelve's cast of characters is so completely diverse that the lack really stood out for me.

ok, enough with the critiques. i really liked this one so back to things that i thought were interesting.

Religious Aspects. fascinating! this was more than hinted at in The Passage, but the sequel really lays it out there. the series is a spiritual odyssey, simple as that. God is practically a character in this novel given: the emphasis on coincidence-but-not-really, the afterlife, the biblical prologue, the sense that everyone is coming together for reasons they only barely understand, the mythic layering of certain people like Peter, "Project Noah" and the vampire virus being the New Flood. when rereading The Passage last year, one of the things that stood out for me in that first section was how deeply damaged each of those modern-day characters turned out to be, how the world had really wounded them, how cruel and indifferent the world was in general. time for Next Big Flood i guess because that world was pretty soulless and needed a real reset (unfortunate shades of misanthropic Koontz and his The Taking - in general, i'm not a fan of the mindset, but Cronin makes it work). and of particular interest to me was the use of Zero/Fanning & The Twelve as a sort of Antichrist & his Twelve Demonic Apostles. Zero even has his own Judas in the gentle non-murderous Carter. fascinating!

A Tale of Two Cities: Kerrville vs The Homeland. loved the difference between these two places. The Homeland was particularly eerie in the distance (same goes for 'The Woman' before it turns out to be Lila - very Dracula's Daughter), before it became 1984 Redux. it was still compelling when i got to know the place, but i did like the prior and very sinister mystery of it. and maybe i am just a typical flaming liberal but i sure do appreciate Cronin's continued denunciation of militarization, and now with The Twelve, his use of fascism disguised as an official policy of Protect Teh Little People. nothing new there, but i still enjoyed it. i'm a progressive sucker, part of the liberal choir, so preach to me Cronin, i'll eat it up. tasty skewers of reactionary villains, yum.

A Defining Moment Will Forever Define You. yes! i agree. or do i? well anyway it is food for thought. Cronin returns to this concept again and again, with everyone - his heroes, his villains, and most literally with his vampires.

Family. folks familiar with how The Passage originated know that it sprung from stories told by Cronin to his daughter (and perhaps an interest in earning buckets of cash). the love of children, the absolute importance of family (a created family or a family linked by blood - both are present here and the former is no less valuable than the latter), the love of a parent for their daughter or son... all remain central. Cronin presents this familiar idea in such a straightforward way; it was constant but i never grew weary of it. his ideas on the topic are lovely.

"In Sara's daughter, this triumphantly alive little person that Sara's body had made, lay the answer to the greatest mystery of all - the mystery of death, and what came after. How obvious it was. Death was nothing, because there was no death. By the simple fact of Kate's existence, Sara was joined to something eternal. To have a child was to receive the gift of true immortality - not time stopped ... but time continuing and everlasting."

just as moving was Amy's final goodbye to Wolgast.

it is hard for me to know who i could recommend this to amongst my Goodreads friends. there are the folks who love genre fiction (as i do) - and books like The Twelve and its predecessor tend to leave them cold. too long, too ostentatious in their use of poetic language, so invested in conveying all of the details of this future world that it often becomes a distinctly tedious experience to them. and then there are the folks who love more 'literary' fiction (as i do) - and action-packed blockbusters, no matter how ambitious or poetic or whatever, are not exactly their go-to books for further understanding the human condition or appreciating the beauty of the written word. it rather saddens me because books like The Passage & The Twelve are full of pleasures that i get from both genre fiction and literary fiction. ah well. guess i'll just have to recommend this to myself. mark, reread this one day! you'll love it!

[Woowott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Y'know, the longer time goes by, the more I hate this book. So, now it is down to one star. Sometimes it takes a while to realize how much you don't like something. Or hate it. I apparently hated this. I think the thing that threw me over the edge was Alicia's rape.


Spoilers, because I'm too bored not to. *edit* ACTUALLY, not only are there spoilers, but I realized as I typed how HOSTILE I was to a particular plot twist that was wholly unnecessary, pointless, and aggravatingly trite. And utterly despicable.

Masochism. Sometimes, it happens to me with books and movies. And since I read the first bomb, I decided to read the second. It's pretty much the same dreck. Cronin isn't a horrible writer, but he's not great either. And we have lots of the same dullness and pointlessness that marked the first book. Really, I feel like it could have been half the length. Or just skip book 2 altogether, because it really is quite pointless.

Amy and Peter's romance is predictably bland. Sara is still alive. Of course, she has a very happy ending with Hollis and her improbably alive child. Lots of improbable coincidences happen to get her there. And lots of improbable coincidences happen to everyone else too.

Oh, we learn about Alicia's parents. Her mom is eighteen and knocked up by a guy twice her age, in the middle of the Viral Apocalypse. Yawn.

We learn more about Grey (one of the only interesting characters from book 1, along with Carter, who gets a raw deal in these novels), and he coincidentally ends up with Lila Kyle, Wolgast's wife.

Who is alive a century later. And a major pointless plot point of annoying stupidity. I really hated her.

And Alicia, the baddest ass of any of the books, of COURSE must suffer her obligatory horrible continuing rapes. Absolutely an integral element for her character. Oh, yeah.

So, yeah. It's all pretty ridiculously constructed, boring, trite--pretty much the same complaints I had in the first book. But the first third of this book is far less compelling than the first third of the first book. All the characters are all very heteronormative. What little religious belief there seems to be is predominantly Christian. So I guess the virals killed all LGBTQA people and nearly all other people of other belief systems.

