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.
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.
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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.