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So I've never left a comment before on a book, but feel with this one I should. I have read many reviews by some of the major newspapers of, "The Twelve," by Justin Cronin, i.e. The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Chicago-Sun. Although they appreciated it, they did not have the fire that they should have, and their criticisms were the things that I think everyone else will love about it, i.e. juggling many different plots and characters, not a lateral use of the timeline but more circular. I think that it takes a craftsman, or wordsmith to do this well, and Cronin has done this. I think that perhaps our society has been fed too much literary junk-food over the last decade (The Hunger Games, and Twilight for the appetizers), that we have no palatte anymore for fine literary cuisine; it takes practice to appreciate fine wines, an appreciation of a painting, or the deft hand of a sculptor. I would say to not listen to the 'big name' reviewers, but to ordinary people speaking about what a good book this is. When I read, "The Passage," I was enthralled, and literally, when anybody asks for a recommendation on a new book, either I say David McCullough, or Justin Cronin now (two complete opposite ends of the spectrum, but very rich in their story telling in their own genre). "The Passage" literally had me scared to go out at night after I would put it down; how can mere words have that kind of an effect on people? With the monumental cliff-hanger of the first book that I read over two years ago, I was literally waiting for midnight to strike on the release date for "The Twelve" so I could download it onto my e-reader. My friends and I couldn't agree more that the beginning reintroduction of the first book with the use of a biblical framework was pure genius. We didn't have to spend valuable pages recapping what could be done by just reading the previous book over if we needed to (however, Cronin does an amazing job of showing us what we need to remember for this sequel). There were some sentences that were works of art coming off my tongue when I actually would read them outloud because they were just so good, especially at the last 100 pages. His use of figurative language doesn't just make the description of the room apparent and noted, but makes it the last character that we should know about also. His description of one of the main 'bad guys' is one of the best, because for a moment I actually felt sorry for him some. I remember hearing one of the singers with the New York Met Opera being interviewed, and he was asked how was it that he was known as the best player of villains on the operatic stage? What was his secret that made his so good at it and believable? His response is what Cronin managed to do with this character (don't want to spoil the plot, so I'm not identifying him, but it will be apparent whom this horrible human being is as you read), the singer's response to this question was this: "To really, really make this character evil, what you have to understand is that ironically, you cannot play him evilly. Otherwise he will come off as the sinister, moustache-twirlling bad guy, tieing Faye Ray to the railroad tracks as he skips away. What you have to do is make him seem good, that was he is doing is right and fair. That's when you see how twisted he really is and how evil really works." I could give no other explanation of Cronin's ability to write. I went to his lecture he gave about The Passage, and he spoke so eloquently on how he writes dialogue, and it shows of how polished he is at it. He never crosses near the line of it feeling like watching a tennis match between the characters delivering their lines. I finished The Twelve this afternoon, five days after buying it. I'm in grad school, so if he has been able to get me to find time to finish this book in that amount of time, with all the other work I'm doing, then indeed, this is an author worth recommending!I didn't think it was possible for the second book in this series to outdo the first, but it did. This is an incredible addition to a story that will quickly capture your imagination and keep you hooked through each longish piece (each of these books is over 500 pages long). I cannot wait to see how this story is resolved.The basic story is post-apocalyptic in nature - a vampire virus discovered in Bolivia makes it into the hands of the U.S. military, and they try to develop it for the purposes of warfare. They test it on 12 violent convicts (thus, the title of this installment). Predictably, something goes awry and The Twelve are unleashed upon the world; they decimate the population. The first book was about the passage between the old world and the new (thus, the title of that installment) and ends with the realization that the 12 principal "virals" (their word for the vampires - I like the concept. It makes you consider vampires from a different perspective and prevents picturing them as traditional vampires - these creatures are anything but traditional) must be killed in order to regain the freedom of the former world. This second book is about the hunt for The Twelve.Amy, The Girl From Nowhere, plays a crucial role in this installment (as in the last). She is set apart in time, and carries the same virus as the virals. But it affects her differently. In this installment, Amy finally moves beyond her long girlhood into womanhood and then something else. Her blood allows her to commune with the virals on some level and she sets off with an imprisoned military man - her familiar - who she breaks out of jail. Her journey toward her shared destiny with her viral "brothers" is marked by a literal transformation from child to woman and beyond.This portion of the story explores what happens when the virals have killed off most of their food source - they may be powerful, but they can die. Knowing this, The Zero (original carrier of the virus) calls his brothers - The Twelve - to reunite and make a plan for world domination instead of uncontrolled feeding caused by the creation of so many other virals.In service of this plan, a viral (Guilder - you get to hear the story of his transformation) creates a prison complex in what used to be Houston, TX. Humans are enslaved for the purpose of building and maintaining the prison complex and are kept mostly starving and under demoralizing circumstances to keep them cowed. Some are sent "to the basement" never to return. BUT - there is an insurgency afoot, and some familiar faces and new characters are involved. This plot - and the battle that ensues - is described in incredible detail and with impeccable pacing - I'm not sure I've ever read a better action scene.Cronin is a master at the cliffhanger and, just when you think the story is over, the purpose of the third book reveals itself. I can't wait to read it!The writing in this book is taut and spare, but does not skimp on the details. It's easy to see this story adapted to film. And I love that the women characters in this book are just as strong - and respected - as the men.This series has been compared to "The Stand" - and it is similar in many ways. But - and I might have to turn in my Stephen King fan card for saying this, since The Stand is my favorite SK book - this is a more nuanced version, a more mature