Feathered Serpent 2012 » (First Edition)

JUNIUS PODRUG is an accomplished writer of both fiction and nonfiction. He lives on Cape Cod.

December 21, 2012: The fabled Feathered Serpent begins his relentless ascent out of the bowels of the earth, escaping thousands of years of torturous confinement. Controversial astrobiologist and archaeologist Caden Montez—who believes Teotihuacan is the best site on earth to find alien life forms, such as the Serpent—is on his trail. While exploring this so-called “City of the Gods”—a place so eerie it terrified even the most ferocious Aztecs—she discovers that the Serpent has broken free.

Ancient Mayan priests prophesied that when the God-King returned, he would open the gates to the End Time. Together with an ancient 1000-year-old Mayan warrior—who has crossed the Gulf of Time to save humanity from extinction—the outrageous and beautiful Caden must stop him. Scientists, political leaders, and journalists who have long ridiculed Caden’s theories have no one else to turn to. The Mayans’ Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse is on the move, and humanity’s survival hangs in the balance.

Publishers Weekly

Podrug (Dark Passage) jumps on the 2012 apocalyptic bandwagon with this flimsy thriller. An eruption of methane in the Gulf of Mexico leads to a collapse of civilization throughout the Americas, though pockets of high tech still exist. As the United States goes to war with Canada, astrobiologist Caden Montez, former CIA chief Allen Holt, and ancient ballplayer Tah Heen are brought together to stop a threat to the world’s water supply. Podrug throws in numerous new age ideas, conspiracy theories, time travel, and were-jaguars, shifting the action among first-century Mexico, ancient Vietnam, and near-future Las Vegas in a mishmash that never really holds together. The style is light and breezy, making this tale of global panic more of a mindless diversion. (Mar.)