Ballantine Books

Product Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Look for a special preview of Justin Cronins The City of Mirrors in the back of the book.

The end of the world was only the beginning.
?
In his internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed novel The Passage Justin Cronin constructed an unforgettable world transformed by a government experiment gone horribly wrong. Now the scope widens and the intensity deepens as the epic story surges forward with . . .
?
THE TWELVE
?
In the present day as the man-made apocalypse unfolds three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila a doctor and an expectant mother is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her childs arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge known to the world as Last Stand in Denver has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road dodging the infected armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned?and that in connection lies hope?? even on the darkest of nights.
?
One hundred years in the future?? Amy and the others fight on for humankind??s salvation . . . unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved?? and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man??s extinction. If the Twelve are to fall?? one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.
?
A heart-stopping thriller rendered with masterful literary skill?? The Twelve is a grand and gripping tale of sacrifice and survival.

Praise for The Twelve<""br> ?
??[A] literary superthriller.???The New York Times Book Review
?
??An undeniable and compelling epic . . . a complex narrative of flight and forgiveness?? of great suffering and staggering loss?? of terrible betrayals and incredible hope.???Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
?
??The Twelve is even better than The Passage.???The Plain Dealer
?
??A compulsive read.???San Francisco Chronicle
?
??Gripping . . . Cronin [introduces] eerie new elements to his masterful mythology. . . . Enthralling?? emotional and entertaining.???The San Diego Union-Tribune
?
??Fine storytelling.???Associated Press
?
??Cronin is one of those rare authors who works on two different levels?? blending elegantly crafted literary fiction with cliff-hanging thrills.???Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Amazon.com Review

Readers often ask where I get my ideas. The better question would be: Where don??t I?

Many people know that The Passage was born from a challenge laid down by my eight-year-old daughter to write the story of ??a girl who saves the world.?? This wasn??t exactly what I wanted to hear?it seemed a trifle ambitious?but a dare is a dare. For the next three months she joined me on my daily jog?? following along on her bicycle?? while the two of us hashed out the plot. As the weeks passed?? I realized we were onto something much better than the book I was supposed to be writing. I put that book aside?? wrote the first chapter of The Passage?? and never looked back.

So don??t ever think you shouldn??t listen to your kids.

But my daughter??s challenge wasn??t the only inspiration. When I write a novel?? my goal is to put absolutely everything I have into its pages?? right down to the interesting thing that happened yesterday. I know I??m done when my mind feels as empty as a leaky bucket. So many influences?? real and imagined?? went "