End of the World? The Mayan Apocalypse by Mark Hitchcock and Alton Gansky

I am certain that over the course of the next year, more and more people will be talking about the Mayan calender and the infamous date of 12/21/12, much like occurred with the Y2K scare. For years already, speculation has abounded about the ancient calender and news organization are likely to continue to capitalize on people's fears (for a good article on the issue, see this USA Today piece). On Dec.12, 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years, and people are wondering - what will that mean for the people of Earth? Disastrous Solar flares? Meteorites? Volcanoes? The end of the world as we know it? The destruction of the economy?

I won't get into the details of the different opinions about what may or may not occur on that day, but I am interested in knowing:

What do you think that day will bring?




Mark Hitchcock and Alton Gansky have teamed up to write a novel considering exactly such scenarios as posed above. Check out my review below:

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Book Synopsis as supplied by the publisher, Harvest House: 

On the heels of Mark Hitchcock’s prophecy bestseller 2012, the Bible, and the End of the World comes a suspenseful novel (coauthored with bestselling novelist Alton Gansky) about the supposed expiration date of planet earth—December 21, 2012.

Andrew Morgan is a wealthy oil executive in search of the meaning of life. In his quest for answers he encounters the ancient Mayan predictions that the world will end in 2012. That the claims seem supported by math and astronomy drives him to check on them. Then he meets Lisa Campbell, an attractive Christian journalist also researching the Mayan calendar. When he learns that she is a Christian, he quickly dismisses what she has to say.

As the time draws closer to December 21, 2012, a meteorite impact in Arizona, a volcanic eruption, and the threat of an asteroid on a collision-course with earth escalate fears. Are these indicators of a global apocalypse? Will anyone survive? Does Lisa’s Christian faith have the answers after all? Or has fate destined everyone to a holocaust from which there is no escape?

MY REVIEW


The Mayan Apocalypse is action-packed, with suspense and mystery and grand What-if? scenarios. I enjoyed peering into the authors' imaginations of what could be, and was captivated by the details of the ancient Mayan predictions. However, I was a bit disappointed with the overall character development, and found a lot of the dialogue to detract from the pace of the story. Some of the interactions between the journalist, Lisa, and the "newbie" reporter were just downright annoying. In the end, I found the idea of the book, with it's focus on the Apocalypse as prophesied by an ancient culture, to be more entertaining than the novel itself.

For these reasons, I cannot really give the book more than 3.5 out of 5 stars, and a mild recommendation. It wasn't quite what I was hoping for and didn't provide the same level of enjoyment as previous books I've read by Alton Gansky. However, readers who enjoy novels about the end-times will likely appreciate the different twist represented by this book.  

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