12.21: A Novel by Dustin Thomason

My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars


12.21 was an entertaining read.  I never got bored, that's for sure.  I'm not big on the whole Mayan Prophecy thing, so I normally wouldn't run to read this sort of thing. However, Random House offered a giveaway for the Action/Adventure Aficionados group, so I decided to give it a try. I am glad I did.

What I liked:
* I love medicine, so medical dramas in various incarnations almost always appeal.  The whole concept of an epidemic illness arising out of a connection to an ancient Maya tomb and civilization, and related to the Mayan Prophecy was a unique approach. I liked the characters' race to find out what the etiology of the infection was and how to combat it.  There was a real sense of urgency and I felt my pulse racing as I read.  History is another favorite subject, so there's a good combination here.
* This was quite readable.  The narrative was cohesive between modern day and flashbacks to the ancient Maya times (900AD),  and there was a sense of steady progression in this story that I appreciated, especially for a suspense-driven book. 
*I like that the author didn't slow down the story too much with excessive explanations, but the Maya cultural elements seemed well-researched and the science was fairly credible (except one heinous element below that I must rant about).
*Sadly, I knew little about the indigenous Maya descendants of Guatemala. That was very interesting to read about their thriving community in LA (assuming that it's real).  Also, I wasn't aware of the situation with the indigenous people in Guatemala.  It's always good to learn about different peoples and their struggles, and it will make me more sensitive about their plight.

What could have been better:
*Okay, I have a mini rant. The scene with the slaughterhouse/meat processing factory is so unrealistic it's insulting and laughable. The things that occur in that facility would never happen. I know for certain.  They had serious food safety issues going on, including commingling of meat ingredients and use of products that definitely are not approved for meat production or use in the United States. Then the author made a point of saying that kids eat that product. A lot of inspectors work very hard to make sure that products safe for consumption make it on the shelves, and that was offensive to the hard work they put in and the many safety checks that meat plants have to follow in their food safety system.  One could argue that maybe that facility was not under government oversight, but the author made a point of mentioning the USDA, so I know it was. And let's be clear that is not going to happen in a federally inspected facility.  I don't mind the line between fiction and reality blurring in appropriate settings. This wasn't one. For a medical science drama, I expect more realistic and credible use of information in a story.  Fortunately, I was able to get over my disgust with this and keep reading the book, but it affected my rating without a doubt.
*I didn't feel a heavy sense of connection to any of the main characters.  The storyline itself was more interesting to me.  Towards the end, the sense of urgency for their situation did hit me, but I can't say I fell in love with anyone in this novel. 

Overall Thoughts:
*A pretty good, readable, suspenseful novel. I liked the mix of ancient civilizations and treasure hunting with modern medical science.  There were a couple of pitfalls that lowered my rating, but overall, it was a worthwhile read, especially for those interested in the Endtime Mayan Prophecy and Meso-American ancient civilizations.  For a quick-read medical suspense story with some ancient connections, this is a pretty good one to pick up.


Overall Rating: 3.75/5.0 stars.

A special thanks to Random House for the opportunity for members of the Action/Adventure Aficionados to read this novel.




View all my reviews