12-21 by DUSTIN THOMASON.An ancient prophecy foretells that the world will end 21 December 2012.
In Central America, a treasure hunter discovers a Maya relic - a mysterious and ornate codex - but when he smuggles it into the US, he brings with him an old and deadly secret ...
Early in December 2012, the codex comes to Chel Manu, a Maya world authority. She is torn between the chance to translate the codex herself and her duty to alert the authorities. Meanwhile, in an LA hospital, an unknown man is dying of a rare, contagious disease. When Dr Gabriel Stanton is called in, he realises that this is no ordinary infection - and it will spread uncontrollably.
Stanton and Chel must race to decipher the codex's secrets and prevent the prophesied apocalypse...
...... Outer back cover.
FIRST SENTENCE (Prologue): He stands silently in the moonlight against the wall of the temple, the small bundle held tightly under his arm.
MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 39): Some experts believed sleep recharged the brain, assisted in the healing of wounds, Some suggested it protected animals against the dangers of the night or that sleep was an energy-conservation technique.
MY THOUGHTS: Ancient prophecies, relics AND a medical mystery 12-21 was a novel that could have been penned with me in mind.
An 'the end of the world is nigh' type story, the author manages to seamlessly blend modern, topical science with the story of an ancient Mayan civilisation that, having gripped me from the start, proved to be a real roller-coaster of a read that provided a slightly different slant on the apocalypse type predictions that surround the Mayan calendar.
Fascinating stuff, thought provoking and, thanks to the 'mad-cow' type disease that Stanton and Chel find themselves up against, often quite scary. I really liked most of the characters though there were one or two that had me wondering as to their purpose. And whilst I did enjoy the inclusion of the passages written by the ancient Mayan scribe I confess I found them heavy going because of the of the italic font used.
Highly recommended even if it is just one book amongst the many with a similar theme.
DISCLAIMER: An uncorrected advance proof copy read and reviewed on behalf of NEWBOOKS magazine I was merely asked for my honest opinion, no financial compensation was asked for nor given.
13 comments:
I enjoy end of the world type stories and this one sounds good.
Nice review.
Not a genre I enjoy reading but I know many people do. I'm glad it was a winner for you!
I have to get this for one of my friends. Not only does it sound like a great read and his type of book- but his birthday is 12/21 and we have been saying that he should have an "end of the world" birthday party. Thanks for sharing.
Might be interesting. Sometimes I enjoy this kind of read.
Sounds interesting! I'm intrigued by the end of the world part, but hesitant because it's also a medical mystery as I don't really like those. Might see if the library has a copy. Thanks PW!
Will most certainly try to lay my hands on this book. It does sound highly engrossing especially with you giving it such a high regard. Have a wonderful sunday Tracy :)
this is one subject that fascinates me too.
I loved Rule of Four so I might just check this out. I'm glad that you reviewed it because I probably would not have picked it up based on the title. The talk shows have started to ramp up the Mayan 2012 stories as of late.
:-)
Traci
I do like Apocalypse type stories (but prefer those with zombies :D ) - not sure how I feel about this one.
Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net
oh, this one sounds nice.
thanks for another fabulous review, my sweet friend!
big hugs!
XX
I wonder how many of these books we'll see before this date!
Huh...been wondering about this one as I haven't heard much about it since I first spotted it in the blogosphere. Thanks for the peek!
Isn't it a much hyped theme that the author tried to explore?
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