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    12.21: A Novel
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    12.21: A Novel
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    12.21: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    12.21: A Novel

    Written by Dustin Thomason

    Narrated by Dustin Thomason, Noel R. Bearheart and Fred Sanders

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From the co-author of the two-million copy mega-bestseller The Rule of Four comes a riveting thriller with a brilliant premise based on the 2012 apocalypse phenomenon-perfect for readers of Steve Berry, Preston and Child, and Dan Brown.

    For decades, December 21, 2012, has been a touchstone for doomsayers worldwide. It is the date, they claim, when the ancient Maya calendar predicts the world will end.

    In Los Angeles, two weeks before, all is calm. Dr. Gabriel Stanton takes his usual morning bike ride, drops off the dog with his ex-wife, and heads to the lab where he studies incurable prion diseases for the CDC. His first phone call is from a hospital resident who has an urgent case she thinks he needs to see. Meanwhile, Chel Manu, a Guatemalan American researcher at the Getty Museum, is interrupted by a desperate, unwelcome visitor from the black market antiquities trade who thrusts a duffel bag into her hands.

    By the end of the day, Stanton, the foremost expert on some of the rarest infections in the world, is grappling with a patient whose every symptom confounds and terrifies him. And Chel, the brightest young star in the field of Maya studies, has possession of an illegal artifact that has miraculously survived the centuries intact: a priceless codex from a lost city of her ancestors. This extraordinary record, written in secret by a royal scribe, seems to hold the answer to her life's work and to one of history's great riddles: why the Maya kingdoms vanished overnight. Suddenly it seems that our own civilization might suffer this same fate.

    With only days remaining until December 21, 2012, Stanton and Chel must join forces before time runs out.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 7, 2012
    ISBN9780449011607
    Unavailable
    12.21: A Novel
    Author

    Dustin Thomason

    Ian Caldwell was Phi Beta Kappa in history at Princeton University. He lives in Newport News, Virginia. Dustin Thomason won the Hoopes Prize at Harvard University. He lives in New York City. They began writing The Rule of Four after graduating in 1998. The two have been best friends since they were eight years old.

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    Reviews for 12.21

    3.5/5

    162 ratings42 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 3/5
      This was a little different from what I usually go after. It is the story of the Mayan Calendar prediction of the end of times on 12.21.2012. The story begins around the 11th of December, 2012 in Los Angeles, California and we end up in the jungles of Guatamala. I found myself while reading this story asking "Could this really happen?" "Does that REALLY make sense?" etc...

      The book seemed to have been researched well, although, since I know absolutely nothing about the Mayan culture or their calendar, I have no idea. There is also a lot of medical stuff that seems to be accurate, but again, I did not go to medical school, so I'm not sure. It read well.

      If you have any interest in or thought that the world could come to an end this year than you may want to read this book. This book did make me think about 12-21-2012 in a different way and the possibility...

      Thanks to Net Galley and Random House, Inc for this advanced readers copy.
    • 3/5
      It isn't surprising that a doom and gloom novel is coming out this year, but what did surprise me was the imagination put into the cause of the demise of earth's inhabitants. The illness brought to LA by patient zero, has confounding symptoms that have doctors' at the hospital perplexed. They call in Dr Gabriel Stanton, an expert in rare diseases, to come take a look and try to diagnose the patient's illness and it's cause. In the meantime an expert in Mayan studies, Chel Manu, is given a rare antiquity, by a black market trader, and asked to keep it safe for him. She is flabbergasted at the priceless item she is given. When she joins forces with Stanton their combined fields of expertise, along with this rare antiquity, are needed to save the world.