I'll do the third book, I'm sure. And I'm sure I'll feel the same way. I just think this one was even more absurd, actually.

Alicia's rape really did me in. Of course, she has to be hardcore and slaughter the guy that does it. And then avoid Peter and be mostly quietly traumatized.

I was actually offended by that. Can we lay off the strong, emotionally constipated woman getting raped? Like, hasn't it been done before? Yeah, a million times. I'm sick of it. The only difference between her and a male characters is that she is gendered female. If her personality were the same, but she were MALE, would she get raped? Would that be a necessary plot point? NO, of COURSE not. So why is it acceptable for it to happen (AGAIN) to a female character? F*** that. This book actually IS worse than the first. Alicia gets raped, Sara is pretty bland, Amy is typical Magic Child, Lila sucks and is crazy. Yep, some great characters there. Screw that.

*fumes*

[V. Briceland · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the literary techniques that most irritated me about Justin Cronin's tale of bioengineered vampires, The Passage, had to do with his seeming defensiveness of tone; every page reeked with his desperation to let readers know that yes, while he might've sold out for a big horror genre paycheck, he still had an MFA in creative writing and was determined to show it off, dang it. Thus we had endless multi-page scenes of internal narrative about scarlet ribbons undulating across the billows and curves of a carmine ocean speckled with craters of inky night that reflected a galaxy of cold and unfeeling stars. I think they were supposed to represent blood-sucking sequences, but since Cronin often shunned genre norms like using names or pronouns to let you figure out which of his several hundred characters was actually involved in a scene, it was sometimes awfully difficult to tell.

The good news in The Twelve is that the first book in the series was enough of a bestseller that Cronin could apparently pay off his grad school debts and write a fat check to his old program to assuage any guilt he might be feeling for slumming in the mass market paperback section. Those high-falutin' scenes are long-gone from his new book—and gone too are the pages and pages of internal monologue, replaced by snappy dialogue-driven chapters that were totally absent from the first novel. The pacing in The Twelve is brisk and relentless, which makes it a page-turner.

Mind you, exciting writing isn't necessarily the same thing as great writing. For his sequel to The Passage, Justin Cronin has managed to cut down his literary crib sheet to two primary sources—Stephen King's The Stand being the first and most obvious. I'm not really a King fan, but it's plain that Cronin feels piling narrative upon narrative across dozens of characters is the best way to create a Stand-like blockbuster. Yet I found his characterizations lifeless and paper-thin, and his style a mere aping of King. The protagonists from the first book are ciphers here—the central couple of Peter and Amy especially. New characters get an even shorter shrift. Giving gruff military men a sudden appreciation of poetry before their deaths in the book (not just once, but twice!) isn't a convincing way of showing the humanity behind a martial mind, for example; it's a cheap shortcut that's akin to literary semaphore.

Cronin's approach to foreshadowing disaster is as equally ham-handed as the first installment. When a character smiles winsomely into the sweet summer sun and says, "Hey, I've got a great idea! Let's take all the innocent kiddies of the colony out into the countryside for a picnic! What could possibly go wrong?!", or looks off into the horizon, spits, and sighs, "Driving this tanker truck full of highly flammable fuel sure is boring work. At least nothing bad can possibly happen," it's painfully obvious that disaster is in the works. The payoffs aren't enough to justify the clunky foreshadowing, either.

Still, the book gets intriguing when it delves into Margaret Atwood territory, taking a spin on the totalitarian regimes similar to The Handmaid's Tale and its examination of the culture of rebellion. The scenes with Sara and the queen of the virals are both disturbing and ultimately touching; it's a pity they're buried beneath and burdened by a an abundance of opaque dream sequences, repetitious replayings of discoveries that Cronin wants to hammer home, and too many characters it's difficult to care much about.

While Cronin might be more true to his genre's form by ditching the hip-lit pretensions of The Passage, it hasn't really improved the sequel any. On the other hand, it hasn't made it any the less compulsively readable, either.

[carol. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dear Justin:

We get the religious reference. Really, we do. But thanks for providing a summation of The Passage in a handy Biblical format at the beginning of The Twelve. I only partially appreciated it, however, as it reminded me of the things I found annoying about The Passage, particularly the ending. But, hey, great effort--maybe consider a little more subtlety in book three?

I have to say, rewinding and restarting the apocalypse was absolute genius. Serious genius. You must have been reading the same information about the history of marketing that I've been reading in Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, because you did exactly what the food manufacturers do: take a staple (say, Cherrios), imbue it with a different flavor (Chocolate, Banana-Nut, etc), change the packaging and voila! New product with a guaranteed audience that gives the impression of innovation. Starting back at the beginning of the vampires' release and giving us new perspectives as the devastation unfolds was sheer brilliance. What a way to recycle much of an earlier story without driving it someplace new. Clever! If only King had done that with The Stand--I'm going to write him right now and suggest it.


***************************************************

The trouble is that despite being a clever writing concept, I think The Twelve could have benefited from focus on character creation, since we knew where much of the plot was going (especially as the introduction helpfully reminded us). Perhaps fewer narrators and some greater character innovation would have built interest. Reporting the experiences of a suspiciously rejuvenated convict/test subject, to the ill federal suit overseeing the project, to a pregnant pediatrician coping through nervous breakdown, to a mentally disabled bus driver, to a wounded veteran all becomes kind of a jumble. By the time we reached The Magic Bus tour, I didn't much care anymore, especially when it was going to be clear I had a whole new set of character names to learn. Plus, they were all rather boring. I felt like I was being told a Just So story, my absolute least favorite type of storytelling, particularly as it includes heavy moralizing.

