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12.21: A Novel
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Random House Publishing Group 2012
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Description
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.
 
Advance praise for 12.21
 
“Dustin Thomason, M.D., will invariably be compared to Michael Crichton, M.D., and 12.21 will be favorably compared to The Andromeda Strain. Both authors have written first-rate medical thrillers, the kind of fact-based fiction that is very scary but also very entertaining. Thomason knows his stuff, and it shows on every page. I truly could not put this book down.”—Nelson DeMille
“The most exciting novel of its kind since the days of Michael Crichton, 12.21 takes us from the frontiers of modern neuroscience to the riddles of ancient Maya texts, with nothing less than the future of our civilization at stake.”—Vince Flynn
“A fast-moving tale . . . Thomason displays an impressive depth of knowledge of both science and the ancient Mayan way of life. Along the way, he skillfully ramps up the action, one notch at a time. A winning book.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Fascinating, terrifying for its potential realism. I loved how tightly everything fit together. I had to keep reading.”—Taylor Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of The Informationist

“Fast, suspenseful . . . Michael Crichton fans will find a lot to like.”—Publishers Weekly
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
08/07/2012
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780679644286
ASIN:
B007SGLZD0
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Dustin Thomason. (2012). 12.21: A Novel. Random House Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Dustin Thomason. 2012. 12.21: A Novel. Random House Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Dustin Thomason, 12.21: A Novel. Random House Publishing Group, 2012.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Dustin Thomason. 12.21: A Novel. Random House Publishing Group, 2012.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 17:43:05
Date Updated:
Dec 06, 2020 02:45:30
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      • bioText: Dustin Thomason graduated from Harvard College and received his M.D. from Columbia University. He is the co-author of the international bestseller The Rule of Four, and has written and produced several television series, including Lie to Me. He lives in Venice Beach, California.
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publishDate
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title
12.21
fullDescription
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.
 
Advance praise for 12.21
 
“Dustin Thomason, M.D., will invariably be compared to Michael Crichton, M.D., and 12.21 will be favorably compared to The Andromeda Strain. Both authors have written first-rate medical thrillers, the kind of fact-based fiction that is very scary but also very entertaining. Thomason knows his stuff, and it shows on every page. I truly could not put this book down.”—Nelson DeMille
“The most exciting novel of its kind since the days of Michael Crichton, 12.21 takes us from the frontiers of modern neuroscience to the riddles of ancient Maya texts, with nothing less than the future of our civilization at stake.”—Vince Flynn
“A fast-moving tale . . . Thomason displays an impressive depth of knowledge of both science and the ancient Mayan way of life. Along the way, he skillfully ramps up the action, one notch at a time. A winning book.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Fascinating, terrifying for its potential realism. I loved how tightly everything fit together. I had to keep reading.”—Taylor Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of The Informationist

“Fast, suspenseful . . . Michael Crichton fans will find a lot to like.”—Publishers Weekly
reviews
      • premium: False
      • source: Nelson DeMille
      • content: "Dustin Thomason, M.D., will invariably be compared to Michael Crichton, M.D., and 12.21 will be favorably compared to The Andromeda Strain. Both authors have written first-rate medical thrillers, the kind of fact-based fiction that is very scary but also very entertaining. Thomason knows his stuff, and it shows on every page. I truly could not put this book down."
      • premium: False
      • source: Vince Flynn
      • content: "The most exciting novel of its kind since the days of Michael Crichton, 12.21 takes us from the frontiers of modern neuroscience to the riddles of ancient Maya texts, with nothing less than the future of our civilization at stake."
      • premium: False
      • source: Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling author of The Monster of Florence
      • content: "12.21 is a brilliantly complex, outstanding, high-level thriller that mixes cutting-edge science with ancient prophecy to deliver a novel that will keep you turning the pages all night long."
      • premium: False
      • source: People (4 stars)
      • content: "Compulsively readable."
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        June 11, 2012
        The coming apocalypse, predicted by an ancient Mayan calendar to occur on December 21, 2012, provides the backdrop for Thomason’s fast, suspenseful second novel, another science-based puzzle thriller like his 2005 debut, The Rule of Four (with Ian Caldwell). Early one morning, Dr. Gabriel Stanton, the director of the Centers for Disease Control’s Prion Center in Los Angeles, receives a call from a third-year resident at East L.A.’s Presbyterian Hospital about a patient with symptoms of prion disease. The skeptical Stanton hears the resident out, then rushes to Presbyterian to see the patient for himself. Meanwhile at the Getty Museum, Chel Manu, an epigraphy scholar of Mayan descent, is deciphering an incredibly rare, previously unknown Mayan codex. Soon an epidemic of prion disease has struck thousands of people. As a citywide quarantine shuts down L.A., Stanton and Manu race to the Guatemalan jungle to find a cure. Michael Crichton fans will find a lot to like. Author tour. Agent, Jennifer Joel, ICM.

      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        September 1, 2012
        Thomason (The Rule of Four, 2004) delivers a fast-moving tale that weaves ancient Mayan predictions of the end of the world with modern science. Gabe Stanton lost his wife, Nina, to his obsession with his job. As a physician specializing in prion research, Gabe often finds himself in a lab with few outside contacts except for his co-workers and the occasional exchanges with higher-ups from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But when a man who exhibits the symptoms of prion-based mad cow disease shows up in a Los Angeles hospital, Gabe believes that his biggest fear of a devastating outbreak might be on the horizon and rushes to find the source of the outbreak. Meanwhile, Chel Manu, a Guatemalan-born expert on Mayan culture and epigraphy, or the study of inscriptions, is party to a newly discovered codex. The codex, an ancient manuscript, is believed to have been stolen from the tomb of a Mayan king, and if Chel's suspicions are correct, it's the oldest ever located. The find both exults and terrifies her since it's a stolen antiquity and possessing it could cost her the profession she loves. When Chel is asked to assist Gabe in translating the incoherent dying ramblings of the man thought to have a prion-based disease, she discovers that the road to finding the key to saving millions of lives could lead her back to the place and time of her ancestors. Thomason displays an impressive depth of knowledge of both science and the ancient Mayan way of life. Along the way, he skillfully ramps up the action, one notch at a time. A winning book.

        COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        March 15, 2012

        Attending an anonymous patient afflicted with a rare disease, Dr. Gabriel Stanton discovers that the man possesses a centuries-old codex explaining why the Maya civilization collapsed. Soon he and a young Guatemalan American scholar find themselves in a race against time to keep the whole world from hitting the skids--on 12/21/12, as the Maya predicted. With Ian Caldwell, Thomason wrote the mega-best-selling thriller The Rule of Four, which will boost demand.

        Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

popularity
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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.
...
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