Review – The Alarmists

Colonel Richard’s Pentagon military unit monitors worldwide disasters to determine if they’re natural, coincidental or possibly even manmade. Their recent study of seismic data had brought Richard’s and his team to Ethiopia to “the classic rift less than a click to the west of” where Richards now stood. In spite of a nagging intuition that tugged at Richard’s, the team is unable to find anything abnormal from probes with sophisticated scientific gear and he orders the team to “…pack it up.”

Suddenly “three [heavily armed] enemy vehicles approached and formed a semi-circle…fifty yards away from the Americans.”

And the story begins…

Don Hoesel, best-selling author of Hunter’s Moon and Elisha’s Bones draws on the ancient Mayan culture with its “apocalyptic prophecies” to pen The Alarmists. A doomsday thriller based on the Mayan Long Count calendar that ends instead of entering a new cycle 12/21/12. The Mayan’s, “master builders and keen observers of the sky and time,” measured time in cycles instead of years. Their precise, accurate and elaborate time codes were used as ancient diagrams of past and future events, unmatched until modern times.

The author’s story begins in the near future, December 2012, a time that brings about a doomsday scenario according to ancient prophecy. This date, like the Y2K date, holds similar and ominous fears of impending catastrophe.

Add Sociologist Brent Michaels to a team that had evolved into a highly developed group operating under the code name “Project Night House.” Michael’s well-known and skilled use of collated data is needed to “uncover why the world is rushing toward doomsday.”

Captain Amy Madigan, a tiny petite blonde is Michael’s liaison for “Project Night House” and his soon-to-be romantic interest. After listening to his many questions in their initial meeting, she reminds the young sociologist, “…we want you to track it [events] in reverse…” She assured him they didn’t want him to predict anything, only find the “polarizing” event.

Hoesel “tackles the 2012 phenomena with unexpected twists” in a frantic race against time when there are only “eight days’ left to “…stop looking at the ‘why’ and start looking at the ‘who. ‘” Faith and romance are a minor and subtle part of a plot that combines mystery and suspense in a tense action-packed thriller. Warning: Don’t start the book until you have time to finish it.