Plus--ranty bit--just like King in The Stand, Cronin does a huge disservice to the female viewpoint. It is painstakingly clear that the value of the female viewpoint is because of her reproductive capabilities. Go Team Uterus! Other misogyny includes a rape scene ahead of where I quit. You probably know my feelings on that by now, but if confused, check the post.

The unoriginality coupled with the shifting resulted in an emotional distance that eventually led me to abandoning the book, despite being a third into it. I just didn't care enough about the mystery of the convict to overcome my aversion to Christian metaphors, and decided returning to the library was better than paying any more fines to those most gracious, beautiful, forgiving people known as Librarians. A DNF from me a sad statement of interest level, given that I was recently reminded that I made it through Siege. Of course, Frater is considerably less in love with her writing than Cronin is. Do yourself a favor--if you weren't completely in love with The Passage, take a pass on this one.

[Rick Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cronin’s first book in this trilogy, The Passage, received a lot of buzz. The Twelve is the second. The trilogy tells the story of an engineered virus that creates a race of vampires – “Virals” – which almost wipe out humanity. The writing is strong, the characters are sympathetic, the post-apocalyptic world Cronin describes is terrifying and believable. The reader does have to have some patience, as Cronin tells the story in several parts that at first seem only loosely connected. Just when you are completely riveted in the story of the outbreak, he flashes forward seventy-nine years, where you have to learn to care about a whole new set of characters in an entirely different situation. If you can stick with it, though, the parts do create a satisfying coherent whole. I had a little trouble getting into the rhythm with The Passage, but found The Twelve a quick, compelling read, since I was now accustomed to Cronin’s narrative structure. I will certainly be anxious to see how he wraps up his trilogy in the third volume, due out later this year. If you like Stephen King’s The Stand, check out this series.

[Kelly Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I owned a Nook I carried The Passage #1 as a carryon all the way from New Orleans to California, a hefty load. I literally could not put down the book; I raced to finish it before we landed. At several points I had to tell my boyfriend to stop talking to me-I was reading and I meant business. I had no idea the book was going to be left open to a sequel and as I finished the last page I thought NO I have to know what is going to happen next. I cannot wait to read the second book-for several reasons I think The Passage was one of, if not the best, post apocalyptic books ever written and I am crossing my fingers that any kinks the first book had will be worked out in the second installment.

[Jaidee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 "epic, grand and exciting" stars !!

I very much enjoyed the "The Passage" (3.5 stars) but Mr. Cronin created something much grander in this sequel. He was able to tighten things up and have the plot become logical and clear with an exciting arc that led to a thrilling conclusion.

This dystopian apocalyptic trilogy has so many interesting and fascinating intersections that leave the reader amazed, fascinated and chilled to the bone. It is full of human courage and frailties with villains that are not born this way but created by a virus that spreads. They are not hateful beings for the most part but like humans want to survive but they also suffer greatly as they are trapped by the hunger for human blood.

The characters are varied with complex emotional states and are tied together by love, alliances, grasps for power and haunted by memories, childhood experiences of nurturance or deprivation and the need to move towards bonding with others.

The writing was generally very good and at times achieved a mystical tone that was beautiful and rich. My one concern is that at times it became too hollywoodesque and this detracted from what could have been a masterpiece of a novel.

I very much look forward to Book 3 of this trilogy.

[Nicholas Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to receive an advance readers copy of The Twelve, by Justin Cronin. It's a follow-up to one of the better novels I've read in the last few years -- The Passage -- and it's to be published later this fall. Best of all, The Twelve was just as good as the first. It was well-written with page turning excitement -- i.e. it's literary fiction disguised commercial fiction -- and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a great story. I read it in two sittings. It's nothing like the kind of novels I write -- it's a bit about the "end of the world" with vampires thrown in (or Virals, as they're called in the novel), but it's so well done it transcends the genre.

[Elizabeth Sagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. God.
There are books and there are BOOKS. There is writing and there is WRITING.
This was brilliant.
I find myself at a lack of words to describe how amazing the whole series is.
I actually shook my head in disbelief while I was reading certain parts because I couldn’t believe the epicness.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved, well most, of The Passage, the first book of this trilogy. Enough I almost rated it five stars, although I pulled back from that because although I thought the author did some amazing things, I couldn't call it a true favorite. Especially given the first 300 pages of that book seemed to me so cliched Stephen King/Michael Crichton thriller. I felt I'd been there, done that, over and over and over. Two things redeemed The Passage for me though. I liked how Cronin took the vampire mythos and from it crafted something (almost) scientifically plausible, putting a non-supernatural spin on such bits of vampire lore as the cross, garlic, familiars, reflection, etc. But for me what made that first book was The Colony. That's where Cronin's world-building impressed me and made the book more than the usual paranormal/post-apocalyptic bestseller. And those are the characters I cared about: Lish, Michael, Peter, Sara.

