Shannon Turlington

This is a series of reviews of my favorite books published between 2010 and 2019.

The Twelve (Book 2 of The Passage Trilogy) by Justin Cronin (2012)

This was a terrific read, if you like scary-as-hell, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, big-ass vampire books. And I do. I enjoyed going back to the beginning of the story introduced in The Passage and revisiting the collapse from some different points of view, before jumping forward a hundred years in time to rejoin some of the characters from the previous book. But before that came a harrowing scene in a section called “The Field.” Yes, this is the right book to read at Halloween.

Justin Cronin was a writer of small, award-winning literary novels before he started on this blockbuster, and he really has a way with character, which is what makes these books so engrossing. I think it’s terrific when gifted writers turn their talents to big, sprawling, fantastic (in the sense of not being reality-based) stories. Certainly, Cronin owes a lot to Stephen King, so King lovers will probably also dig this series.