The Twelve

A Novel

By: Justin Cronin

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 26 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller

The end of the world was only the beginning.

In his internationally best-selling 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....

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.

Look for the entire Passage trilogy:

The Passage
The Twelve
The City of Mirrors

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)

©2012 Justin Cronin (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Named one of the Ten Best Novels of the Year by Time and Library Journal, and one of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post, Esquire, U.S. News & World Report, NPR/On Point, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Magnificent...Cronin has taken his literary gifts, and he has weaponized them.... The Passage can stand proudly next to Stephen King’s apocalyptic masterpiece The Stand, but a closer match would be Cormac McCarthy’s The Road." (Time)

great writing but a shaky story

Brick narrates splendidly and Cronin's command of language remains engaging. The story however feels rushed, picking up in media res on too many threads and then accelerating them together. much time is spent on the central villain, with too little attention given the eponymous twelve. the climactic scene feels sadly contrived, given two novels worth of build-up. Ultimately I'm left looking forward to the final novel but at the same time concerned Cronin spent his best ideas on the first book. if the third is more of the same without a new twist or more serious stakes, it seems like he might run out of steam before the finish.

surviving our brave new world

each one of us wonders if ,having to protect our children , we could pull the trigger....this book raises the question.... could you be the one to step up and save the world...can you do it...would you sacrifice your live for others....could you pull the trigger?

The second was as good as the first!

I love this book; so much so after I get through the third one I am going to listen to it again. It’s such a good story and even though it is about vampires-ish and such, the way the story unfold keeps you captivated. Not to mention the narrator is speaks in a way that you really become so engaged in what is going on. Highly recommend!!!

Can't wait for Book 3

Whereas the The Passage seemed sprawling and meandering (in a very good way), The Twelve is, equally epic, is much tighter in terms of the novel's overall goal and how it gets the reader there. Like the first book, this book is filled with wonderful characters: the old ones from the first book return, along with characters only lightly mentioned in the first book and some brand new ones as well. And, it's the characters -- their development, their interaction, their growth, that makes them so compelling. Combine this strong sense of character development with a gripping plot structure, and you have what makes for an excellent audiobook. And, with Scott Brick as narrator, well, the guy could read the White Pages and make it a gripping listen. Scott Brick knows how to narrate.

So, there you have it: gripping story, fantastic sense of character development, and a narrator who knows how to tell a story (not as easy as it sounds). The total package is, well, one helluva story. Enjoy!

Loved it!

Where does The Twelve: A Novel rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top five.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is riveting.

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

As always Scott Brick excels.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Too many to list!

Any additional comments?

Get it you won't regret it. Can't wait for the last in the trilogy.

You won't be disappointed if you listen.

This is by far my favorite series in a while. I love how he gets you into the heads of the characters.

Good read

Sometimes a little hard to follow as you travel to different times with different groups of survivors

series review

I thoroughly enjoyed this series. A cross between vampire and zombie apocalypse. This series is now among my favorites. I got used to the narrator prety quick and started to like his narration for this story. Book one was tough for the first seven hours or so. Too much description and not enough story. As time goes on and the plot thickens, the author keeps it going. Many characters that all come together at some point and much of what I thought was filler comes into play. There was about three hours of back story in book three I skipped over just because I didn't care to know about Zero's past. The ending, I would have liked a bit more wrapping up after so many hours listening to a great story. After all, in the first book, the author spared no time describing everything. Then in book three, it's all over in hardly any time. And what of Michael Fisher?? There was a recount of almost everyone else.

Loved the 12!

I was hesitant about Justin’s book the passage but after five chapters I was all in!!!! Could not wait to start the 12, the author does an amazing job of making everything so visual with words. The reader Scott Brick I could listen to everyday of my life and never grow tired. I actually met them both through the Ferryman book Justin C. Wrote and Scott B. Read, it was my first fantasy novel and now I may be hooked for life! Bravo gentleman what a wonderful team you make! Starting the third book of trilogy tomorrow! 🎉

Excellent second installment

I just finished The Twelve. While I plan to listen to it again to catch what I missed, here are my initial impressions (and no spoilers here that aren’t mentioned in literary reviews). First, the narration by Scott Brick is excellent as always. The beginning part of the story switches back and forth between 97 A.V (five years after the conclusion of The Passage) and the Year 0. In the Year 0 portion, Cronin expands on the events surrounding the viral plague through the eyes of those living through it. A few of the characters make a brief appearance or are mentioned in the first book. Of note are Kittridge (known only as Last Stand in Denver in the first book) and Lila (the ex-wife of agent Wolgast). It is interesting to see the apocalypse through the new eyes of people just trying to stay alive as the world is dying around them, and also how these characters impact future events.

The story of our main band from The Passage continues five years after the death of Babcock with the survivors trying to cope and adjust to life in Kerrville. Each is struggling in one way or another. Peter has joined the Expeditionary, but feels he isn’t fulfilling his mission. Alicia is as tough as ever, but the strain of being half human, half viral is a constant weight. Amy is growing as a woman and leader, but is haunted by the twelve and her memories of Walgast. Greer is serving time in the stockade for deserting his post to follow Amy and Peter, and he has become a man of deep faith.

The primary enemy in this novel is another human settlement located in Iowa. Some of the people we meet here are old characters and some are new. I do agree with some of the early reviews that draw a comparison between this settlement and the Vegas colony in The Stand. The leader of the community even bears some similarities to Randall Flagg. It is the confrontation and the threat of this new foe that is the source of the conflict.

I found this a great read, and an excellent follow up to The Passage. We learn the answers to many of the questions left hanging at the end of the first book, including the fate of the garrison at Roswell and what became of the citizens of First Colony. This book takes a much deeper turn into the mystical than the first book. Some of the passages that delved into the world of dreams and other dimensions were confusing at times. I also was never fully engaged by the characters in the colony in Iowa, which reminded me of a Nazi concentration camp, or its leader. Guilder, the leader, is an evil character, but I never found him as compelling as, say, Randall Flagg, to which he seems an homage.

I rate this highly as a second installment, but was not as blown away with The Twelve as I was with The Passage. It was entertaining and was good to revisit characters fans of The Passage have come to care about. It was also good to see the story move forward to what any fan knows will be the ultimate conflict of good vs evil against Subject Zero. Some people did not find the cliffhanger ending of the first book. I loved it, and found it to be great storytelling. There is no abrupt ending as before, but that’s not to say there aren’t unanswered questions. The ending does set up the finale and opens a couple of burning questions that will ensure fans run to buy the next installment. I will.