The second book in the Passage Trilogy, The Twelve follows up, continuing the massive epic with all of the grace and aplomb that comes along with author Justin Cronin's name. It starts off in present day times, showing the audience how the apocalypse started. It centers on three characters Lila, Kittridge and April. Lila is a doctor who also happens to be pregnant. Her mother's instinct is strong enough to make her continue the plans for the child to be born, despite the world falling apart. Kittridge's moniker, Last Stand in Denver, befits him as he takes to the treacherous roads by himself. April is a teenager who is the last person left in her family to care for her younger brother. She is thrown into a scary and life-threatening new world head on.

Fast forward one hundred years in the future, and we have Amy, from the first book, along with others fighting to survive. Only they don't know that the creatures are evolving, becoming more dangerous and evil than they already were. The humans must fight together for the Twelve to fall.

While you can read THE TWELVE without having read the first, I recommend them to be read in order, so that the entire picture is fully formed. With a story as in-depth and complex as Cronin's, you don't want to miss a single page. There are quieter moments between the intense action, but both serve to progress the story forward, supplying much information. Cronin's ability to walk the line, teetering between literary and genre fiction gives a satisfying balance, never straying too much to either side.

The characters are rich, and I found myself caring more for them than I even did in the first book, which is to say a lot. The reader becomes engaged in their lives, their survival, almost firsthand. The vampire-like creatures in this story are like none you've ever encountered before I venture to guess. Incredibly visceral and still harboring the tiniest sliver of humanistic qualities, they are killing machines that are to be feared and remembered. I wait for the third book on tiptoes and with bated breath. This is a trilogy that should not be missed.