      This book was lacking the tension to make it a true page turner and it honestly became somewhat boring at times. So much so that I had to force myself to finish it. I never felt that the characters were fleshed out enough and seemed somewhat one dimensional. It was really hard to root for any of them.
    • 3/5
      While this was a quick read I found the ending unbelievable and disappointing. I had difficulty with some of the grammar and sentence structure.
    • 4/5
      This is the kind of thriller than books like [Angels and Demons] want to be: tightly-written, unique, and readable. I especially liked that this book took a realistic view of public health. Like all its ilk, though, this book isn't going to give you complex characterization or stellar writing. Everything is short and to the point, but unlike Dan Brown, Dustin Thomason clearly understands the different between a fragment and a complete sentence. A quick and entertaining fluff read.
    • 5/5
      Won a copy from Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.Loved it! The writing was excellent. The story was fascinating. The pacing was spot on. I had a very difficult time putting this book down and did lose some sleep over it trying to read just a bit more to see what would happen next. Loved the ending too.
    • 3/5
      A gripping plot fueled by medical science and ancient history which might appeal to fans of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook.
    • 4/5
      In the lead-up to the Maya calendar predicted 'end of world' event anticipated for 21 Dec 2012 a new disease begins to spread. Searching for cause and cure Gabriel Stanton and Chel Manu embark on exciting adventures through California and Central America. This is an interesting, well written story with a convincing premise.
    • 4/5
      I finished this book in two days because I just had to know what happened next. A combination of medical suspense and historical thriller this book took me on a rollercoaster ride through California and into Mayan South America. The characters were believable and interesting and although not fully developed they were satisfactory for the story told. The book is easier to read than The Rule of Four and more original. If you like Dan Brown and others like him try this thriller.
    • 5/5
      Read for Review (Edelweiss)Overall Rating: 4.50Story Rating: 4.50Character Rating: 4.50First Thought When Finished: 12.21 by Dustin Thomason was brilliantly written, scary in premise, and wildly imaginative!What I Thought of the Story: Dustin Thomason has managed to weave a story that on the surface seems a little bit like "Outbreak" (more the book than the movie). There is a disease that may or may not have been originally introduced through contact with an animal (though ingestion in this case). Very quickly though 12.21 takes a completely different turn. The characters are taken through a labyrinth of scenarios for source and the reader is taken through a series of scenarios that keep us guessing. 12.21 is a great mix of different story-telling methods that work: history (Mayan), science, and emotions. How would they all play together in a real world scenario? That is something you will be asking yourself as you read along.What I Thought of the Characters: Dr. Gabriel Stanton is a prime example of a man who lives for his work and he is good at it too. He is a bit of a tunnel vision guy: recognize a breakout, put things into effect, and really his way is the right way. I found him to be complicated in some aspects and relatively simple in others. There are people like him in the world and honestly if something bad is happening, they are the people I want working on it (I just don't necessarily want to work with them). Chel Manu is the other main character in 12.21. She is a woman on a mission to save the Mayan culture and preserve their history. Though the story starts out with her making a very damning choice of withholding information, I do believe her choices are made with the best intentions. She is passionate about what she does and she ends up being very integral in the overall story. Together Stanton and Manu make a very determined team and Dustin Thomason did a great job of making their chemistry very organic!Final Thought: 12.21 by Dustin Thomason is a story that will make you think! For me, personally, I will never look at insomnia the same way again!
    • 1/5
      As I got to the 50% point of this book, I debated whether or not to continue to the end. I rarely give up on a book, and so, much to my regret I finished it. I found it very dull, not at all thrilling. I thought the prose was OK but the author did not see able to weave piece parts of the book together, nor did he fill in the space between major scenes with background, and his descriptions of what was going on with the general population caught in a sudden pandemic were inadequate. The characters were dull, very cardboard. very cliche. What blew me away was the ratings given by Amazon US readers, 4.0 with 64 reporting at this point. lt is also 4 stars with 32 reviews. I don't get it. I can only conclude that there is a market out there for end of the world, pandemic "thrillers", whose readers will read practically anything. I will be interested to see what Amazon UK reports.