So imagine how I felt when at the opening of this book I found myself plunged back into the territory covered in the first few hundred pages of The Passage and wondering when if ever I'd see the characters I cared about again. Moreover very little if any of the information picked up in the first third or so of The Twelve was necessary--filler, if not fat. And this bunch were exactly the kind of characters I really didn't want to hang around--a mixture of repellant, creepy and/or too-stupid-to-live. There are a whole bunch of things I can nitpick (Horace Guilder's Gone with the Wind moment was one WTF) and Cronin really needs to learn a lesson from Joss Whedon. You have to be willing to kill your darlings--if the reader feels too comfy your heroes are going to come out of everything unscathed, not only is there no suspense, there's no feeling there was anything to really overcome. A price has to be paid. I did like a few things. (Saving this from a one-star rating). I particularly liked how Cronin depicted the Homeland--very reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

But the bottom line was, after reading this do I want to read the conclusion of the trilogy? Do I still give a damn? And that would be a no.

[Andrei(Drusca) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mai exact 3,5

[Ferdy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers

-This was a chore to read, I struggled to finish it. The beginning was nonsensical and boring, the middle dragged and the ending was a mess. The back and forth in time didn't flow well, there was no rhyme or reason to the way events unfolded, one chapter was set in the present, the next 15 years in the past and then the next a 100 years in the past. It was all very disjointed and messy. The multiple POV's irritated me, most of the new character POV's bar Danny and Kitteridge were rubbish, and quite a few of them were pointless.
-I wasn't impressed with the writing, it came across as arrogant and 'show offy', there was no need for the overly long and ridiculous descriptions of certain people, places and events. Also, the religious and preachy undertone to everything pissed me off.
-I couldn't always tell difference between the Twelve, Zero, the virals, the newer virals and the other virals. They weren't explained clearly and I wasn't sure how each of them came in to existence and which ones were more powerful.
-Amy and Peter's sudden love for each other was weird. In the last book Peter was in love with Alicia and she with him yet there wasn't really any reference to that in this book, they just acted like friends - When did they fall out of love? And how the hell did Peter fall in love with Amy? The whole Peter/Amy being in love was ridiculous. Amy was an interesting character in the The Passage but she was dull in this — all she cared about was the men in her life - Wolgast, Peter, the Twelve..ugh.
-I hated Lila, she was selfish, insufferable and horrid. The bond between her and Grey was hard to believe. Yes, they were in an extraordinary situation but Grey's devotion to Lila was bizarre since she was such a crazy bitch. I think the author was trying to portray Lila as mentally ill but I didn't believe it - her POV convinced me that she just felt sorry for herself and instead of facing up to things she chose to take the easy route and pretend everything was okay.
-Guilder was an awful character, he had no depth whatsoever - making characters have mummy, daddy and whore issues doesn't magically give a character a personality.
-I loathed the way the main female characters were portrayed:
-Amy, the girl with the super speshul powers and the one that was meant to save everyone was a nun/babysitter for most of the book - Why wasn't she a soldier with all her powers? Why wasn't she in the government or in the army making decisions? Why was that pretty much left to the male characters? Instead Amy had to be cooking, cleaning and taking care of a bunch of brats. When she did finally do something — it was to be a martyr and sacrifice her life for her wuv interest..ugh.
Alicia, the strong, powerful soldier ended up being raped, tortured and caged. What that added to the story or her character, I don't know. It didn't make her any stronger or weaker, it didn't make her change her priorities, it didn't make her any more hellbent on revenge, it didn't do anything. It was like the author just wanted to humiliate and demean her for a while because she was too confident and badarse and heaven forbid a fierce, strong and confident female character — only male characters can be powerful and sure of themselves.
Sara was raped, imprisoned in a camp and had her daughter stolen from her. Whereas her boyfriend was fine and dandy on the outside chilling out and working in a brothel. Sara had to earn her HEA through physical and emotional pain and torture whilst her husband in comparison was living in luxury.
And lastly Lila was beaten and controlled by a guy for decades, and on top of that she was selfish and insane.
So yea, 3 out of 4 female characters were brutalized by guys and the other female character died to save a guy — because women only change/are shaped/do things because of men/for men.
-I don't know if I'll bother reading the last book, this one was disappointing.��

[Jadranka · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Dvanaestoricu" sam čekala pune 2 godine i krajnji utisak bi mogao da se svede na "meh".

Sam početak, tačnije prvih 100-200 strana mi se čini kao da je autor bio inspirisan, ili da je barem bio pod utiskom, Kingovog Utočišta.
Prikazi uništene zemlje, ta postapokaliptična slika sveta, otuđenost, i naravno inspirativne priče o hrabrim ljudima koji uprkos svemu guraju napred...kao što rekoh - meh :/

Prosto ne znam šta se desilo Kroninu u drugoj polovini knjige, kao da je i sam pogubio konce. Preterano širenje priče, elementi latinoameričkih serija u pojedinim momentima (pronalaženje davno izgubljene kćerke) i sve što je i valjalo u Prolazu i prvoj polovini nastavka ode niz vodu.
Čini mi se da je autor hteo toliko toga da nam ispriča da je na kraju zaboravio kako je sve počelo, a onda se u celoj toj gužvi i zbrci setio da bi možda mogao da nešto ostavi i za III deo.

Iskreno se plašim pomalo kako će sve to izgledati u The City of Mirrors. Ne bih volela da sav ovaj trud (i Kroninov kao pisca i moj kao čitaoca) bude uzaludan i nadam se da će autor smognuti snage da završi ovo kako treba. Ipak, ne zanosim se previše i ne očekujem da će biti na nivou Prolaza.

