City Of Mirrors by Justin Cronin | Audiobook Review

I received this book for free from Library, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • â€œA 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 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

Why Did I Listen To City Of Mirrors by Justin Cronin?

City Of Mirrors by Justin Cronin is the FINAL book in the Passage trilogy. Friends, this must be my year for finishing series and trilogies and the like. I am liking this trend with my reading. It is pretty excellent know how something ends and then that feeling of wrapping things up. I know I kept putting City Of Mirrors off because despite really liking The Passage, I was a little bit meh on The Twelve. Maybe it was some sophomore slump? Anyways I kept avoiding this for different reasons BUT THEN as it turns out, I had no other Netgalley books that are also audiobooks through my library’s overdrive. So, almost thirty days later here we are. I have FINALLY read and listened to this book and now I know what happens.

What’s The Story Here?

City Of Mirrors picks up years after The Twelve ends. It opens up with Alicia Donadio giving birth to a stillborn. She’s grieving, rightfully so. Anyways, then we see that Peter is basically president of Kerrville, Texas where one hundred thousand people are living. People think that the virals are over, right. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Zero is still around. Anyways, there’s murder and mayhem. Amy’s character is kind of in stasis. Then there’s Michael who plans to put people on a ship and bring them to a safe island in the middle of the ocean. We get to learn Zero’s back story – how he used to be Tim and why he went totally around the bend (it has to do with a woman). And well, we get to find out how it was that humanity survived.

What Did I Think Of City Of Mirrors?

Overall, this is such an action packed book. I was kind of on edge while listening – mainly because I know how horror and dystopian books work. You think you’re safe and settled. BAM! Something bad happens. And my goodness, a LOT of bad things happen in this book. Thankfully, there’s hope too, because otherwise this would be so dreary. Although, okay there’s a few scenes involving infants at the scene of murders and that, as a mother, was really tough to listen to. Oh, and I liked that City Of Mirrors finally goes through Zero’s backstory. I like when a villain is given more depth. And well, I also liked that FINALLY the story is wrapped up.

How’s The Narration?

Justin Cronin’s City Of Mirrors is narrated by Scott Brick. Thankfully, I already like Scott Brick’s narration. Otherwise, I am not sure I would have been able to make it through nearly 30 hours of audiobook — even sped up, that’s a lot. The narration goes well with the story. Brick’s voice doesn’t sound jacked up when I speed up the narration (I cannot abide slow narration these days). In all, a good audiobook experience.

Other reviews of City Of Mirrors by Justin Cronin:

• Girl With Her Head In A Book – “sends its characters out with a whimper rather than a bang“
• Literary Treats – “it’s worth reading through to make it to the end“
• Luxury Reading – “ends up being more work to read than it is really worth“

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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