    • 4/5
      World renowned expert Dr. Gabriel Stanton doesn't expect to encounter a patient with prion disease. When Stanton receives a call about an urgent case, he nearly dismisses the call believing that the resident has misdiagnosed the disease. But careful examination leads Stanton to discover that the patient is not just infected with prion disease but that the gestation period for the disease is dangerously short. This disease doesn't just spread easily, it develops and kills swiftly.It's by chance that Stanton meets antiquities expert Chel Manu when she acts as translator for the prion patient. Chel specializes in Maya studies and has obtained priceless codex from a lost city through the black market. As she speaks to the patient, she learns that he may have visited this same lost city and tries to learn more about his exploration - but for her own benefit. Though not immediately apparent, her act of self interest has dire consequences and severely impacts the CDC's ability to control the spread of the disease. When she discovers her mistake, Chel works to reverse the damage, poring through ancient artifacts, going over oral history. Fortunately, Chel's network and knowledge is deep. Chel works hard to separate facts from myth. Stanton searches for a possible vaccine for the prion disease. In just a few days, the disease becomes an epidemic and there is a growing sense of dread in Los Angeles which is heightened by doomsayers claiming that the Mayan calendar predicts that end of the world will come in 12-21 2012. Stanton and Manu team up to find a solution to this deadly disease while battling bureaucrats, antiquity dealers, and end of the world fanatics. Fast paced, complex, and deeply engrossing, in 12-21 Thomason delivers a scientific thriller in the vein of Michael Crichton. ISBN-10: 0385341407 - Hardcover $27.00Publisher: The Dial Press (August 7, 2012), 336 pages.Review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours and the publisher.
    • 3/5
      The vast majority of fictional entertainment (and lots of psuedo-science masquerading as unassailable fact) addressing the Mayan Long Count calendar's ancient imputed prediction that civilization as we know it will end on December 21, 2012, pivots on the fantastic. If humanity's impending annihilation doesn't have its origins in climatic cataclysms or sudden reversal of the earth's poles due to rare planetary alignments, then it will be incessant earthquakes or a malignant alien invasion that will bring about our apocalypse. Those theories are only a few of the countless doomsday scenarios inspired by the purported "end" of the Mayan calendar next December that fill groaning shelves at DVD and book stores around the world.Dustin Thomason's take on the subject in his interesting new novel "12.21" is refreshingly different. In Thomason's novel, mankind needn't peer elsewhere than in its collective mirror to find the source of the threat to its existence perhaps chronicled in the Mayan calendar. When a tomb robber steals an ancient artifact from Mayan ruins long lost in dense Guatemalan jungles and brings it to Los Angeles for sale on the archaeological black market in December, 2012, he unwittingly unleashes a catastrophe on humanity unseen since the Black Death. Once they suspect they might have uncovered the calamity's provenance, a medical doctor named Gabriel Stanton with expertise in strange infections reluctantly teams with a Guatemalan American academic named Chel Manu to strike out for the Mayan ruins. Armed with only cryptic clues thousands of years old in a dead language about where to find the ruins, and a shaky hypothesis of what caused the disease ravaging the continent, Stanton and Manu trek into the jungles with hopes far outweighing certainties that they can stop what will surely be the end of man on earth.Thomason (who with Ian Caldwell in 2004 published the bestselling novel "The Rule of Four") tells his story crisply, in a writing style neither particularly graceful nor inept. His characters, settings, and dialogue service his plot as well as they must to keep readers turning the pages to find out what happens next. All told, "12.21" is a solidly entertaining contemporary thriller that's certainly more worth reading than most of the current drivel trying to cash in on whatever will (or won't) come to pass next December 21.
    • 4/5
      Okay, you've probably heard about it - the latest date for the end of the world. December 21, 2012 will be the final curtain according to some interpretations of the Mayan long calendar. Dustin Thomason sets his latest novel - 12-21 - (a solo effort after his successful co-authoring of The Rule of Four in 2004) a few weeks before that date. Dr. Gabriel Stanton is a world renowned expert in the field of prions - those tiny agents responsible for what we commonly call mad cow disease. When he receives a call from a local doctor insisting she has a case he needs to look at, he reluctantly attends. But when he arrives, what he discovers is unthinkable - a prion disease with no known cause or cure....and no way of knowing how it's being spread. Dr. Chel Manu is an expert in her field as well - Mayan documents and dialects. When a known looter leaves an artifact with her, she too is