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desibaker83's review against another edition
I love, love, loved The Passage. This one, though, was...meh. I really enjoyed certain parts but I got a little annoyed by the heavy hand with religion and the military. Seriously-the military totally killed 99% of the world developing a ridiculous weapon and everyone seems a-ok with a new hardcore military system and secrecy is standard where there's virtually no freedom? Um, ok.
And the rape scenes. Oh my, I kinda get why he added them but it was a bit much for me.
I actually like that all of my favorite characters haven't died yet, but it feels like things wrap up too nicely at points.
Oh, and the classic horror story bit of misogyny someone else noted-if you're a woman and you have sex in this book, bad things will happen to you. There are few women leads anyway by this book. Amy-virgin Hero. Alicia-possibly virgin and a bit of a hero but horrible things happen to her after she shuns Peter for the military. Sara-abducted, raped, child stolen. I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Nitpicking, probably.
On the same horror story rules note-I liked the diversity in the first book in a genre lead heavily by the white male type, but this seems increasingly to not be the case after The Passage. Can we keep a little more of the non-WASP males, please?
The main characters left from the end of book one are also much weaker in this book. I loved the character development before, and Cronin did a great job on some of the side characters, but the main characters were lacking throughout much of this book. Some of their actions felt out of character.
Overall, good, but not on par with book one.
And the rape scenes. Oh my, I kinda get why he added them but it was a bit much for me.
I actually like that all of my favorite characters haven't died yet, but it feels like things wrap up too nicely at points.
Oh, and the classic horror story bit of misogyny someone else noted-if you're a woman and you have sex in this book, bad things will happen to you. There are few women leads anyway by this book. Amy-virgin Hero. Alicia-possibly virgin and a bit of a hero but horrible things happen to her after she shuns Peter for the military. Sara-abducted, raped, child stolen. I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Nitpicking, probably.
On the same horror story rules note-I liked the diversity in the first book in a genre lead heavily by the white male type, but this seems increasingly to not be the case after The Passage. Can we keep a little more of the non-WASP males, please?
The main characters left from the end of book one are also much weaker in this book. I loved the character development before, and Cronin did a great job on some of the side characters, but the main characters were lacking throughout much of this book. Some of their actions felt out of character.
Overall, good, but not on par with book one.
chencholaga's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
danoreading's review against another edition
4.0
Not quite as "OMG, I can't put this down" absorbing as The Passage, but I think it's because a lot of the novelty with the first book doesn't exist here - we know many of these characters already, we know the basic situation. The Twelve is just as exciting as The Passage, though - a bit more action-packed with lots of new mythology swirling about. There's a lot going on here and Cronin is very skilled at keeping everything together - the plot moves along without pause and characters are beautifully interconnected in often surprising ways. A great read - thanks, Janet!
shallbetter's review against another edition
2.0
Not nearly as engaging as passage. Suffered through it, but that's what it felt like. Seemed like someone trying out for a script rather than writing a book.
pip_tries_her_best's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
skynet666's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book...and almost anything by this author. This is a sequel to The Passage, which I also enjoyed. The one thing I regret, is not reviewing the last book before reading this one. There are a lot of references to the first book and at my current brain power, there's just not enough left to access memories of a book I read a while back. However, it was still a fun read. I guarantee that there will be a follow on book.
johanmirfin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
marisad's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed The Passage more and at times found this one a little slow, however it would always ramp back up and had me back to not being able to put it down. Wonder what #3 will bring...
thisbookishbee's review against another edition
4.0
The Twelve - death-row prisoners with nightmare pasts and no future, until they were selected for a secret experiment. Now they are the future, and humanity's worst nightmare has begun...
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It can get confusing as it switches from one year and generation to the next, but I loved how bloodlines were connected and realising oh, they're family! .
There are way too many characters to focus on, but I loved Alicia's plot line, along with Grey's and Lila's - I couldn't help but feel sorry for these two, I loved them. I love Hollis okay? I love his character, his drive to keep his loved ones safe, he is an angel. Caleb! That little boy is adorable!
The book didn't really focus on The Twelve until the last couple hundred pages, it was more introducing new characters and what happened before the events of the first book, such as a bomb explosion that takes place in a refugee camp. I'm 99% sure it was the same explosion as the one Wolgast and Amy witnessed in The Passage.
Also can we just talk about Carter for a moment? I have so much love for this man. He became something he hated and fought his instincts to help Amy.
One thing I wasn't too sure about was how fast Kate accepted Sara as her mother. It just seemed too quick imo. Did she know? Or was she simply clinging to Sara because she treated her better than Lila?
In any case I'm looking forward to reading the installment!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It can get confusing as it switches from one year and generation to the next, but I loved how bloodlines were connected and realising oh, they're family! .
There are way too many characters to focus on, but I loved Alicia's plot line, along with Grey's and Lila's - I couldn't help but feel sorry for these two, I loved them. I love Hollis okay? I love his character, his drive to keep his loved ones safe, he is an angel. Caleb! That little boy is adorable!
The book didn't really focus on The Twelve until the last couple hundred pages, it was more introducing new characters and what happened before the events of the first book, such as a bomb explosion that takes place in a refugee camp. I'm 99% sure it was the same explosion as the one Wolgast and Amy witnessed in The Passage.
Also can we just talk about Carter for a moment? I have so much love for this man. He became something he hated and fought his instincts to help Amy.
One thing I wasn't too sure about was how fast Kate accepted Sara as her mother. It just seemed too quick imo. Did she know? Or was she simply clinging to Sara because she treated her better than Lila?
In any case I'm looking forward to reading the installment!
lisabeejenkins's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely some huge gaping flaws - exhausting amount of characters, should be tighter editing - but overall I really enjoy this series.