The Twelve (Book Two of The Passage Trilogy): A Novel
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.
