Starred review from March 28, 2016
This conclusion to bestseller Cronin’s apocalyptic thriller trilogy ends with all of the heartbreak, joy, and unexpected twists of fate that events in The Passage and The Twelve foreordained. It’s nearly a century after the release of the Easter Virus that decimated humanity and several years since the last of the infected people known as virals were seen. The citizens of Kerrville, Tex., one of the last human enclaves, are just beginning to feel confident enough to settle outside the borders of their protected community. But when pets, and then people, begin disappearing mysteriously, it becomes horrifyingly evident that virals are on the rampage again—and that this time there may be no stopping them. As in the two previous novels, Cronin skillfully manages a large cast of characters, all of whom he has endowed with fully developed personalities that engage the reader emotionally. Although its plot is understandably heavily dependent on events in the first two books, this novel is a superb capstone to a modern horror thriller epic. 15-city author tour. Agent: Ellen Levine, Trident Media Group.
April 1, 2016
What are you going to do after vanquishing the virals? Why, properly inoculated, refound civilization, of course. Marilynne Robinson isn't the only writer to situate a woman named Lila in the green groves of Iowa. Nope: Cronin (The Twelve, 2012, etc.) does so too, his Lila a warden to damaged young Kate, whose biblically named mom, Sara, has been shunted off into captivity by the Redeyes, unpleasant people made that way by genetic tinkering via the virals--they being, readers of Cronin's predecessor volumes will recall, supersoldiers gone awry thanks to inevitable screw-ups on the parts of the mad scientists at Monsanto, or wherever mad scientists find work in these fraught times. Leave it to Amy, Alicia of Blades, Peter the martyred rock on which the future is founded ("Blood was dripping from his hair, flowing down the creases of his face"), and all the other good guys to hack and slash their ways across the landscape to the promised land of Ottumwa, or wherever it is that good guys make their ways to in the very bad near future. Cronin writes with intelligence and verve, and he serves up a good imitation of Sergio Leone: "Of Amy, the Girl from Nowhere," he writes in a denouement, "there is no mention. Perhaps we shall never learn who she was, if she existed at all." That there's anyone to worry about literary archaeology 1,000 years after events means that humankind survived, so yea, but only after much gore and heroic talk befitting an apocalyptic yarn. Some of the story seems castoff Walter Miller, whose Canticle for Leibowitz imagines religious belief of the future as a reflection of oddball events in the distant past--our own time, that is. And overall, there's a kind of slow-hissing-of-air-out-of-a-balloon feel to the whole enterprise, as if this trilogy might have better been served up as a twin set. Of interest to fans who have followed the story through the first two books, but a bumpy ride without that background.
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Starred review from March 1, 2016
Readers who have been patiently awaiting the conclusion to Cronin's sweeping postapocalyptic trilogy (The Passage; The Twelve) are richly rewarded with this epic, heart-wrenching novel. The story picks up several years after the destruction of the Homeland and the evacuation of many of its citizens to Texas. With 11 of the 12 virals destroyed, a period of relative peace has settled on the landscape. Yet the remaining viral, Zero, still haunts the ruins of New York City, preparing for his final standoff with humankind. Of the believable and endearing characters the author created through three books, Amy, the Girl from Nowhere, as well as Peter, Michael, and Alicia, are all back for the finale. The story really shines when Cronin takes readers back to the beginning, before the virus reshaped the world, and explores the bonds among a trio of Harvard University undergrads that would ultimately lead to a global pandemic. VERDICT Not only does this title bring the series to a thrilling and satisfying conclusion, but it also exhibits Cronin's moving exploration of love as both a destructive force and an elemental need, elevating this work among its dystopian peers. Bound to be in heavy demand by trilogy fans as well as those who appreciate Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Dean Koontz. [15-city tour.]--Amy Hoseth, Colorado State Univ. Lib., Fort Collins
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 2016
Since The Twelve (2011) ended with a heck of a cliff-hanger, fans will rejoice as Cronin returns with the final installment in his best-selling postapocalyptic trilogy. The action picks up 98 years after the destruction of society, soon after the showdown in Iowa, where the original virals and their spawned armies were destroyed. Humanity has settled into a calm normalcy that no one alive has ever experienced, and the new generation is entering adulthood without the constant fear of attack. But while the walls are coming down and people are beginning to populate new settlements, Patient Zero is secretly readying for an attack to destroy humanity once and for all. The bleak atmosphere, nerve-racking tension, twisting plot, and intense battle scenes keep the pages turning, as in the first two books, but this final novel also adds a saga-like quality to the entire trilogy. Readers of the series will be satisfied with the conclusion, appreciating not only the resolution of the conflict but also the explanation of how humanity rose from the ashes to prosper again (which readers had previously seen in fleeting glimpses).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)