You could easily read it as a standalone.Quote:
Originally Posted by mickyg
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You could easily read it as a standalone.Quote:
Originally Posted by mickyg
I really don't think you could. The fate of a number of characters are left hanging in the balance at the end of the novel. Maybe if you finished the book early and didn't read the last few chapters and left them until the sequel comes out in 2012.Quote:
Originally Posted by DurzoBlint
Quote:
Originally Posted by KatG
Spoiler:
Originally Posted by Pvt
Originally Posted by DurzoBlint
Originally Posted by DurzoBlint
I mean if Dan Brown is worth millions, or the memoirs of the latest hot politician/celebrity...
As for the book itself, I am definitely interested in more but it's not that big asap, whenever I get my hand of a copy is fine - this one I intended to check on publication but i got an unasked arc and I opened it and got hooked
Originally Posted by Pvt
2) Film deal and one where the movie stood a good chance of being made. The deal hadn't been made when the book rights were sold, but they knew the agent was shopping it and that there was interest. Even if the movie comes out and doesn't do that well, it will shoot up sales onto the bestseller list.
3) Book auction. When you are competing with several publishers for the rights of what is getting a lot of buzz, that drives up the risk-taking on the advance.
4) They liked it and thought readers would like it too.
It's a gamble, and they've lost big on such gambles before. But it seems to have done okay on the lists, people liked it and reviewed it well and did word of mouth, and if they get the film, they'll make it back.
5 out of 5 from me, definitely.
As for some of the problems that other readers have mentioned:
Spoiler:
I really enjoyed the ending. I felt it left me wanting more, and I found the epilogue section very moving, particularly the final few words. However, I may be lucky in that the sequel is coming out soon, so I do not have to wait very long for the next installment. I also did not realise that this was not a stand alone book when I first started to read it, and had I had read it in 2010 to then find out that I had to wait a few years to find out what happens next I may have been a little more annoyed.
I found the split a third of the way through a little unusual, but again nothing I could not live with. I think I enjoyed the characters in the later two thirds of the book more anyway, and once I got over the initial "jar" of the change of scenery I think this was ok.
I really got into the first part (the book is split into two very distinct halves, almost two separate books) and expected a disintegration of society much like Stephen King's 'Stand'. When I didn't get it, I did feel a bit cheated. The book suddenly fast forwarding so many years caught me out, and having to put aside the characters from the first half and start again with a new bunch was jarring. I also struggled to get my head around who was who in the second half, which led to my not being very attached to them.
I persisted and did enjoy it, in fact it is a book I think would benefit from another read-through (I think it would be better second time around), if only the second half.
I have the sequel pre-ordered, it will drop onto my Kindle in a couple of weeks when it is released over here.
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The early years of the 22nd Century. North America is crawling with 'virals', creatures of superior strength and stamina who feed on human blood and flesh. Most are unintelligent, but they are controlled by 'the Twelve', the original death-row inmates who were experimented upon to create the virals. Standing against them is Amy, the Girl From Nowhere, and her allies, a military force based in Texas.
The death of one of the Twelve has also resulted in the destruction of the virals he created. This reveals the path to victory and survival: kill the Twelve and end the viral threat forever. But this is easier said than done. After five years of failed assassinations the military are ready to abandon the mission, and only one last attempt can be made.
With millions of copies sold, translations in forty languages published and the film rights bought for a very high amount, The Passage was one of the biggest success stories of 2010. The Twelve is the direct sequel and the middle volume of a proposed trilogy (the final volume, City of Mirrors, is due in 2014). However, Cronin has gone to some lengths to try to avoid 'middle volume syndrome' by giving the book a number of self-contained narratives and character arcs whilst also continuing the story of Peter, Alicia, Amy and the other survivors of the First Colony and their war against the Twelve.
The Twelve contains much of the same that made The Passage a good book: good characterisation, evocative descriptions and a rich atmosphere. It improves on it in several areas as well. It's a notably shorter (by some 200 pages), more concise and more focused book with every chapter building up to the conclusion. The Twelve does repeat The Passage's structure of having an opening section (in this case the first third of the novel) depicting the fall of civilisation before moving to the post-apocalyptic 'present day'. There are numerous self-contained stories in this section which are compelling reads, but initially appear a little disconnected from the post-apocalyptic storyline. However, Cronin eventually loops most of these storylines back to the main story and explains their relevance.
The biggest problem The Twelve faces, which is much more present than The Passage, is that of adhering to the traditional post-apocalyptic, 'big showdown' type of storyline whilst trying to surprise a reader familiar with the rules and tropes of such storylines. Now the rules of this particular type of vampire/zombie story have been set, Cronin shows a surprising inability to surprise or startle the reader any more. Things proceed pretty much as you might expect them to: some reversals, a few capture-and-escape sequences and then a big explosive finale (literally, with some huge explosions and shoot-outs) and something of a happy ending, until the inevitable final chapter which ends on a cliffhanger note leading into the final volume.
This predictability extends to the villains, with the rulers of the human/viral colony being rather rape-happy towards their prisoners. Whilst the issue isn't simply tossed in for the sake of it (as it would have been in, say, a Stephen King book) and is treated seriously, it's still a disappointing cliche to indulge in, especially as otherwise the treatment of the female characters is highly positive (three of the primary POVs - Alicia, Amy and Sara - are all female and are the most well-developed characters in the book).
The Twelve (****) is a very solid read, with Cronin's skills with character and prose being undiminished and even a tad improved from the first volume. However, the storyline is a lot more straightfoward, and the book shows a general decline towards predictability and cliche - though well-written - which is disappointing. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.
Anyhow, time to read on. More thoughts once I finish it.