#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A thrilling finale to a trilogy that will stand as one of the great achievements in American fantasy fiction.”—Stephen King You followed The Passage. You faced The Twelve. Now enter The City of Mirrors for the final reckoning. As the bestselling epic races to its breathtaking finale, Justin Cronin’s band of hardened survivors await the second coming of unspeakable … survivors await the second coming of unspeakable darkness.
The world we knew is gone. What world will rise in its place?
The Twelve have been destroyed and the terrifying hundred-year reign of darkness that descended upon the world has ended. The survivors are stepping outside their walls, determined to build society anew—and daring to dream of a hopeful future.
But far from them, in a dead metropolis, he waits: Zero. The First. Father of the Twelve. The anguish that shattered his human life haunts him, and the hatred spawned by his transformation burns bright. His fury will be quenched only when he destroys Amy—humanity’s only hope, the Girl from Nowhere who grew up to rise against him.
One last time light and dark will clash, and at last Amy and her friends will know their fate.
Look for the entire Passage trilogy:
THE PASSAGE | THE TWELVE | THE CITY OF MIRRORS
Praise for The City of Mirrors
“Compulsively readable.”—The New York Times Book Review
“The City of Mirrors is poetry. Thrilling in every way it has to be, but poetry just the same . . . The writing is sumptuous, the language lovely, even when the action itself is dark and violent.”—The Huffington Post
“This really is the big event you’ve been waiting for . . . A true last stand that builds and comes with a bloody, roaring payoff you won’t see coming, then builds again to the big face off you’ve been waiting for.”—NPR
“A masterpiece . . . with The City of Mirrors, the third volume in The Passage trilogy, Justin Cronin puts paid to what may well be the finest post-apocalyptic epic in our dystopian-glutted times. A stunning achievement by virtually every measure.”—The National Post
“Justin Cronin’s Passage trilogy is remarkable for the unremitting drive of its narrative, for the breathtaking sweep of its imagined future, and for the clear lucidity of its language.”—Stephen King
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I have to admit that I wasn’t sure Justin Cronin could pull this off. The Passage started this whole journey, with the altered humans that were never called vampires but came with all the trappings of vampires. So many characters were introduced over the three books, so many plot lines taking place hundreds, and even thousands of years apart. When I started The City of Mirrors, I was hoping that Cronin could pull it all together. That there wouldn’t be any hanging threads or fates. As far as I am concerned, he actually came through with an ending that satisfied.
Of all the characters, I found myself most interested in the back story of Fanning, Zero, the original. We knew he was the first infected, but now we find out what he was doing in the jungle in the first place, what events led him to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The chapters describing his life in college and beyond were fascinating, knowing what the end of his human story was. Cronin did an admiral job of wrapping up the story lines of the main characters. Did you ever find yourself wondering what would happen to Amy? How she fared after giving up her humanity? I certainly did. Don’t worry, no one is left out. Some of the more mystical aspects of the story were a little difficult to swallow, but I wasn’t left with the feeling of incompleteness. Far from it. The City of Mirrors was a great ending to an epic story.
The first two books in this series were incredible—complex world-building, clear language, an amazing arc. I’m SO glad this trilogy is finally getting a resolution!
If you’ll allow me to mangle a well-known idiom with my unique grasp of math(s), this book is a book of two halves.
Approximately 90% of it holds some of the best writing I have come across.
The relentless increase in tension.
The ‘Oh sh*t, no! He’s not gonna do that.’ moments.
The breakneck speed and drama of the battle scenes.
The understated horror of what happens to some people.
The realisation that Zero has been playing them for years.
That prose, baby. The books got the kind of moves that’ll make a librarian sit up and damn well perspire in the aisles.
This 90% is phenomenal. (Just like in Book Two.)
Then there’s the 10%.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The 10% is not bad, not by any stretch. If I could get near the standard of this 10% in anything of mine, I’d be happy. But compared to the rest of the book, it jarred.
Zero’s back story drags. It’s well-written, but feels almost like a long short-book within a short long-book.
His fate, too. It came and went. As did Alicia’s. (Peter’s, too, to an extent). I’ve reread these sections and still came away thinking: “What just happened?”
It’s a theme that recurs throughout the series, everything is so well written but every now and then something pops up which seems too fantastical: Peter dealing with the drac in the cage (Book Two); virals that were unstoppable in Book One get weaker as the story progresses – they no longer have just one or two ‘sweet spots’ (the sternum & palate) but can be killed as easily as humans. There were other moments where I had the same sensation of stumbling over a plot point. I feel like I’m being churlish as the series is SO good. But precisely because of that, what I may have glossed over in other books, stuck out here.
