Review and Giveaway: 12.21.12 by Killian McRae

Title: 12.21.12
Author: Killian McRae
Publication Date: October 25, 2011

From Goodreads:


The only way to save the future is to decode the past. The only way to decode the past is to save the future. 

Archaeologist Sheppard Smyth has staked his career and the honorable memory of his wife and partner on proving his widely panned theory: Cleopatra VII, the last sovereign pharaoh of Egypt, was not a victim of suicide as history suggests, but of a well-concealed murder. When a statue of the doomed Queen is unearthed in a pre-Columbian excavation site in Mexico, Shep rushes to investigate and, hopefully, find the proof that has evaded him for so long. The statue, however, is only the first clue suggesting a mysterious connection between Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica, and possibly - beyond. Suddenly thrust into the heated rivalry between sexy and enigmatic antiquities thief Victoria Kent and the infamous Russian mafioso Dmitri Kronastia, Shep finds himself a common pawn played by forces working to see out a quest older than the pyramids and cloaked in the Mayan Doomsday prophecy of 12.21.12. 

My Thoughts:

Sheppard Smyth is a Cleopatra-obsessed archaeologist. He believes Cleopatra was murdered and he is set on finding evidence to support his theory. When his wife,Christine, dies during one of these expeditions, Shep starts to lose himself to alcohol. Three years and many bottles later, Shep is contacted by a long lost friend who has found something so strange that Shep immediately jumps on a plane to meet him. Once there, things start to take a disastrous turn. He discovers that his friend is working on a dig for a Russian mob boss, Dmitri, and thinks things can't get any worse when Jaguar, and international thief, strikes at the site and makes off with all of the artifacts. Shep and his friend are then taken hostage by Dmitri and are thrown into something so big it and crazy that it just has to be true, right?

I originally came across 12.21.12 a few months ago on Goodreads. I was browsing through the giveaways and this cover immediately caught my attention. After reading the synopsis, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, I was not a lucky winner. However, I soon received an email from the author offering me a chance to read and review her book so I jumped at the chance. All I can say is: wow! 12.21.12 starts off at full speed and just keeps on going. There is non-stop action and twists and turns that leave you second guessing yourself. So many times I thought I had this story figured out but man, I was so wrong!

I have to admit that I knew nothing going into this about Cleopatra, Egyptian history, Mesopotamia or Mesoamerica. I thought this would make it harder for me to follow the story but I was wrong. I learned a lot as I read and didn't feel like I was being fed too much information at once or that information was lacking. Everything I needed to know was there and at a steady pace. This is crucial for me because I have a horrible tendency of doing one of two things when trying to pick up something new: the information isn't given to me fast enough and I give up or so much information is handed to me at once that it is sensation overload and I give up. This is especially true when it comes to things that don't interest me (history being one of these things, which drives the husband absolutely CRAZY lol).

The story alternates between multiple character's points of view. In fact, I believe we hear from all of them except for a few. I always love when we can get inside the minds of more than one character, we learn so much more about them and connect better. Each character adds something unique to this story that I don't think we would appreciate if we didn't hear it straight from them. Shep, the main character, is still struggling with the loss of his wife but still has a sense of humor. With all of the crazy things going on around him and the threat of death, he can't help but make his sarcastic remarks.

Overall, this book was amazing. It was smart, original and kept me wanting more. I am incredibly thankful to Killian McRae for allowing me the chance to read it, and also for allowing me to give one of you the opportunity as well. One lucky reader is going to win their own ebook of 12.21.12! Since this is a digital copy, it is open internationally. Yay!

Don't want to wait to read it? You can purchase your own copy from Amazon (paperback,ebook), BN.com, or Smashwords. Killian has also released a collection of short stories as a companion to 12.21.12 that you can purchase for free from BN.com or Smashwords.





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