
12.21
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.25
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Fred Sanders
-
Noel Rodriguez
-
Dustin Thomason
-
By:
-
Dustin Thomason
About this listen
From the co-author of the two-million copy mega-best seller The Rule of Four, comes a riveting thriller with a brilliant premise based on the 2012 apocalypse phenomenon - perfect for readers of Steve Berry, Preston and Child, and Dan Brown.
For decades, December 21, 2012, has been a touchstone for doomsayers worldwide. It is the date, they claim, when the ancient Maya calendar predicts the world will end.
In Los Angeles, two weeks before, all is calm. Dr. Gabriel Stanton takes his usual morning bike ride, drops off the dog with his ex-wife, and heads to the lab where he studies incurable prion diseases for the CDC. His first phone call is from a hospital resident who has an urgent case she thinks he needs to see. Meanwhile, Chel Manu, a Guatemalan American researcher at the Getty Museum, is interrupted by a desperate, unwelcome visitor from the black market antiquities trade who thrusts a duffel bag into her hands.
By the end of the day, Stanton, the foremost expert on some of the rarest infections in the world, is grappling with a patient whose every symptom confounds and terrifies him. And Chel, the brightest young star in the field of Maya studies, has possession of an illegal artifact that has miraculously survived the centuries intact: a priceless codex from a lost city of her ancestors. This extraordinary record, written in secret by a royal scribe, seems to hold the answer to her life's work and to one of history's great riddles: why the Maya kingdoms vanished overnight. Suddenly it seems that our own civilization might suffer this same fate.
With only days remaining until December 21, 2012, Stanton and Chel must join forces before time runs out.
©2012 Dustin Thomason (P)2012 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Vivaldi Cipher
- Vatican Secret Archive Thrillers
- By: Gary McAvoy
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the election of a new Pope in the mid-18th century, famed violinist Antonio Vivaldi learns of a ring of art forgers who are replacing the Vatican’s priceless treasures with expertly-painted fakes. Desperate, the composer hides a message in a special melody, hoping someone, someday, will take down the culprits....
-
-
Novel or product placement?
- By Cincyreader on 06-25-23
By: Gary McAvoy
-
The Templar Legacy
- A Novel
- By: Steve Berry
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts—and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he’d left behind.
-
-
Dan Brown... eat your heart out
- By Bonnie-Ann on 07-22-12
By: Steve Berry
-
The Atlantis Code
- A Novel
- By: Charles Brokaw
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A thrill-seeking Harvard linguistics professor and an ultrasecret branch of the Catholic Church go head-to-head in a race to uncover the secrets of the lost city of Atlantis. The ruins of the technologically advanced, eerily enigmatic ancient civilization promise their discoverer fame, fortune, and power...but hold earth-shattering secrets about the origin of man. While world-famous linguist and archaeologist, Thomas Lourds, is shooting a film that dramatizes his flamboyant life and scientific achievements, satellites spot impossibly ancient ruins along the Spanish coast.
-
-
Atlantis-Still lost.
- By Placeholder on 09-05-19
By: Charles Brokaw
-
The Third Secret
- A Novel of Suspense
- By: Steve Berry
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary's words or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows.
-
-
a story to make red state Christians see red
- By Doug Lucas on 06-07-05
By: Steve Berry
-
Pandemic
- The Extinction Files, Book 1
- By: A. G. Riddle
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Atlanta, Dr. Peyton Shaw is awakened by the phone call she has dreaded for years. As the CDC's leading epidemiologist, she's among the first responders to outbreaks around the world. It's a lonely and dangerous job, but it's her life - and she's good at it. This time she may have met her match. In Kenya, an Ebola-like pathogen has infected two Americans. One lies at death's door. With the clock ticking, Peyton assembles her team and joins personnel from the Kenyan Ministry of Health and the WHO.
-
-
Read this before buying, too much hype
- By Bradley on 06-23-17
By: A. G. Riddle
-
Gardens of the Moon
- The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 26 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.
-
-
An engrossing yet demanding high epic
- By Adnan on 11-20-12
By: Steven Erikson
-
The Vivaldi Cipher
- Vatican Secret Archive Thrillers
- By: Gary McAvoy
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the election of a new Pope in the mid-18th century, famed violinist Antonio Vivaldi learns of a ring of art forgers who are replacing the Vatican’s priceless treasures with expertly-painted fakes. Desperate, the composer hides a message in a special melody, hoping someone, someday, will take down the culprits....
-
-
Novel or product placement?
- By Cincyreader on 06-25-23
By: Gary McAvoy
-
The Templar Legacy
- A Novel
- By: Steve Berry
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts—and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he’d left behind.
