Thursday, June 20, 2013

Domain (2001) novel

Steve Alten's 2001 novel Domain about the Mayan Long Count Calendar "prediction" that the world would end on December 21, 2012 was well ahead of the spate of novels that started appearing the closer we approached 2012. Domain intermixes so-called ancient mysteries that are essentially unconnected with the 2012 doomsday scenario. It would not be giving too much away to say that the aliens did it. The novel also contains maps and photographs along with lengthy quotations from a fictional archaeologist's journal whose son, deemed mentally ill, is the protagonist. Domain, which ends in 2013, is the first of a trilogy known as, likely for marketing purposes, the "Mayan Prophecy series". The second novel is Resurrection (2004) and the third is Phobos: Mayan Fear (2011).

Saturday, January 5, 2013

2013: The End of Days or a New Beginning? (2008) non-fiction book

Marie D. Jones' 2013: The End of Days or a New Beginning?: Envisioning the World After the Events of 2012 is a hodge-podge of the ridiculous and the sublime as far as the apocalyptic goes. If a doomsday scenario was ever in the public consciousness over the past one to two thousand years, you can expect to read about it here, from the prophecies of Nostradamus to Edgar Cayce, from West Nile Virus to honeybee die-off.

The 2012 Story (2009) non-fiction book

The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History (2009) book by John Major Jenkins, an independent Mayanist, who's credited with discovering the galactic alignment that coincides with the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar on December 21, 2012. Jenkins does not subscribe to the doomsday view of 2012 and champions the transformation and renewal philosophy. You can find more information about his viewpoints at Update2012.com and The Center for 2012 Studies.