Ginger Reed, a housewife concerned with what may transpire on 12/21/2012, attempts to do research into the end of the Mayan Calendar without her family's knowledge. She does not want them to worry unnecessarily and wants to keep them safe from not only what might happen, but also her near obsessive behavior.
Ginger begins reading Cipher, a work of fantasy fiction that millions have embraced. (Cipher plays out within the pages of Monarch as a story within a story that runs parallel to Ginger's own experience.) With just under a month until that fateful day, she decides that the reading of Cipher is the most important thing she can do to prepare for a potential apocalypse and nothing will stand in her way of finishing it.
MONARCH (SERIES) DESCRIPTION:
To her suburban friends and neighbors, Ginger Reed, a beautiful housewife who is about to gracefully turn forty, seems to have it all: a nice home within a good school district, two wonderful and healthy children and a handsome husband who supports them. But inside, behind her brilliant green eyes, there flickers a flame of doubt; she believes, with every fiber of her being, that "all is not as it seems," and is afraid that her idyllic world may be coming to an end in less than two months.
The story opens on 11/10/2012, with one month and eleven days until the highly publicized end of the Mayan Calendar. That is why Ginger has driven to a downtown bookstore to buy the book Cipher, a work of fantasy fiction dealing with the approaching date, and why there is such an assortment of "interesting" people lined out the door and around the corner to meet the author.
Monarch is the life-changing journey of a woman obsessed with time. A fear of the future has seized the focus of Ginger's mind. She finds herself feeling alone amongst others, fretting over what tomorrow might bring.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, the seconds go flying off the clock.
Now, if only she can finish the book, survive that ominous day and keep her family and herself together, then maybe she can find her way through this dark psychological tunnel before it's too late.
Aaron Pitters resides in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of the apocalyptic novel Monarch and the psychological thriller Psykosis.
A former actor and director of independent films, Aaron has also written over two-dozen screenplays. Several of his current projects are epic screenplay anthologies that have been reimagined as novel series.
In between the release of each screenplay turned novel series, he has several standalone novels that he is also looking forward to publishing.
I enjoyed this, as it tells us the story of a neurotic housewife with fears of the apocalypse, while simultaneously telling parts of a story from a book she is reading. It is difficult to tell where the plot is heading, and it is was difficult (impossible) for me not to imagine the book/series heading in certain directions. I finished this one with hopes for the second part, but unfortunately part two is just really bizarre (I only got partway through) - and in a way it made me retroactively like part 1 less. I'm probably going to stop while I'm ahead. :-P
This is a multi layered, multi everything book! The story concentrates on the 2012 Mayan world end prediction! Enter a suburban housewife whom is obsessed with all worl end prophecies. In her passion she alienates her entire family! The eter an author and a book he wrote. The plot is intricate. The characters exceptionally well formed and the world building intense and present!
With alternate possible outcomes and second chances this book had me flipping virtual pages at te speed of light.
Whinge-fest What could have been an interesting look at End-Of-The-World Hysteria turns into a whiny angst-fest from a character who couldn't have been more annoying if she tried. The author tried, I'll admit that, but the main character was so incredibly unlikable that it really took me out of the story.