-
-
Dan Brown... eat your heart out
- By Bonnie-Ann on 07-22-12
By: Steve Berry
-
The Atlantis Code
- A Novel
- By: Charles Brokaw
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A thrill-seeking Harvard linguistics professor and an ultrasecret branch of the Catholic Church go head-to-head in a race to uncover the secrets of the lost city of Atlantis. The ruins of the technologically advanced, eerily enigmatic ancient civilization promise their discoverer fame, fortune, and power...but hold earth-shattering secrets about the origin of man. While world-famous linguist and archaeologist, Thomas Lourds, is shooting a film that dramatizes his flamboyant life and scientific achievements, satellites spot impossibly ancient ruins along the Spanish coast.
-
-
Atlantis-Still lost.
- By Placeholder on 09-05-19
By: Charles Brokaw
-
The Third Secret
- A Novel of Suspense
- By: Steve Berry
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary's words or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows.
-
-
a story to make red state Christians see red
- By Doug Lucas on 06-07-05
By: Steve Berry
-
Pandemic
- The Extinction Files, Book 1
- By: A. G. Riddle
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Atlanta, Dr. Peyton Shaw is awakened by the phone call she has dreaded for years. As the CDC's leading epidemiologist, she's among the first responders to outbreaks around the world. It's a lonely and dangerous job, but it's her life - and she's good at it. This time she may have met her match. In Kenya, an Ebola-like pathogen has infected two Americans. One lies at death's door. With the clock ticking, Peyton assembles her team and joins personnel from the Kenyan Ministry of Health and the WHO.
-
-
Read this before buying, too much hype
- By Bradley on 06-23-17
By: A. G. Riddle
-
Gardens of the Moon
- The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 26 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.
-
-
An engrossing yet demanding high epic
- By Adnan on 11-20-12
By: Steven Erikson
-
Seveneves
- A Novel
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal, Will Damron
- Length: 31 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.
-
-
Odd narrator choice
- By Josh Mitchell on 05-30-15
By: Neal Stephenson
-
Angels and Demons
- By: Dan Brown
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization, the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra.
-
-
A must for fans of The Da Vinci Code
- By Geoffrey on 04-14-04
By: Dan Brown
-
Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
-
-
The Shrike Awaits. Enter The Time Tombs...
- By Michael on 10-13-12
By: Dan Simmons
-
Elantris
- Tenth Anniversary Special Edition
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 28 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2005, Brandon Sanderson debuted with Elantris, an epic fantasy unlike any other then on the market. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Tor is reissuing Elantris in a special edition, a fresh chance to introduce it to the myriad listeners who have since become Sanderson fans.
-
-
Just love Jack Garrett's narration!
- By Brittany on 09-01-16
-
Revelation Space
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 22 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to solve the Amarantin riddle before ancient history repeats itself. With no other resources at his disposal, Sylveste forges a dangerous alliance with the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity. But as he closes in on the secret, a killer closes in on him because the Amarantin were destroyed for a reason.
-
-
Defeated
- By Eoin on 07-15-12
-
Patriot Games
- By: Tom Clancy
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 22 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is fall. CIA analyst Jack Ryan, historian and former Marine, is vacationing in London with his wife and young daughter. Suddenly, right before his eyes, a terrorist group launches its deadly attack. Instinctively, he dives forward to break it up, and is shot. It is not until he wakes up in the hospital that he learns whose lives he has saved - the Duke and Duchess of Kent.
-
-
Oldie but Goodie!
- By K. Masheter Deal on 08-13-12
By: Tom Clancy
-
Cloud Atlas (20th Anniversary Edition)
- A Novel
- By: David Mitchell, Gabrielle Zevin
- Narrated by: Scott Brick, Cassandra Campbell, Kim Mai Guest, and others
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Along the way, Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite.... Abruptly, the action jumps to Belgium in 1931, where Robert Frobisher, a disinherited bisexual composer, contrives his way into the household of an infirm maestro who has a beguiling wife and a nubile daughter....
-
-
thoroughly enjoyed
- By Elizabeth on 01-05-08
By: David Mitchell, and others
-
Reamde
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 38 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Neal Stephenson is continually rocking the literary world with his brazen and brilliant fictional creations - whether he’s reimagining the past (The Baroque Cycle), inventing the future (Snow Crash), or both (Cryptonomicon).
-
-
Not perfect, but worth a listen.
- By ShySusan on 10-01-11
By: Neal Stephenson
-
Red Mars
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 23 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, Red Mars is the first book in Kim Stanley Robinson's best-selling trilogy. Red Mars is praised by scientists for its detailed visions of future technology. It is also hailed by authors and critics for its vivid characters and dramatic conflicts.
For centuries, the red planet has enticed the people of Earth. Now an international group of scientists has colonized Mars. Leaving Earth forever, these 100 people have traveled nine months to reach their new home. This is the remarkable story of the world they create - and the hidden power struggles of those who want to control it.
-
-
very long
- By Dana on 07-17-08
-
Departure
- By: A.G. Riddle
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber, Scott Aiello
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
En route to London from New York, Flight 305 suddenly loses power and crash-lands in the English countryside, plunging a group of strangers into a mysterious adventure that will have repercussions for all of humankind. Struggling to stay alive, the survivors soon realize that the world they've crashed in is very different from the one they left. But where are they? Why are they here? And how will they get back home?