Da ne bude da samo kudim i kritikujem, knjiga se brzo čita, dinamična je i uzbudljiva, doduše često predvidiva. Zanimljivo povezivanje nekolicine glavnih aktera, naravno sve dok to ne ode previše u patetiku. Meni je lično jako zanimljiva Lajlina priča, kao i pravac u kome se kreće Ališina sudbina i to je ono što recimo najviše iščekujem kad je reč o nastavku.

Ocena : 3*

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.I really wanted to be one of the readers who actually liked the second book in this trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed the first. My determination to love the second book started to falter at 50% , limp at 60% and stutter at 70%. The first half held my interest well but then...The content became overly military and there wasn't enough about the virals themselves. The story was bitty and jumped all over the place. I realised I didn't feel invested. In the end I felt like I was making myself continue, like a rather tedious piece of homework.
I'm on holiday at the moment and really have no desire to feel like that so I speed read to the end. Life's too short and my tbr list is too long!

[Anniebananie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 Sterne

Ich muss gestehen ich hatte meine Schwierigkeiten wieder in die Geschichte einzutauchen, da ich zwischen Band 1 und 2 doch seeeeehr viel Zeit hab verstreichen lassen, da mich diese dicken Schmöker immer so viel Lesezeit kosten. Da muss ich dann echt in Stimmung für sein.
Als der Knoten dann aber erst einmal geplatzt war hat das Lesen wirklich Spaß gemacht, es war dann auch fast durchweg spannend (abgesehen vom ersten Viertel des Buches, das fand ich leider nicht ganz so spannend, hatte aber trotzdem Spaß an der Story).

Bewundernswert ist (genauso wie bei Teil 1 schon) die Komplexität der Geschichte mit ihren vielen Charakteren und Zeitebenen und Erzählsträngen. Aber genau das ist gleichzeitig auch mein einziger Kritikpunkt am Buch. Ich kam mir teilweise zu dumm vor um allem folgen zu können. Es war immer wie folgt: sobald ich dachte "aha, jetzt hab ich das verstanden", kam im nächsten Kapitel wieder der nächste große "Häääää?"-Moment.
Man sollte sich für dieses Buch also auf jeden Fall Zeit und Konzentration mitbringen, denn es ist nichts was man mal so eben zur Unterhaltung nebenher liest.

Die größte Schwäche der Geschichte ist aber gleichzeitig auch die größte Stärke, denn die Geschichte ist einfach nur genial durchdacht und mitreißend erzählt. Für Spannung und Plottwists sowie spannende Enthüllungen ist auch gesorgt. Ich kann diese Reihe bisher also wirklich nur empfehlen und bin wirklich gespannt was der abschließende Schmöker dieser Reihe noch für uns bereit hält.

[HaMiT · Rating 3 out of 5]

جذاب بود و خیلی سرراست‌تر از جلد اول، ولی به اندازه‌ی جلد اول توی روایتش خلاقیت به کار نبرده بود
البته یه سکانس فوق‌العاده هم داشت و با اینکه‌ ایده‌ش ساده بود ولی فکر نمی‌کنم کسی تا حالا ازش استفاده کرده باشه
طرح جلد کتاب براساس همون سکانسه که به حق انتخاب صحیحی بود

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

***ALL SPOILERS HIDDEN***

(Part I reviews The Twelve. Part II reviews the trilogy as a whole.)

Part I
Sometimes the second book in a trilogy is merely a filler book that’s just a bridge between books one and three, nothing more. Not so with The Twelve. Fans of The Passage can rest assured that this second installment is a vital addition, smoothly continuing the epic Cronin started with book one. Beloved characters from The Passage are back, along with some captivating new ones, and, of course, the virals are here in all their horrific glory. Cronin answered questions left unanswered in The Passage, and, notably, developed even further his take on the traditional vampire legend. Really special about this second book in particular is his imagining of “degrees” of vampirism.

The story is especially engrossing during well-imagined action sequences involving the virals and those scenes dominated by a three-dimensional villain readers will love to hate. It’s least engrossing during its military scenes. Here the story gets mired in militaristic details, jargon, logistics. This is a slog but is at least confined to the halfway point. Less forgivable is the dragged-out ending, particularly the final battle scene. Cronin doesn’t seem able to write battle scenes clearly. The result is that this scene is disjointed and difficult to picture, eventually veering into the nonsensical when Amy transforms into a viral at will. Also problematic are plot holes such as these: How are 70,000 flatlanders able to sit in a stadium watching virals without getting harmed? Why don’t Alicia and the others shave their heads before posing as flatlanders?

The Twelve’s organization is different from The Passage’s in a way that can make it slightly harder to follow at times. Whereas The Passage is divided into three tidy sections that are chronological, The Twelve is divided into numerous sections, switching back and forth among main characters. The Twelve’s cast of characters is wide and various, and eventually most cross paths, their stories intertwining naturally and sometimes in fun and surprising ways.

Cronin upped the ante in this second book; The Twelve is perhaps more disturbing and violent than The Passage. Nobody just dies. Characters are either ripped to pieces by virals--something readers already expect--or are killed via bombs, guns, strangulation, or some other violent means. Many blow themselves up. A few characters set themselves on fire. Parts of The Twelve are gory, with some really sickening descriptions involving blood. Fortunately these aren’t overly long.