Similarly, the prose: It is sublime: pared down to the bare minimum in places and so effective for it; a throwaway sentence of beauty in others. But again when Zero is around, things tend to wallow. It suits his personality. Maybe, that was why. But it’s also the dosage. Like salt, a little adds flavour. A pinch more? Perfect. Dump in three more spoons (AKA sentences) and it’s too much.
Overall, though, I binge-read this book like I did the other two. That pretty much tells you my opinions about it and the series.
Buy it. Read it. Once you’ve read the others.
Fantastic book. Loved this trilogy…I didn’t want it to end. Character development was so good that I felt as though I really knew them. Very original sci fi. Highly recommend reading this!
A really satisfying conclusion to the trilogy started with The Passage. Resolution for the plot lines and for the characters I had grown to love. This is such a well written trilogy and balances action with character development so that it appeals to all. Well worth the read!
The finale of this trilogy–The Passage, The Twelve, and The City of Mirrors–was one I couldn’t put down. I really really wanted to know what happened to all of the characters I had gotten to know across this series of books. I was sad about the fate of some of them but this conclusion was a satisfying end to a trilogy that was unforgettable.
A fitting conclusion to a remarkable series
The City of Mirrors is fantastic. This third installment in The Passage Trilogy was as captivating as the first two books. I didn’t want the story to end. When it did conclude, the finale was bittersweet with fond memories of all the major characters I had befriended since the first book. I wanted to read each page once again, so profound was the story. Book 3 is an impressive conclusion to the series, in my opinion, one of the best post-apocalyptic epics ever written. With all its gut-wrenching emotions, this near-future suspense is written in a way that makes me believe that the possibility of this future is all too real.
The story has happiness and heartache in abundance. The language is alluring, and the plot has plenty of unexpected twists to keep you guessing what’s next. Justin Cronin deftly provides enough backstory, allowing readers to understand and feel the characters’ emotions and motivations. This trilogy is a must-read for everyone who enjoys top-notch science fiction and fantasy.
Awesome finish to the trilogy. I loved this series.
A fittingly grandiose, dramatic and bittersweet finale to a great vampire trilogy.
“Tell me your story, Amy.”
Wow. I love this trilogy to no end. The first book, The Passage, was such an amazing story. Then the second book, The Twelve, I was slightly disappointed with in regards to buildup and lack of payoff of the 12 Virals, but I came to realize in this final book it made sense. I was also thrown at first because this one has almost a third of the novel take place in a single character’s backstory. I didn’t think I’d like the approach, but then I found it was perfectly set up just as it needed to be.
As this third book reaches its end, the reader is forced to say goodbye to these characters that made such an impact. Even the main villain, who I thought at first to have an insignificant resolution, later turned into a beautiful, poetic end. Justin Cronin wrote some fantastic characters here, both the good and the bad, and there are few story endings that bring out THAT reaction in me. This is one of them.
Goodbye Peter. Goodbye Sarah. Goodbye Alicia. Goodbye Anthony. Goodbye Michael. Goodbye Lucius.
And, most of all, goodbye to the Girl From Nowhere. Goodbye Amy, and thank you.
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Bitter Sweet. Loved the whole series/trilogy. Left me wanting more.
Every single one of these books made me smile and made me cry. Just really good. Action packed and the lore is fantastic. This series takes you through generations and a number of lives all tied together by the decisions of a small group. You will not regret reading this series.
And the books are nice and LONG – nothing makes me happier than seeing hundreds and hundreds of pages.
I loved all 3 books! Each one nice and long!
Love this series from Justin Cronin; fabulous characters and unpredictable story line.
I re-read The Passage & The Twelve in preparation for this book. A story that spans over 200,000 pages, and centuries. A story that has so much padding, so much back story and such thorough planning. A story that is without a doubt, the best thing I have read.
This is truly brilliant. A fitting finale to the other 2 and the time shift was something I did not expect. There is so much to say but it would spoil it all. All I will say is that for those who have committed themselves to this story, the pay off is fantastic. Every detail is finely planned and executed flawlessly.
This is beautiful fiction. From the collapse of humanity to the sheer horror of the Virals. To the incredible characters like Peter, Michael, Alicia, Amy & Wolgast, to the sheer fist pumping hope the story inspires.
If you commit to one big read this year, seriously….read this series! (Especially before the TV series comes later this year!)
This book took a long time to come out, and it was worth every minute of the wait. Another long book, it interweaves stories of the different characters in a unique way. I am not a good writer so I can’t do the book review justice, however my advice is if you haven’t read the series, spend the winter in front of the fireplace reading it. You won’t find anything else like it. Thanks, Mr. Cronin, for the wonderful series!