-
-
TODAY'S DECISIONS ARE TOMRROWS REALITY
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 02-06-17
By: A.G. Riddle
-
Lost in Time
- By: A.G. Riddle
- Narrated by: John Skelley
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Sam Anderson is one of the most celebrated scientists in history. Ten years ago, he invented a device that changed the world forever. Now his life is about to be ripped apart—and his own creation may be to blame. One fateful morning, Sam discovers that his girlfriend has been murdered and that his daughter is accused of the crime. Sam believes she's innocent, but he can't prove it. There's only one thing he can do to save his daughter: confess to the crime. And so he does. But in the future, murderers aren't sent to prison. They're sent to the past.
-
-
Much forgiveness needed to enjoy. I’m into forgiveness and enjoyment!
- By GM on 09-04-22
By: A.G. Riddle
-
How High We Go in the Dark
- A Novel
- By: Sequoia Nagamatsu
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Brian Nishii, Keisuke Hoashi, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika Crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy.
-
-
Should come with a sadness warning
- By KJH on 03-16-22
Critic reviews
What listeners say about 12.21
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- k.
- 08-26-12
cannibalism and mad cow epidemic...be forewarned
Well written, depressing as hell, quite gruesome, informative in a depressing way, if this sounds like escapism to you, bon voyage!...however, terrific narrator...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Deb
- 08-27-12
Great book!
Would you consider the audio edition of 12.21 to be better than the print version?
Never read the print but the narrator was excellent!
Who was your favorite character and why?
I liked them all
Which scene was your favorite?
When the lock & key metaphor is explained
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
NOne
Any additional comments?
I thought this was going 2 b another haunted house book I couldn't have been more wrong! Great characters, great story great ending! This book had lots of surprises! Well worth the credit!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 08-26-12
Enjoyed the book
Where does 12.21 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
12.21 may not be the best book I've ever read, but the plot line was engaging and it held my attention through to the end. An enjoyable read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Wendy
- 03-26-13
Would it matter?
I don't know that I would spend a credit on this book again. It was just OKAY. It was unbelievable and I didn't feel I really cared if the world ended or not from a book point of view. I did finish the book and at the end just said "Ugh-okay." It wasn't a book that I really WANTED to listen to and I prefer those that take me into the story. This one not so taken in as I was curious where they were going. Where they went was not very well thought out.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- cristina
- 08-21-12
Three stars, but enjoyable
The premise was clever -- making both the scientific and the religious explanation for an apocalypse seem 'plausible.' (If events happen to come together too smoothly....is it a preposterous coincidence, or fate?) The writing was pretty solid. The narration, for the most part, was good (except for Noel Rodriguez -- I assume he is the reader for the "scribe" and sounds like a caricature of a drunk who is exaggerating his Spanish accent...those parts were excruciating and I found myself listening at double-speed through some sections). I was totally entertained -- and yet, the character development was a little weak and some fail to come alive as people. They are simply figures in the plot. Still, like I said, I did enjoy it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
36 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kelly
- 09-20-12
enjoyable
Any additional comments?
Great spin on 12.21.2012 other wise known as the end of the world =) It is an enjoyable read and will kept you interested. I liked the store and the character.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brad Zerkel
- 08-29-12
A bit disappointed
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The jumping back and forth between past and present wasnt very smooth...Lost interest
Has 12.21 turned you off from other books in this genre?
No.....this was just disappointing..maybe my expectations were too high
Could you see 12.21 being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
No doubt it will and I doubt very seriously it will follow the book very closely
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- G. Martin
- 02-10-19
An Entertaining Enough Story
The narration definitely was good, although the plot and characters were pretty straight forward. It was an enjoyable listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Beau
- 09-24-12
Meh - A Solid Concept, but not well Executed
Given my title, let me first say that this was not an awful book by any means. It had some solid elements to it including the premise and descriptions and insights into ancient Mayan culture. The first couple of chapters were strong and laid a nice foundation that gave me high hopes. But the characters ended up flat and uninspired, and the story didn't really feel compelling in the way the early Michael Crichton or James Patterson novels might. The peril and pacing you would expect in an end of the world book seemed to be missing and it tended to focus on deciphering and interpreting a codex instead of pushing the story in other ways. Ultimately I felt a bit let down by these decisions and this book ends up as a middling effort; not terrible, but certainly not as good as it could have been.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jacq
- 09-26-12
Thoroughly Enjoyable book
Would you consider the audio edition of 12.21 to be better than the print version?
Yes because the storyline was just the right amount of complexity that it didn't have to be in writing to make it easy to follow and yet it was still an engrossing story that kept my interest.
What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
There were different narrators and I always enjoy that because it allows you to move with the characters in a more seamless manner.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, I definitely had a hard time putting it down.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!