Like The Passage, this is literary--intelligently and complexly written and thoughtful, very thoughtful. The Twelve is actually too musing sometimes; Cronin goes into the head of every single main character and remains there for one too many paragraphs. It’s clear he was aiming for a thriller/post-apocalyptic/horror story that can’t be summed up well--not just because it’s hard to categorize but because it’s so psychologically complex.

Part II
The Passage trilogy isn’t about vampires exactly, at least not in the way many people think when they think of vampire stories. These vampires most definitely aren’t of the Edward Cullen variety or Bill and Eric variety. They aren’t of the Dracula variety either. Cronin took a little here and a little there from different horror sources. Those who don’t like vampire stories, think again. This isn’t “another vampire story.” Cronin developed his human characters as much as his monsters, maybe more.

Cronin plotted this trilogy from book one. The story arc therefore extends perfectly across all three books, concluding naturally in book three. Clues dropped and storylines begun in books one and two continue and are fleshed out fully in book three. Readers need to go in order; this is a must, as the books will be incomprehensible otherwise. These aren’t capsules. It’s also ideal--imperative--to read them back-to-back or at least very close in time. These contain many moving parts, and to wait too long between them is to forget numerous crucial details; furthermore, reading the books close in time packs the biggest punch. For those who did read them back-to-back, it can even be rewarding to go back to book one and reread at least part one of that.

Cronin’s trilogy has proven to be on a much more elevated plane than others in the genre. There’s enough here to attract all kinds of readers, including those who normally eschew science fiction, horror, fantasy, or post-apocalyptic stories. There’s also enough artistry in Cronin’s writing to attract lovers of literary fiction. It’s truly a trilogy that can’t be summed up well, and that wouldn’t do it justice anyway.

Final verdict: A worthy second book in the trilogy that fans of The Passage can get excited about.

(Final note: visit enterthepassage.com.)

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently read The Passage this year so I was lucky I didn’t have to wait as long as everyone else for book two; The Twelve. I was privileged to win an advanced review copy so I need to be careful in reviewing this book without any spoilers. As many people would already know The Twelve continues on with the epic tale that The Passage built. This time we have a whole lot of new characters to read about as they struggle to survive in this nightmarish world of virals.

One of my biggest issues with The Passage is the same issue I’ve had with this book; which is the fact that I really struggled to keep the characters in order. Granted all the characters had a wonderful amount of depth to them but because there are so many characters, it sometimes becomes a struggle keeping up with them. I had to write a list of each character and a bit of information about them just to refer back to and remember key aspects of their story arcs. While in The Twelve the characters seem to travel more as a big group so I didn’t feel like I needed a map and little figures to move around like a war map just to keep track of everyone.

I love the post apocalyptic world the Justin Cronin has created and I found so much joy in returning to the world. He has created this wonderful world full of great characters, tension and action. But he has written these books in such literary way, which sets it apart from most Post-Apocalyptic survival novels. Although these books are bricks and too heavy to hold; they are still well worth reading.

I’m a little worried that I now have to wait till 2014 for the final book in the trilogy, The City of Mirrors. Fans of The Passage, you are in for a treat with The Twelve; just for the joy of going back to the world and continuing the story but also because there are new characters to meet. While I think this book will stand out as a standalone read, I highly recommend you start this book from the beginning. But maybe wait till 2014 so you don’t have to suffer with waiting two years for the next instalment. I hope I haven’t given anything away about the plot away, but if you have read this book already I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

This review was originally found on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2012/...

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep typing then deleting as I try to figure out how to start this review! I'm looking forward to starting The City of Mirrors and I'm so glad I have a copy ready and waiting to go, but gosh a part of me didn't want this book to end - outweighed of course by the part that needed to know what was happening, where the story was going.

I love all the characters, but Amy is really something special. I almost can't believe how deeply attached to her I am. She's absolutely wonderful. Every time Wolgast appeared I would start to tear up - everything about their relationship was so beautiful.
Aside from Amy, the way Justin Cronin builds such an incredible cast of characters amazes me. New and old, I cared about them all. Lila and Tifty came to be especially interesting to me, for different reasons.

The whole book builds up in way that I really enjoy. By the end pages my investment in the characters was immense, and that's saying something given the bond I'd already built with so many of them in The Passage.

I'm excited to start the final book - this is shaping up to be one of my favourite trilogies and my review comes nowhere near doing them justice, something that probably applies to all the books I read, but feels especially apparent when trying to convey just how much you loved a book and finding that nothing you type really captures it. Auto correct tried to write 'lived a book' instead of 'loved' and even though I fixed it, I have to admit that would be fitting too.

[Mostafa Alipour · Rating 5 out of 5]

