2012

The War for Souls

By: Whitley Strieber

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

December 21, 2012, may be one of the most watched dates in history. Every 26,000 years, earth lines up with the exact center of our galaxy. At 11:11 on December 21, 2012, this event happens again, and the ancient Maya calculated that it would mark the end, not only of this age, but of human consciousness as we know it.

But what will actually happen? The end of the world? A new age for mankind? Nothing? The last time this happened, Cro-Magnon man suddenly began creating great art in the caves of southern France, which to this day remains one of the most inexplicable changes in human history. Now Whitley Strieber explores 2012 in a towering work of fiction that will astound readers with its truly new insights and a riveting roller-coaster ride of a story.

A mysterious alien presence unexpectedly bursts out of sacred sites all over the world and begins to rip human souls from their bodies, plunging the world into a chaos it has never before known. Courage meets cowardice; loyalty meets betrayal as an entire world struggles to survive this incredible end-all war. Heroes emerge, villains reveal themselves, and in the end, something completely new and unexpected happens that at once lifts the fictional characters into a new life and sounds a haunting real-world warning for the future.

©2007 Whitley Strieber (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[B]lends equal parts science fiction thriller, supernatural horror, and provocative spiritual speculation....wildly entertaining." (Publishers Weekly)
"Immensely entertaining, and it's optioned for a big, splashy, FX-laden movie." (Booklist)

A fun ride, but a few pot holes at the end

Stephen King spins immersive yarns that make up for his anticlimactic endings. Mr. Strieber does the same for the first half of the story. As long as I could follow his protagonists and antagonists, it was an enjoyable ride -- especially with the nimble and evocative voice work of reader Joe Barrett.
*
The tease toward the didactic in Martin's transformative experiences seemed short on an adequate supply of gold leaf. The references felt out of place in the context of this story, where a lighter touch would have been as, if not more, effective.
*
The long and fun ride hits pot holes in the final chapters. Characters suddenly display amazing attributes, convenient for the storyline, by having historic information about the character quickly backfilled to explain the unexpected turn of events.
*
Strieber may have thought that the alien location of these scenes offered a blank canvas, but without any reader preparation, this technique was more like early draft notes for a different book had been left in the wrong manuscript.

Not bad, but not brilliant either...

The book starts off great with a captivating plot of an apocalyptic future - but then it takes a wrong turn and looses some of its mystery. The ending, however, is the most disappointing part of the book - it is somewhat forced, as though the writer has ran out of ideas for the book's ending, or if this ending was planned in advance - it hadn't come out right.

HMMMM

Sci-fi as Sci-fi was meant to be. Gets you thinking.

Strieber Fans Will Enjoy

Ever since Communion I've always liked Whitley's tales, although I suspect the whole alien abduction business has been simply his meal ticket, not for real. In this tale, it seems as if he's shaping the protagonist and his wife in a way that wants to lend some credibility to what he would have you believe about his own life. And, virtually every type of paranormal experience ever mentioned on Art Bell's programs gets thrown into the soup. He tries to tie everything together in one story and, sometimes, it seems a little contrived. Aliens, zombies, war of the worlds, reptoids, cattle mutilations, out-of-body experiences, Egyptians, pyramids, parallel universes, ray guns, and on and on. And yet - somehow it all works! Whitely manages to create an enjoyable story and pulls off several great plot surprises. Recommended!

Bizarrely Entertaining

I wasn't sure what to expect after reading the synopsis and reviews, but I am a fan of Streiber's work. I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. Other reviewers are correct when they say the author tries to tie everything paranormal into this book, and I think he did a great job of it. If you like aliens, ufo's, and paranormal stuff, you should love this book. Remember, this is a novel, not a biography. I suggest it to deep thinkers along the lines of the paranormal and supernatural.