stunned. It's a rare codex describing a time period in Mayan culture that has never been documented - until now. Gabriel's patient? From Guatemala. Manu? From Guatemala. And now Gabriel and Chel are thrown together in a race against time to discover answers, antidotes and more....before it's too late. Thomason has crafted an excellent tale, drawing us in in many ways. The mystery of past civilizations has always fascinated me. There are examples of Mayan glyphs throughout the book. At first I thought they looked quite cartoonish and of course had to go online to check them out. Turns out, that's what they really look like. There were other bits of story line that I followed up as well. Tomason has done his research. The whole prion disease thing is scary - and the disease Chel and Gabriel encounter? It's real. Lots of food for thought - except maybe meat. All of this provides a good solid foundation for the main two characters. They're well fleshed out and I liked them both - Chel a little more. Some of the supporting characters seemed to be a bit cliched. And I question the purpose of the 'Monster' character. He didn't seem to add anything to the story. I did enjoy the insertions of passages from the codex, written by Paktul, a Mayan scribe. There's lot of action and run up to the final chapters that kept me eagerly turning pages. I was a bit disappointed by some of the end scenes - although exciting, they were slightly unbelievable, which was disappointing given the research and care put into the rest of the book. But, all in all, 12-21 was a good, entertaining read. ( And I can see it being made into a movie) Fans of Michael Crichton and Dan Brown will enjoy this blending of science and history. Thomason could not have picked a more perfect time to release this book. Dec 21 should be an interesting day.....
    • 4/5
      Dr. Gabe Stanton is a researcher of Prion diseases such as Mad Cow Disease, searching for a cure. His field has been cut back after the controls enacted from the outbreaks of Mad Cow. So when he receives a call from a resident doctor at a Los Angeles hospital, he does not expect to find anything... what he finds is a new strain of Prion disease that rapidly grows out of control as it does not get transmitted in the usual manner by eating diseased meat.Dr Chel Manu at the Getty Museum has come into contact with one of the victims and has in her possession a Mayan Codex that not only has been looted from lost tombs, but also could the the clue to unraveling what is rapidly becoming the end of the world as prophesied by the Mayan calander!A great read!
    • 5/5
      In the tradition of Preston and Childe, a page turner about prions, Mayans and of course the end of the world.
    • 4/5
      Dustin Thomason first crossed my radar as the co-author of The Rule of Four, a few years back. He's got a novel of his own coming out soon, 12.21 (Dial Press), and I'm very pleased to report that it's an exciting, fast-paced thriller that will keep you guessing and engaged right to the last page.Using the whole "Mayan calendar suggests the world might end on 21 December 2012" thing as its jumping-off point, Thomason's novel opens with the arrival of a virulent and deadly new disease in Los Angeles, just as an extremely rare Mayan codex surfaces for the first time in a thousand years. The two events, naturally, are not unconnected, and CDC scientist Gabriel Stanton and Getty curator Chel Manu have to race the clock in order to find the source of the disease (which requires decipering the codex itself and understanding its fairly cryptic warnings).While there are a few slow spots, I found it hard to put the book down, and read almost all of it in the course of a single afternoon. Thomason writes well, and is able to highlight some of the most interesting aspects of Mayan history as well as contemporary neuroscientific advances. A good late-summer read!
    • 4/5
      First Line: He stands silently in the moonlight against the wall of the temple, the small bundle held tightly under his arm.For those who love to spread doom and gloom, the date December 21, 2012, has long been a touchstone because they insist that it is the date when the ancient Maya calendar predicts the world will end.Two weeks before "Doom Day" it's business as usual for Dr. Gabriel Stanton, who heads off to the lab where he studies incurable prion diseases for the Center for Disease Control. The first phone call Stanton gets is from a hospital resident who insists she has a patient he has to see. At roughly the same time Chel Manu, a researcher at the Getty Museum, has an unwelcome visit from a known dealer in black market antiquities. The man thrusts a duffel bag into her hands and disappears.By the end of the day Stanton, the foremost expert on rare infectious diseases, is dealing with a patient whose symptoms terrify him, and Manu, one of the best and brightest in the field of Maya studies, has in her possession a priceless codex from a lost city of her ancestors. This record, written in secret and hidden by a royal scribe, may very well hold the answer to one of history's great mysteries: why the Maya kingdoms vanished overnight. When Manu is called to interpret for Stanton's patient, it suddenly seems very real that our own civilization may