version. This is not about good vs. evil, but about a complex problem of a new species being introduced into the world. Even if all of them are killed, there are still those who are hybrids caused by the crisis. How will those people fit into the larger society? Interesting stuff.Disclaimer: If you want a well-written, critical review, stop now. I’m about to gush words all over the page.I’m not sure where to start with this book – it’s epic. I’ll get that out of the way before I start nit-picking.My issues, and they are minor, are similar to Book One (The Passage).It jumps around a lot. I should have known better than to expect a simple continuation of where the story left off. Story arcs and characters were left hanging as they were between the two sections that make up The Passage. If you want your fiction served up in a straight line, this series is not for you.There are a lot of characters. It was easier to keep track having read Book One, but even so, there were times when I struggled.It dips a little in the middle as characters are being moved into place for the final push.Would the chapters dealing with escalating viral problem be better in Book One? After all, The Passage skips the immediate issues of the virals/ dracs/ Twelve* and leaps almost 100 years into the future. I’m split on this. I think I would have preferred that overall, but it is also nice seeing the origins of First Colony already knowing what happens to them. Alicia’s ancestory, in particular, is nicely tagged on. (Almost like the literary equivalent of a post-credit scenes you get in certain types of overly-muscled superhero movies.)Michael seemed like a new character rather than a development of Book One Michael. I know people change, but this guy was so different to ‘Circuit’ that it threw me.That’s it.Not many nits to pick, are there?Now… the good stuff.The section that deals with the immediate problems of the virus hitting is superb. #istandwithlaststandindenverThe section that deals with the concentration camp is harrowing. Not so much for the red-eyes but the normal people who willingly go along with their evil.The ratcheting up of the tension towards the end is compelling.The prose is sublime: minimal descriptions that paint so much better a picture than books stuffed full of adverbs and adverbs; alternating sentence structures that have their own internal rhythm; and a use of language that is, simply, beautiful.There is an attention to detail that doesn’t swamp the plot. (i.e. it doesn't read like a Wikipedia page)Some of the most effective horror is hinted at: a growing, luminescent green light; a clicking noise; tree-tops rustling ('They come from above.'); and, worst of all, the inevitable terror heralded by waning daylight.Characters that are so flawed and so real because of it. There’s not even a mention of a kick-arse heroine who can speak multiple languages, holds multiple black belts in multiple mystic martial arts (Including the Approach of Aggressive Alliteration) but suffers from a deep dark secret that only one person knows. As for hard-bitten detectives with marital/ drinking/ authority* issues but are good at their job? Forget it.And how the author manages to bring all the disparate characters and arcs to the climax as he does, I have no idea.In short this book is phenomenal, a classic example of ‘just one more chapter before I switch the lights out.’ It has played hell with my insomnia. Not only because I wanted to know what happened next, but because the shadows in my bedroom grew claws and teeth.But despite that pace and prose, the masterful weaving of story lines and complicated/ real characters, despite all that brilliance, there was one line that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go for days: a moment of tenderness in a world beyond hope.“I’ve got you,” he said, hugging Tim fiercely; and again, over and over, so that the boy would be hearing these words. “I’ve got you, I’ve got you, I’ve got you, I’ve got you."(Last Stand in Denver)Read The Twelve, you’ll see what I mean.It is awesome.*delete as appropriateI tried so hard with this book. I wanted to love it as much as I loved the first book. But it was so disjointed that it took me three attempts to get into it at all. So many different plot strands that never really made any logical sense. I was hoping for the loose ends in The Passage to be tied up - instead they became more unravelled. The unanswered questions remained unanswered for me and there are now more of them.I'm sure I missed bits - maybe I need to read it again, but I can't face it. There were events that didn't make any sense and I'm not sure if they were real or imaginary. Amy grew up but never really came into her own the way I expected (and wanted) her to. The other characters fared slightly better, but their coming together seemed contrived and ultimately pointless. I loved The Passage and I wish I'd stopped there.I read the first book - The Passage, and couldn’t put it down. The story was so unusual. Some of it terrifying. It’s a big book and the sequel (this is the second of three books) didn’t disappoint. There are so many people involved and I always write in pencil how everyone is connected in the front inside of the book if there are many characters.I bought one of the books on kindle and I personally didn’t like this for this particular series of books as I had to keep turning back the pages in order to remember who was who. Some books are easy on kindle.Really really recommend this. A beautiful story, but you need to read the first book.I read the first book, The Passage when it first came out several years ago. The time lapse may have affected my enjoyment of The Twelve. I thought this was a good book but not as amazing as The Passage and I also felt I didn’t fully remember what happened to society so some of the events had less impact than they might have. This is very different from the first book and focusses on a group of people who want to use vampire blood to become immortal. I felt this has no real link to the first book apart from recurring characters such as Amy, Wolgast and Lila. I wanted to know more about what happened to the original twelve virals but didn’t really get this. There is a lot of action and blood and gore in the book. I also didn’t like that we get the plague that ended the world and then moves forward several decades. I would have liked to see more of how the world came undone. I have the third book but have mixed feelings about reading it. I had such high hopes for this after I loved The Passage so much but these weren’t met. This could and should have been so much more.I read this book in four days on holiday last week and after reading some of the reviews on here i have to say that i wasn't looking particularly forward to it as i was the first book but after about 10% of the book i was hooked and simply fell into it, my poor wife hardly got a word out of me for the following few days. I thought the familiar feel of the characters and the story picking up where it left off was seamless. JC is a fantastic writer and has a knack of being able to grab the reader by the scruff and throw him into to adventure. Im now only 2 days from the last book being released and i cannot wait.Also im not going to take much stock of reviews on here because some people are simply impossible to please.