سه‌گانه گذرگاه-پارت دوم
گذرگاه - دوازده - شهر آینه‌ها

دوازده، دومین بخش از داستان تخیلی و آخرالزمانی جاستین کرونین دوسال بعد از انتشار جلد اول منتشر شد.
کتاب دوازده در کنار پوشش بخشی از حفره های گذرگاه حفره های جدیدی هم ایجاد می‌کنه تا در قسمت پایانی شفاف سازی بشه.
افزایش چشمگیر سرعت وقایع و تعدد روایت های موازی مربوط به شخصیت های مختلف که حالا بر خلاف گذرگاه متمرکز نیستند(به لحاظ تفاوت مکان)از بارزترین ویژگی های این جلد هست. خطوط به ظاهر موازی جایی تلاقی پیدا می‌کنند که غافلگیر کننده است.
بطور کلی سطح هیجان و غافلگیری در دوازده پررنگ‌تر از بخش قبل هست. به همین دلیل در بازه‌ی زمانی کوتاه‌تری شروعش کردم و به پایان رسوندم.
از طرفی وقایع داستان برخلاف گذرگاه در یک بازه زمانی طولانی با پرش های زمانی بلند نیست و تمام رخدادها صرفا در چند ماه اتفاق می‌افته. پنج سال از وقایع گذرگاه سپری شده.
البته در ابتدا با بخش نسبتا حجیمی مربوط به سال صفر(مبدا گسترش ویروس) به چندین سال قبل برمی‌گردیم که دو هدف رو بطور همزمان دربر داره. اول تصویر سازی از جهان درحال تغییر و معدود بازمانده هایی که برای بقا تلاش می‌کنند-چیزی که کمتر در گذرگاه دیدیم. دوم هم آشنایی با شخصیت های محوری و بستر سازی برای درگیری های پیش رو.

مهمترین نکته‌ی این کتاب که برای من جالب اومد و کاملا برخلاف حدس و انتظارم از آب دراومد برای اغلب خوانندگان ملال آور بوده.
اسم کتاب برگرفته از دوازده مورد ویروسی هست که سرگروه تعداد بسیار زیادی هستند و ارتش به دنبال نابودی اونهاست- البته با مطالعه پایان بخش این سه‌گانه متوجه می‌شیم که دوازده به مفهوم دیگری هم مرتبط هست. قبل از مطالعه دوازده انتظار داشتم که با لشکر اکتشافی همراه بشم تا تک تک این دوازده نفر رو ردیابی و نابود کنم. اما حالا با اتمامش نویسنده رو تحسین می‌کنم. چون پیش فرضم از لذتی که خواهم برد کاملا اشتباه بود. دوازده نفر باهم و درکنارهم هستند(نترسید چیزی اسپویل نشد). حالا که فکر می‌کنم این رویکرد که با هر کدوم بصورت مجزا درگیر بشن چیزی جز افتادن روایت ها در دوری تکراری و باطل نبود. این پدیدارشدن گاه و بی‌گاه سراب برای فرد تشنه تا آخرین لحظات کاری بود که دقیق و با کیفیت انجام شد. در این بین هم گاهی چند قطره برای نوشیدن فراهم شده بود که نه با هدف رفع تشنگی بلکه برای مشتاق‌تر شدن جاسازی شده بود.

همچنان هم شخصیت پردازی ها با کیفیت و ملموس. تمرکز روی افکار و روابط و قهرمان هایی که کاملا مثبت و عاری از خطا نیستند از دیگر هنر های نویسنده است. قهرمان هایی که در عین اطمینان همچنان برای برداشتن هر قدم تردید می‌کنند و مرتب در مسیر تکامل و شناخت هستند.
تغییر نقش ها محشر و بجاست. فردی در گذر ایام سوگند روز الحاقش به ارتش رو فراموش کرده و حالا در کار قاچاق مشغول شده. شخصی که قرار بود دنیا رو دگرگون کنه حالا راهبه شده و از کودکان یتیم نگه‌داری می‌کنه. متجاوز سابقه دار حالا مزه عشق رو چشیده و...

در آخر هم پایان درست و بجا در جلد دوم مثل جلد قبل. پایان مجموعه‌ای از روایت ها در دو جلد و فضاسازی برای بخش هیجان انگیز بعدی.

این مجموعه جایگاه قابل توجهی در افکارم پیدا کرده و عمیقا بهش دلبسته شدم.

و اما خلاصه داستان - هشدار: این خلاصه حاوی نکاتی هست که قسمت هایی پراکنده از گذرگاه را لو خواهد داد.

بعد از به قتل رسیدن مورد شماره‌ی یک، باب‌کاک توسط لیسی و در ادامه مرگ ناگهانی تمام زیرمجموعه‌ی اون اعضای فراری از کلنی با برسی سیر وقایع و استقرا نتیجه گرفتند که برای خلاصی از این وضع و شکست ویروسی ها نیاز به درگیری با توده‌ی اونها نیست، بلکه با مرگ هر یک از دوازده نفر تمام فراد متعلق به اون فرد از بین خواهند رفت.
ایده جذاب و منطقی هست. اما با این وسعت چشمگیر امریکایی که حالا کاملا غریبه است، نبود سوخت و وسیله نقلیه، نبود وسایل ارتباطی و فواصل بسیار زیاد بین مکان های حدس زده شده کار رو عملا غیرممکن جلوه می‌ده.
با این برنامه و توانایی های موجود از بین بردن دوازده نفر به سالها زمان احتیاج داره.
اما اصلی ترین چالش خروج از فضایی با شدیدترین تدابیر امنیتی هست. افرادی که سالها درون محدوده‌ای محصور زندگی کردند و تنها به این روش از تبدیل شدن به موجودی خونخوار جلوگیری کردند اگر در تغییر وضع موجود جدی هستند باید خطر کنند و بیرون از دیوارها زندگی و امید رو پیدا کنند.
هیج رد و نشانی از دوارده نفر نیست و هر لحظه ادامه یافتن این مسیر با ابهام و چالش های بیشتری روبه‌رو می‌شه.
پنج سال عملیات مستمر بدون هیچ نتیجه‌ی امیدوارکننده‌ای دنبال شده و بلاخره محل اختفای یکی از دوازده نفر با اطمینان قابل قبولی پیدا شده و ارتش در حال طرح ریزی حمله است ولی...