suffer the same fate... and the clock is ticking inexorably toward December 21.Thomason has written a fast-paced story based on enough truth to make you worry. The first part of the book quickly sets the stage and describes prion diseases (think mad cow disease and fatal familial insomnia among others) in such a way that will make you wonder if any food or product that enters your mouth is safe. I've done reading elsewhere that proves we'd be right to be concerned, but this is a book review, not a soapbox. The two main characters, Gabe Stanton and Chel Manu, are also introduced as being completely focused on their jobs yet willing to listen to opposing viewpoints and to make unpopular decisions.Although I enjoyed both characters, my favorite parts of the book concerned the translation of the codex and the glimpse it gave into the ancient Maya civilization, as well as the depiction of life in Los Angeles as the entire metropolitan area is placed under strict quarantine.There's a subplot or two that seem unnecessary, such as the one with the militant group that wants to steal the codex and head for the Guatemalan jungle to find the lost city, but they barely put me off my stride. If you enjoy Michael Crichton-like tales of doomsday disease wrapped up in Maya history and legend, you're going to like this book as much as I did.
    • 3/5
      I received this book as part of the early reviewer program from LT. I was very excited to dive into this apocalytic tale of an epidemic of prion disease (the same type of illness as mad cow disease) that happens to coincide with the end of the Mayan long count cycle. While the plot was intriguing and the details and characters rich, I found the pace to be much too slow. I could only slog through bits of it at a time, despite the fact that I was really interested in how things would play out. I would recommend it to those readers who enjoy a good medical fiction piece, or anyone who wants to read about lots of mayan customs and folklore, but be warned, it's not one you will breeze through in a quick sitting or two.
    • 4/5
      12.21: A Novel by Dustin Thomason intrigued me right from the start. I love the premise and was not disappointed in the execution. It is a lively and engaging read that keeps you hooked and wanting to read more. I have read that it is a mixture of Michael Crichton and Dan Brown, both of whom I enjoy and I would also draw that comparison very favorably. A great summer read for anyone looking for some action and suspense.
    • 4/5
      It's Michael Chriton meets Dan Brown...for those who loved Angels & Demons, Outbreak, Sphere or the Lost Symbol this is a book for you!This book is based along the Mayan culture with the end of the long cycle coming to a close this Dec. 21st, some speculate that it's technology that caused the decline of the great Mayan empire, some say drought, but this book provides a completely different theory that is not far fetched from what could've happened.The city of LA is on quarentine after someone bring a new form of disease to the area after finding a lost Mayan temple...the race is on to prevent this odd disease from it's rapid spread and doctors find stumbling blocks along the way.Fun, fast and engaging read!
    • 4/5
      Two events developing concurrently in December 2012 entwine in this gripping medical/historical thriller. In one event, a curator of Guatemalan antiquities finds herself illegally in possession of an ancient codex of incomparable value, both historically and monetarily. The other event involves a desperate race to identify the source of a new variant of a deadly disease before it spreads further. These disparate events intersect when the curator is called upon to interpret the dying words of the disease's first victim, whose delirious mutterings are in a language she speaks. Heightening the urgency is the impending arrival of December 21, 2012, the date that some claim the Mayan calendar predicts the world will end.With a much more mature and polished novel than his earlier effort, The Rule of Four, author Dustin Thomson keeps the reader turning pages far into the night. Surprising plot twists more than offset occasional predictability as likeable characters draw upon their ingenuity to save civilization. Fans of medical thrillers shouldn't miss it, and readers of intelligently written fiction should keep an eye on Dustin Thomason.
    • 4/5
      A book very reminiscent of Michael Crichton's work, a thriller with large dollops of history and medical investigation. An excellent page turner taking the reader from a quarantined LA to the jungles of Guatemala in a race against the calendar and a -so far - fatal disease.
    • 4/5
      Prions, the CDC, a stolen Mayan codex, a race to stop an epidemic and the approaching date of 12/21/12 make for a heart pounding novel and a fun summertime read. A cross between a Robin Cook/Michael Crichton medical/biological thriller and a Clive Cussler/James Rollins action/adventure novel, it combines the best of both in an intelligently written book that takes the reader on a journey from the lab to the museum to the jungle. From the land of the ancient Maya to present day Los Angeles there is little chance for boredom and a great chance that the reader will spend time worrying about the truth behind this original story.
