The Twelve (Book Two of The Passage Trilogy): A Novel [Hardcover]

Justin Cronin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 16, 2012 | Series: Passage Trilogy

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The end of the world was only the beginning.
 
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.
 
A heart-stopping thriller rendered with masterful literary skill, The Twelve is a grand and gripping tale of sacrifice and survival.

Praise for The Twelve
 
“[A] literary superthriller.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“An undeniable and compelling epic . . . a complex narrative of flight and forgiveness, of great suffering and staggering loss, of terrible betrayals and incredible hope.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 
“The Twelve is even better than The Passage.”—The Plain Dealer
 
“A compulsive read.”—San Francisco Chronicle
 
“Gripping . . . Cronin [introduces] eerie new elements to his masterful mythology. . . . Enthralling, emotional and entertaining.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune
 
“Fine storytelling.”—Associated Press
 
“Cronin is one of those rare authors who works on two different levels, blending elegantly crafted literary fiction with cliff-hanging thrills.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An Exclusive Essay by Author Justin Cronin

Readers often ask where I get my ideas. The better question would be: Where don’t I?

Many people know that The Passage was born from a challenge laid down by my eight-year-old daughter to write the story of “a girl who saves the world.” This wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear—it seemed a trifle ambitious—but a dare is a dare. For the next three months she joined me on my daily jog, following along on her bicycle, while the two of us hashed out the plot. As the weeks passed, I realized we were onto something much better than the book I was supposed to be writing. I put that book aside, wrote the first chapter of The Passage, and never looked back.

So don’t ever think you shouldn’t listen to your kids.

But my daughter’s challenge wasn’t the only inspiration. When I write a novel, my goal is to put absolutely everything I have into its pages, right down to the interesting thing that happened yesterday. I know I’m done when my mind feels as empty as a leaky bucket. So many influences, real and imagined, went into The Passage that I couldn’t list them if I tried. But one memory that stands out is the night my family and I tried to flee Houston in advance of hurricane Rita. Apparently, about a million other people had the same idea. After five hours on the road, we’d made it all of sixty miles. The highways were clogged with cars that had long since run out of gas; every minimart and gas station had been picked clean. I jumped the median and made it home in a little under an hour, my gas gauge floating just above ‘E’.

Rita missed Houston, slamming into a less-inhabited section of Texas and Louisiana coastline. But the experience of being in a large urban evacuation, with its feeling of barely-bottled panic, was one I’ll never forget, and is everywhere in the pages of The Passage.

So where did The Twelve come from?

Again, many places. But if I had to pick one source, it would be the strong women in my life. No bones about it: Gentlemen, if you doubt for a second that women are tougher than we are, go watch one have a baby. So here you have Alicia, the woman warrior with her blades and crossbow; here you have Amy, the spiritual leader and visionary; here you have one of my favorite new characters, Lore DeVeer, whose mechanical savvy is matched only by her unbridled sensuality; here you have a fourth woman (sorry, can’t tell you who) whose maternal strength is as powerful as any great spectacle of nature. As I wrote The Twelve, I came to understand that these powerful characters were the backbone of the tale. Even more, they are a tribute to all the amazing women I am privileged to know, befriend, and in one very lucky instance, marry.

Hope you enjoy The Twelve. All eyes.

Review

“[A] literary superthriller.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“An undeniable and compelling epic . . . a complex narrative of flight and forgiveness, of great suffering and staggering loss, of terrible betrayals and incredible hope.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 
“The Twelve is even better than The Passage.”—The Plain Dealer
 
“A compulsive read.”—San Francisco Chronicle
 
“Gripping . . . Cronin [introduces] eerie new elements to his masterful mythology. . . . Enthralling, emotional and entertaining.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune
 
“Fine storytelling.”—Associated Press
 
“Cronin is one of those rare authors who works on two different levels, blending elegantly crafted literary fiction with cliff-hanging thrills.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition edition (October 16, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345504984
• ISBN-13: 978-0345504982
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.6 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,146 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in New England, Justin Cronin is the author of Mary and O'Neil, which won the Pen/Hemingway Award and the Stephen Crane Prize, and The Summer Guest. Having earned his MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop, Cronin is now a professor of English at Rice University and lives with his family in Houston, Texas.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#39 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#39 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction

#43 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#51 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#64 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#39 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#39 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction

#43 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#51 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#64 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

319 of 365 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "All eyes." August 24, 2012

By switterbug TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

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, daughter)--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 vampiric 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 trilogy isn't linear, but it is, ultimately, progressive. THE TWELVE 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 ancestors.