بخش سوم و پایانی این ریویو بزودی...

بیست‌ونه خرداد صفر سه

[Bryn ((B2/B.P)) Ryeosomniac~~]

2012???? NOOOOO!!!! I can't wait that long! I loved the first one, and now I really want to know what happens next!

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't going to read this book. I wasn't! I felt like The Passage was a well-contained story and I didn't understand where else it could go. I will let the author explain what he focuses on in The Twelve, because I find it too difficult to summarize. (This is from an older post from 2010 on io9.com.)

The next two books each go back to Year Zero at the outset, to reset the story, and to deal with something you didn't see and didn't know was as important as it was. It's not a linear quest story, which I would find dull and plodding. With each book, you need to have the narrative terms reestablished with fresh elements. Also, if you didn't see [a character] die, they're not necessarily dead. There's a big cast in the first book, and plenty of unresolved stuff. I will resolve it by the end. [Early vampire character] Anthony Carter? No, not abandoning him.

In [The Twelve], you go back to what happened in Denver after the outbreak took place. The story will resume in that location a few days after breakout. So you can see another angle on what occurred and certain elements will affect our band of heroes 100 years in the future. It will be called The Twelve - and it's not who you think.

This means that the story starts with where Amy is, and follows up with an assortment of other characters. Just like in The Passage, storylines are dropped completely as others are followed. Since I was listening to the audio, it was a bit more difficult to keep track of, just because it was harder to flip back and get a refresher on names, etc.

The author provides a lot more information about what happened to various people at the very beginning, explaining how some of the communities were formed, the horrific actions of the USA government (including events like "The Field"), and other parts of the novel jump around up to 97 years from when the virus originally took hold. This kind of information is usually my favorite part of post-apocalyptic stories - the rebuilding. What kind of societies form? How do they work? Who has control? I think Justin Cronin shows a lot of creativity and variety in these situations, since it isn't just one story, but multiple. Many of the characters, locations, and situations overlap throughout the story, and I had this sense of the author as a puppeteer, drawing strings of stories around each other. Kudos to him that they never seem to tangle in disaster.

Scott Brick is the narrator for the audiobook of The Twelve, and does a fantastic job. He doesn't bother doing a lot of voices, but his inflection is perfect. He has this ability to get out of the way of the story that I really appreciate when I'm listening. It just comes to life and I'm not constantly thinking of HIM, but of the story.

And The Twelve requires a lot of thinking and paying attention. The multiple story lines, the jumping around in time and history, and the sprinkling of quotations that Cronin throws in kept my attention. He started with a Mark Strand poem, almost as if I needed something to clinch whether or not I'd read this book.

I won't have that dilemma for the final book. While this story has a satisfying climax, I was left with far more questions this time around. I'm not sure I know which side everyone is on. I'm not sure I even know what sides there are, anymore. That's about all I can say about it without spoiling!

[Mizuki · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Twelve would have been a good read if only:

(1) the author would shut up about God and religion for a second.

(2) If said author hadn't been so insisting on telling us the life-story of unimportant minor characters and then killing them off later, then fully expecting us to give a damn about those minor characters.

(3) If said author isn't so insisted on humiliating his female characters by getting them raped, beat, captured, tortured and abused.

(4) Would everyone...just stop using rape as a plot device to make female characters hellbent on revenge and be badass!? There has to be other reasons and motivation for women to become badass!!

(5) Even when women actually have power, still women cannot (i) become leaders, (ii) take control of their lives, (iii) care about things outside of their men, families and babies.

Give me a break.

Look at Amy, a young girl with supernatural power and the mystic connection with the vampires, has she joined the army and fight? Nap, instead she spent the last five years babysitting orphans as a nun.

Look at Alicia, a capable, independent fighter with awesome fighting and survival skills, does she become a leader in the army? Nap, the other soldiers feel uncomfortable around her and she has no desire to be a leader. Yes, God forbid that a woman actually has any desire to lead! Last but not least, she got raped too, for no good reason.

Look at Sara, in this second book she spent years being a captive and was subjected to rape and slavery, whilst as her boyfriend has been spared the worst of the suffering. Sara's determination for revenge is nice, but then the next thing we know, she found her supposedly dead daughter and her life is only revolved around the little girl.

Look at Lila, another woman with mystic connection with the vampires and she can control an army of vampires to do her bidding at will. But not only she is crazy, she also has no control over her own life, and when a man beat her up, she can only beg and cry.

Comparing with what the women had suffered in the book, I think all the male characters are living quite a comfortable life.

Oh, come on!

(6) Last but not least, we have a couple of families taking their children outside of the protective walls against vampires so said children can enjoy a picnic in the great outdoor for the first time before vampires rushed into the field and ended their miserable lives.

Too Stupid To Live.

(7) Aside from the rape and how women in the story are treated, I'm pissed off by the BS about Amy and Peter falling in love!!!!! ARGHHH!!! Alicia/Peter is doing just fine in the first book, but Cronin just has to ruin it because, seriously how can a woman maintain a fulfilling romantic relationship when she has a mission, a career and proposes in life outside of her man and babies!?

I don't hate this book, but I don't like how women are treated in it, although the plots are exciting enough and the writing is pretty neat, but honestly...the novel is a bit unnecessarily long and if I weren't reading it in Chinese, I doubt I can finish the whole book.

Review for book 1 here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...