2012

By: Whitley Strieber

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

December 21, 2012, may be one of the most watched dates in history. Every 26,000 years, earth lines up with the exact center of our galaxy. At 11:11 on December 21, 2012, this event happens again, and the ancient Maya calculated that it would mark the end, not only of this age, but of human consciousness as we know it.

But what will actually happen? The end of the world? A new age for mankind? Nothing? The last time this happened, Cro-Magnon man suddenly began creating great art in the caves of southern France, which to this day remains one of the most inexplicable changes in human history. Now Whitley Strieber explores 2012 in a towering work of fiction that will astound readers with its truly new insights and a riveting roller-coaster ride of a story.

A mysterious alien presence unexpectedly bursts out of sacred sites all over the world and begins to rip human souls from their bodies, plunging the world into a chaos it has never before known. Courage meets cowardice; loyalty meets betrayal as an entire world struggles to survive this incredible end-all war. Heroes emerge, villains reveal themselves, and in the end, something completely new and unexpected happens that at once lifts the fictional characters into a new life and sounds a haunting real-world warning for the future.

©2007 Whitley Strieber (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"[B]lends equal parts science fiction thriller, supernatural horror, and provocative spiritual speculation....wildly entertaining." (Publishers Weekly)
"Immensely entertaining, and it's optioned for a big, splashy, FX-laden movie." (Booklist)

Meh...

I couldn't do it. I just couldn't finish this book. Rarely do I ever stop listening to a book, but this was a rough one. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that the author actually took the time to write it (hence the first star of my review). Also, the concept was quasi-interesting, but it was a little too disconnected for me (hence the second star).

Other than that, I had to pull the rip-cord about halfway into the story before I found myself throttling my iPod (three cheers for product placement...I'll take my check now Apple).

Try listening to Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson instead.

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

NOT for Strieber Fans

I have been reading Whitley Strieber's books for 35 years when I first picked up a copy of "The Wolfen". I have followed him through fascinating books such as "The Hunger", my personal favorite "Billy", and the Lilith vampire series. I found his "Communion" novels fascinating and enjoyed his return to fiction with "The Grays". Thus I had high hopes for "2012". It is a mess.

"2012" is a tale of parallel universes with various characters moving from world to world, changing names and allegiance, all serving no real purpose. Following a cohesive story line is nearly impossible. It's as if the author took every cliche he could think of, tossed them in a hat, and picked a new theme for each chapter. Therefore we are presented with a tale of aliens, zombies, mutilations, psychics, right wing conspiracy, auto-writing, Mayan myth, religious ideology, ecology, ghosts, and cannibalism.

I really wanted to like this book, but poor editing and improper tenses make the non-sensical plot hard to find. One of the charecters in the book is writing a novel because he needs "a book that sells in order to put food on the table." That book is finished by his adolessent son. One wonders if this is too close to the truth for "2012 the War for Souls"

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Gross

I like alien invasion tales but I was put off by the gruesome depiction of torture, castration and death. I gave up halfway through. I just don't want those images in my conciousness.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

not at his best

like others I am a big fan of this author and have read and followed his work for many years but this was a disappointment - I think there was a conceptual possiblity but he dropped the ball - throughout there were nuggets that were certainly interesting if one follows the various in's and out's of his thinking and the directions he's told us his fans that he has taken - this book is one possiblity but when he stays closer to the known "myth" he does better - here he strayed too far and with three worlds the reader/listener gets easily lost in keeping track of characters no matter their overlap - all this said it did offer some insight into the mind of the writer and that was worth it - so if a Streiber fan it's a must read but don't have your expectations too high

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Not for adults

I don't know much about the 2012 phenomenon, and bought this book on the supposition that it would include an intelligent, imaginative, research-based exploration of '2012'. It's not that. It is rambling, irrational nonsense. Listening experience: imagine yourself duct-taped to a chair in a room with a teen high on pot and babbeling endlessly.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

don't bother

Absolutely the worst book I've ever listened to. The story is disjointed and rambling and the narration is more than annoying. Compared to Phillip Pullman's riveting trilogy "His Dark Materials", also about parallel universes, this book lacks imagination, character development and a cohesive storyline. Don't waste your money. I wish I hadn't.

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Rambling.

I'm so easy to please. And yet this book did not please me. It's like a fantasy/sci-fi/horror "theory of everything." And if that sounds kind of interesting to you (as it does to me), believe me, it's not. It's incoherent.

13 of 14 people found this review helpful

Strieber Fans Will Enjoy

Ever since Communion I've always liked Whitley's tales, although I suspect the whole alien abduction business has been simply his meal ticket, not for real. In this tale, it seems as if he's shaping the protagonist and his wife in a way that wants to lend some credibility to what he would have you believe about his own life. And, virtually every type of paranormal experience ever mentioned on Art Bell's programs gets thrown into the soup. He tries to tie everything together in one story and, sometimes, it seems a little contrived. Aliens, zombies, war of the worlds, reptoids, cattle mutilations, out-of-body experiences, Egyptians, pyramids, parallel universes, ray guns, and on and on. And yet - somehow it all works! Whitely manages to create an enjoyable story and pulls off several great plot surprises. Recommended!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Disappointing Nonsense

First of all, I'd like to state that I'm a huge fan of Whitley Strieber and have enjoyed all of his past work. That being said, 2012 is the most ridiculous, un-entertaining piece of work that I've listened to in my many years as an audible subscriber. The concept is great, and near the middle of the book it's slightly entertaining but not only does it take some time to get there, the ending is, well, silly. Whitley writes better journal posts than this - what gives?

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Bizarrely Entertaining

I wasn't sure what to expect after reading the synopsis and reviews, but I am a fan of Streiber's work. I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. Other reviewers are correct when they say the author tries to tie everything paranormal into this book, and I think he did a great job of it. If you like aliens, ufo's, and paranormal stuff, you should love this book. Remember, this is a novel, not a biography. I suggest it to deep thinkers along the lines of the paranormal and supernatural.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

brilliant opening, shame about the rest

Althought the opening section & build-up were superb & very tense, but without wanting to give away anything here i feel like the story suffered under the weight of the admittedly EPIC plot and things got very messy, some good ideas unexplored and the readers delay and then emphasis on the word \".......SOUL\" really annoyed me as its mentioned all of the time as it is essential to the plot.

I wish i'd looked elsewhere

1 of 2 people found this review helpful