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.

87 of 100 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Sequel And Link To The Awaited Conclusion! September 4, 2012

By TMStyles VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Justin Cronin's "The Twelve" is the middle offering of his planned trilogy examining a post-apocalyptic view of America, its devastated future and how the spirit of mankind perseveres through horrifying unknown challenges. I strongly urge those who have not read "The Passage" to read it first, yet, if you did read it, it is not necessary to reread it to follow the events in "The Twelve".

"The Passage" was a very long novel depicting both pre-apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic stories covering a period of about 100 years. Military scientists experimented with viruses on 12 condemned criminals in an effort to create uber soldiers as weapons of war. Inevitably, a screwup occured and the 12 subjects become soulless vampirelike super creatures called "virals" who quickly multiplied and threatened the existence of the world. "The Passage" then fast forwarded almost 100 years and became a post-apocalyptic epic fantasy that focused on one "Colony" of survivors who struggled to survive each day while remembering as much of the "old world" as possible.

"The Twelve" continues this epic tale following the cliffhangar at the end of "The Passage". Cronin again mixes and matches as he skips back and forth through time filling in gaps and fleshing out the backstory first presented in "The Passage". New characters are introduced, good and bad, and old character arcs are resolved and/or expanded in a variety of ways as mankind's survivors split into somewhat predictable groups--those who work hand in hand for their personal survival with the Virals in new communities like "The Homeland", those who try to reestablish governmental order and societal restructuring in Kerrville etc., and the stalwart heroes, Alicia, Amy, Peter, Sara, Michael, and others who feel the horror must be confronted and eradicated to bring peace back to mankind. Even the events in Year Zero and its aftermath are reexamined from new sets of eyes as a group of newly minted characters are forced to seek relief from the apparent end of times.

But primarily, "The Twelve" is continuation of Cronin's examination of the human character and its will to survive and to make sense of the world. The cavalcade of human characters from the evil Guilder to the naively repressed Lila to the despicable collaborators to the heroic survivors, either those seeking destruction of The Twelve or those planning an insurrection, force the reader into personal introspection of philosophy, morality, survival, and eternal truths. Cronin's take on governing structures and the motivations of leaders in this devastated future is intriguing, thought provoking, and reflective of time honored dichotomous views of the nature of power and the function of government.

"The Twelve" may be the best middle segment of any trilogy I have ever read; indeed, it fills in backstory, it reveals new characters and new survival strategies, it does a superb job of completing some character arcs while embellishing new arcs, and it jolts the reader with several totally unexpected character developments. And the last 100 pages, presented at breakneck and white knuckled speed lead to a confrontation and conclusion that is incredibly satisfying while whetting the reader's appetite for the ultimate conclusion of the trilogy.

Other reviewers have correctly drawn parallels to King's "The Stand", as well as McCammon's "Swan Song", and perhaps more appropriately, to "The Strain" trilogy. Most readers have a fascination with post-apocalyptic novels and the underlying struggle between good and evil that inevitably appears in those who survive and in those who oppress. Yet there is much more originality than derivation in "The Passage" and "The Twelve" allowing them to stand nicely on their own merits as Cronin's view of a devastated future where all facets of the American character are allowed to drift toward their inevitable belief system (very much like those in "The Stand") and where these differing views create conflict within emerging governments and within emerging societal cocoons. "The Twelve" is that rarity of being a sequel that outperforms its introductory novel and passionately links it to the eagerly awaited conclusion. Highly recommended to those who can see beyond the vampires in this epic trilogy (although the vampire element is supernaturally gripping).

82 of 95 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed bag October 19, 2012

By Beatrix Potter

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I highly recommend that you re-read the first book, The Passage, immediately before you read The Twelve. I read The Passage last year and with this book I found myself frequently lost and confused, sometimes resorting to google to try and piece things together. The experience reminded me of reading the Game of Thrones series--there were so many story lines and trying to follow even the old ones was difficult enough. In this book, there are a couple of new storylines that just POOF, disappeared. I will assume that they pick up in the last installment but it was especially distracting to get caught up in something that went nowhere and I likely won't remember when the next one comes out. There were also some terms that didn't seem to be explained or defined that had me reading, re-reading, re-reading. I like the plot and the story arc and I think (emphasis-THINK) I understood how it ended but I wouldn't swear to it. The story I'd give a 5. The flow/writing drags it down to a 3.