The Crossing

Summary

The Crossing is a book series discussed by Shawn during out-of-character conversation in Session 9 of the campaign. The series features a post-apocalyptic America destroyed by "weird vampires," with the narrative split between pre-apocalypse events and a setting a thousand years later where survivors live in fortified towns with evolved cultural practices. While Shawn found the first book's premise interesting, particularly its portrayal of post-apocalyptic society, Shawn explicitly does not recommend reading the series because "apparently the series gets a lot worse."

Details

The book's structure divides into two distinct time periods. The opening section depicts events leading up to and including an apocalyptic catastrophe in which vampires—described as "weird vampires"—destroy America. Halfway through the first book, the narrative jumps forward a millennium to show the long-term consequences of this event.

In the far-future setting, American civilization has collapsed into isolated pockets of survival. As Shawn described it:

That's just what America is. It's people living in like tiny little fortified towns with this like, weird evolution of their culture.

The book's depiction of how culture evolved over the thousand-year gap is what Shawn found "really interesting" about the work.

The series was adapted for television, with the show starring "Zack Morris" (a reference to actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar), though the adaptation was canceled.

History

Session 9

Shawn brought up The Crossing during an out-of-character discussion about post-apocalyptic fiction in Session 9. Shawn used the book as an example of post-apocalyptic storytelling but prefaced the recommendation with a warning: "I wouldn't recommend you reading because apparently the series gets a lot worse."

Shawn explained the book's two-part structure and its thousand-year time jump, noting that the future setting portrayed a fragmented America of "tiny little fortified towns" where culture had evolved in isolation. Shawn also mentioned the canceled television adaptation.