The Twelve: A Novel by Justin Cronin

What the frack did I just read?  Because it certainly could not have been Cronin's follow up to The Passage.  My real copy of The Twelve must have gotten lost in the mail and somehow I got stuck with what I can only describe as an "overwhelmingly, overworked story riddled with too many characters that commit some atrocious acts that I believe were just thrown in for shock value - basically, a must NOT read."  Seriously, what happened to The Twelve? 

I'm not even going to write a full post on this book, because I'm just too disappointed with it.  I think I'm going to just share what my cons were with The Twelve.  Here goes:

Writing:  Where did all the good writing go?  Did Cronin put too much pressure on himself to produce another bestseller, that he forgot how to simply tell a good tale?  He must have, because the book I just finished reading lacked a feeling of cohesion to his previous novel; it lacked depth and complexity; it was overly written and filled with horrible characters and shock-value story lines; it made me wish I hadn't been so excited for its release, because then I wouldn't have been so disappointed.  The writing was just not good.  I felt it lacked the suspense and anticipatory sense that something exciting/dangerous was about to happen, that the first novel displayed perfectly throughout.  This story felt rather thrown together - like, Cronin had so many ideas that he just wanted to smash them all together, regardless of how well they went together.  The way one story line would begin and then the next moment another one would begin, made for rather disruptive reading.  I found the whole book to feel rather chaotic, and truthfully, I felt rather lost at times when I was reading it.

Characters:  I have to admit that one of the reasons I loved The Passage, was due to the fact that I loved the characters.  They were memorable and very relatable. They were characters you rooted for.  I was eager to find out what had happened to Sarah, Peter, Amy and Alicia; and even though I did find out what had happened to them, I found out that I really didn't care (that's how bad the writing was).  As for the new characters - ugh! They were just awful.  There were ones you were supposed to care about, but they died too quickly or their stories ended too abruptly; and then the ones that you were supposed to hate, well, you disliked them so much that you didn't want to read about them at all.  They were just too despicable and I felt that that Cronin went a bit over the top with them.  I realize every book needs its villain, but isn't that why we had the remaining eleven of the twelve for?

Story:  Where was the story?  What happened to the fascinating, adventure story Cronin created in The Passage?  Why didn't he bring that feeling of suspense/thriller back?  What was he thinking about when he came up with some of these story lines?  Did there have to be sanctioned rape?  Did April and Bernard have to share that night together (that scene skeeved me out - isn't she really only 17? )  Why did it seem like is was mainly the female characters who had to endure the short end of the stick all the time?  What about the male characters? And, seriously, what was up with all the melodrama and predictability?  Tifty was Nina's dad - really?  Lila's daughter was really Sarah's?  And, Peter and Amy are supposed to be together - what about Lish?  I don't know, it all seemed a bit convoluted at times to me.  Not sure, that Cronin realized how scatterbrained the story lines were once they were all put together.  I actually found myself skipping ahead at times, just so I could get to the end already. 

Overall, The Twelve was not what I had hoped it would be - another great read like, The Passage.  I was left disappointed and wishing I had just watched Downton Abbey or Homeland instead. Ugh! What a bummer! Oh well, the only positive is that I can now cross off one more book off my list for RIP VII - which means, I am done! Hurrah!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Sleepy Hollow the movie is way better than Sleepy Hollow the short story.  There.  I admitted it.  I can't help it.  I read the short story bit by bit, over a number of days - mind you, its a very short story, so it shouldn't have taken more than half an hour to read it - because I just couldn't deal with having to read it all at once.  Which is actually pretty dumb, since the sooner I'd finished with it, the happier I would have been. Hmmm. I need to remember that for future boring books that I might encounter.  Anyhow, the story was just so dull and uneventful, that I found myself reading a page or three and then putting it down for the rest of the day.  Eventually, I sucked it up and just plowed ahead until I got to the end.  And, let me just mention, that after having seen the film version of the book, I sort of expected the same events to happen within the story.  After all, the movie was based on it, right?  Well, lo and behold, my disappointment when I didn't get to read what I had seen on screen.  Don't get me wrong, the story is about Ichabod Crane and does fancy Katrina Van Whatshername; and he gets pranked by a bully named Brom.  Oh, and there is mention of a headless horseman.  So, I suppose the bare bones did make it into the film, but truthfully, it seems to me that the screenplay writer took liberty with the concept of artistic license and for that I'm grateful.  Because, the film version of Irving's work truly brought his story to life - in fact, it infused it with life.

Okay, so I'm being a bit harsh. I can't help it.  I really thought the story would be like the movie and when it wasn't, well, I got bored with it.  Its just that I absolutely love the film version - Johnny Depp is in it! - and I remember how awesome it was and so, I sort of expected the short story to be just as amazing.  Don't get me wrong, I chuckled at some parts (like at the description of Ichabod and his bully) and I was a bit curious to find out what would happen to Ichabod late at night as he was heading home from the party, but that's about it.  When I got to the end, my first thought was, "What? That's it.Ugh."  Not exactly, excited words about what I'd just suffered through aka read.  Oh well.  At the end of the day, I was able to cross off another book from my list of titles to be read for R.I.P. VII and I realized that since its October, I should probably watch Sleepy Hollow in celebration of all things spooky and Halloween.  So, I'm off to watch the film and enjoy staring at kooky Ichabod Crane aka Johnny Depp!

R.I.P. VII is here!

Its back!!!! Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings has declared that R.I.P. VII starts NOW!  Woo hoo!  Exciting!  I absolutely love this reading 'challenge' and look forward to it all year long.  It is the perfect way to kick off the start of fall - spooky, creepy reads that get you jumping out of your seat!  By the by, Carl decided to stop calling it a reading challenge, so don't feel pressured to make yourself read X amount of books or finish anything you don't want to.  R.I.P. VII is supposed to be fun, not challenging - so just, enjoy! 

Okay, so for you folks who don't know what R.I.P. VII is, here goes (info from Stainless Steel Droppings):

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, or R.I.P. for short, a participatory event wherein we the people spend however little, or much, time we want over the months of September and October imbibing all things ghastly and ghostly.

The purpose of R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VII is to enjoy books and movies/television that could be classified (by you) as:
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

There are two simple goals for R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VII
1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.

There are multiple levels of participation (Perils) that allow you to be a part of R.I.P. VII without adding the burden of another commitment to your already busy lives. There is even a one book only option for those who feel that this sort of reading is not their cup of tea (or who have many other commitments) but want to participate all the same. And there are group reads, too - September's is The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters and October's is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.  For details on the various Perils check out Carl's site.  And, just so you know, there is a review site where you can add a link to your R.I.P. VII posts and check out what everyone else is reading or watching - check it out! 

So, there you have it folks, all the pertinent details regarding one of the blogosphere's funnest reading experiences - R.I.P. VII.  Pick out your books or movies and have fun! I know I'm excited.  I'm still not sure what books I'll be reading, but I'm planning on participating at Peril the First.  That means four books! Hmmm. I'm thinking I'll be joining in on The Little Stranger group read hosted by The Estella Society - I've had a copy of the book for ages and figure its about time I give it a go.  And, maybe I'll read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Oh, and I've got to get my hands on The Twelve and read that one.  Cripes, I guess I do have an idea of what I want to read.  Well, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know.  And I hope to see over at R.I.P. VII's review site!  Happy reading!!