    • 4/5
      From the disease ravaged streets of a quarantined Los Angeles, to the sweltering heat and nearly impenetrable jungles of Guatemala, this book is full of nonstop suspense and action. It is a real page turner. The threat of a civilization ending disease is coupled with the ancient Mayan doomsday calender ticking down to 12/21/12. Many believe it is a date upon which the world as we know it will cease to exist. Dr. Gabriel Stanton and his staff try to find a cure for a mysterious brain disease that is rapidly spreading throughout Los Angeles. Dr Chel Manu, an expert on Mayan language and customs, risks her career by receiving and attempting to translate a rare Mayan codex smuggled into the U. S., which incidentally, might reveal clues for a cure for the deadly disease. As the source of both the disease and the codex converge in Guatemala, Stanton and Manu must decide together if there is any chance of finding a cure in the remote Mayan jungle. This book was provided for review by the well read folks of the Random House Publishing Group.
    • 5/5
      This book is about the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar on December 21st, 2012. A very timely hypothesis of the apocalyptic chaos that may very soon take over the news, it is also a close inspection of Mayan culture and modern medicine. While the main characters are focused on saving the world's humans from succumbing to a horrific prion disease while simultaneously trying to decipher an ancient Mayan codex, the reader also sees glimpses of the past in flashbacks to the life of the author of the codex. Thomason's expertise in recreating the past in such detail while including enough fiction to make this novel a work of his imagination makes this a truly fascinating read.
    • 4/5
      The end of the Mayan long count calendar is slated to end on December 21st, 2012. Many speculate that this will be the end of the world, most will view it as just another day. Dustin Thomason paints a somewhat believable 12-21 scenario in which a Doctor from the CDC and an expert in Mayan history are paired together in a battle against time to find the source of a deadly virus. The virus is theorized to have originated in an ancient Mayan tomb and the secrets are buried in a Mayan codex that few have the smarts to decode. Will they find the tomb and potentially a cure in time or will 12-21 truly mark the end of civilization as we know it? Dustin Thomason has delivered a well written solid medical-Mayan thriller. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      This was a good book. It brought a new insight into the 2012 "end of the world" theory. A new strain of disease threatens to wipe out the world's population. Dr. Stanton and Chel Manu are trying to find a cure. The only problem is that the only clues they have are from an ancient Mayan Codex, that very few people know how to decode. Fortunately, Chel Manu is one of those people. She puts together a team of linguists who are working fervently to try to pinpoint the exact cause and origin of the disease. Will they find a cure before the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar on 12/21/2012??
    • 4/5
      This is a great medical thriller, historical thriller and is a fun read. It also gives us a glimpse of the life of the Maya and how some of it's descendants try to reconcile their beliefs with the modern world. If you like James Rollins then you'll enjoy this book.
    • 4/5
      I received this as an advance copy. The book is due to be published in August. Reading thrillers like 12 21 can keep you up at night. It isn't the heart pounding adventure or the characters miss with near death experiences but the simple fact that this type of thriller could happen. The realization that a horrific virus is just out there in some ancient ruin waiting to be unleashed upon the world makes my skin crawl. In the same vein as Steve Berry, James Rollins and other super thrillers, 12 21 involves good people and bad involved in a medical crisis that they are powerless to control without knowing where the disease came from and finding or understanding an ancient relic so they can save the world. It all goes back to the Mayan calendar that predicts the end of the world on 12 21 12 and a Mayan relic that finds its way to a researcher at the Getty Museum and a deadly virus that starts claiming lives in Los Angeles. Prions are tiny proteins that are responsible for deadly outbreaks like Mad Cow Disease and this is what pulls in specialist Gabe Stanton to the new outbreak in Los Angeles. Can they control the disease, find an antidote and save the world? You will not want to put this one down before finishing the last page breathless and more than a bit worried what might happen this coming end of the year.
    • 4/5
      I won this book through a librarthing giveaway.Good book with a good plot line. This was a different kind of read that I usually read. I liked it. The book forms around the Mayan prophecy that the world will end on 12/21/12. If show's both the scientific and the mystical sides of the Mayan people. I loved that this book had the action to keep it fast paced yet it didn't take over the book. I look forward to more from Dustin Thomason.