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The Domain Trilogy #1
El testamento Maya (Trilogía Maya nº 2)
21 de diciembre 2012. El día en que termina el calendario maya.
A lo largo de los siglos, los científicos han creído que este dato era simplemente una curiosidad histórica. Después de muchos años de investigaciones, el conocido arqueólogo Julius Gabriel descubre la verdad acerca del calendario maya, una verdad tan antigua como poderosa que podría revelar el fatídico destino de la humanidad. Cada monumento de la antigüedad —desde Stonehenge a las pirámides de Egipto, desde el templo de Angkor Wat a a las inmemoriales ruinas mayas— guarda secretos y pistas sobre los orígenes de la civilización y el destino último de la humanidad. Apunto de descubrir el misterio, una conspiración que se remonta a 65 millones de años y que ha alterado el tejido mismo de la civilización intentará impedirlo. Cuando el calendario maya termine, ¿será también el fin del mundo?
A lo largo de los siglos, los científicos han creído que este dato era simplemente una curiosidad histórica. Después de muchos años de investigaciones, el conocido arqueólogo Julius Gabriel descubre la verdad acerca del calendario maya, una verdad tan antigua como poderosa que podría revelar el fatídico destino de la humanidad. Cada monumento de la antigüedad —desde Stonehenge a las pirámides de Egipto, desde el templo de Angkor Wat a a las inmemoriales ruinas mayas— guarda secretos y pistas sobre los orígenes de la civilización y el destino último de la humanidad. Apunto de descubrir el misterio, una conspiración que se remonta a 65 millones de años y que ha alterado el tejido mismo de la civilización intentará impedirlo. Cuando el calendario maya termine, ¿será también el fin del mundo?
594 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2001
143 people are currently reading
1860 people want to read
About the author
Steve Alten
60 books1,350 followersSteve Alten grew up in Philadelphia, earning his Bachelors degree in Physical Education at Penn State University, a Masters Degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Delaware, and a Doctorate of Education at Temple University. Struggling to support his family of five, he decided to pen a novel he had been thinking about for years. Working late nights and on weekends, he eventually finished MEG; A Novel of Deep Terror. Steve sold his car to pay for editing fees. On September (Friday) the 13th, 1996, Steve lost his general manager’s job at a wholesale meat plant. Four days later his agent had a two-book, seven figure deal with Bantam Doubleday.
MEG would go on to become the book of the 1996 Frankfurt book fair, where it eventually sold to more than a twenty countries. MEG hit every major best-seller list, including #19 on the New York Times list (#7 audio), and became a popular radio series in Japan.
Steve’s second release, The TRENCH (Meg sequel) was published by Kensington/Pinnacle in 1999 where it also hit best-seller status. His next novel, DOMAIN and its sequel, RESURRECTION were published by St. Martin’s Press/Tor Books and were runaway best-sellers in Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, with the rights selling to more than a dozen countries.
Steve’s fourth novel, GOLIATH, received rave reviews and was a big hit in Germany. It is being considered for a TV series. MEG: Primal Waters was published in the summer of 2004. A year later his seventh novel, The LOCH, hit stores — a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster. Steve’s eighth novel, The SHELL GAME, is about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event. The book was another NY Times best-seller, but the stress of penning this real-life story affected Steve’s health, and three months after he finished the manuscript he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Steve’s ninth novel, MEG: Hell’s Aquarium, is considered to be the best of the best-selling MEG series. Steve says his best novel is GRIM REAPER: End of Days. The story, a modern-day Dante’s Inferno, takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan.
Steve’s novels are action-packed and very visual. He has optioned DOMAIN, MEG and The LOCH to film producers. Steve has written six original screenplays. His comedy, HARLEM SHUFFLE was a semi-finalist in the LA screenwriting contest, his comedy MINTZ MEATS was selected as a finalist at the Philadelphia film festival as was his psychological thriller, STRANGLEHOLD. Steve’s reality series, HOUSE OF BABEL won at Scriptapalooza. He has also created a TV Drama, PAPA JOHN, based on his years coaching basketball with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
Over the years, Steve has been inundated with e-mail from teens who hated reading …until they read his novels. When he learned high school teachers were actually using his books in the classroom (MEG had been rated #1 book for reluctant readers) Steve launched Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide non-profit program designed to encourage students to read. Teachers who register for the program (it’s free) receive giant shark posters, free curriculum materials, student-author correspondence, an interactive website, and classroom conference calls/visits with the author. To date, over 10,000 teachers have registered, and the success rate in getting teens to read has been unprecedented. Steve now spends half his work week working with high schools. For more information click on www.AdoptAnAuthor.com
As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.
MEG would go on to become the book of the 1996 Frankfurt book fair, where it eventually sold to more than a twenty countries. MEG hit every major best-seller list, including #19 on the New York Times list (#7 audio), and became a popular radio series in Japan.
Steve’s second release, The TRENCH (Meg sequel) was published by Kensington/Pinnacle in 1999 where it also hit best-seller status. His next novel, DOMAIN and its sequel, RESURRECTION were published by St. Martin’s Press/Tor Books and were runaway best-sellers in Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, with the rights selling to more than a dozen countries.
Steve’s fourth novel, GOLIATH, received rave reviews and was a big hit in Germany. It is being considered for a TV series. MEG: Primal Waters was published in the summer of 2004. A year later his seventh novel, The LOCH, hit stores — a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster. Steve’s eighth novel, The SHELL GAME, is about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event. The book was another NY Times best-seller, but the stress of penning this real-life story affected Steve’s health, and three months after he finished the manuscript he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Steve’s ninth novel, MEG: Hell’s Aquarium, is considered to be the best of the best-selling MEG series. Steve says his best novel is GRIM REAPER: End of Days. The story, a modern-day Dante’s Inferno, takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan.
Steve’s novels are action-packed and very visual. He has optioned DOMAIN, MEG and The LOCH to film producers. Steve has written six original screenplays. His comedy, HARLEM SHUFFLE was a semi-finalist in the LA screenwriting contest, his comedy MINTZ MEATS was selected as a finalist at the Philadelphia film festival as was his psychological thriller, STRANGLEHOLD. Steve’s reality series, HOUSE OF BABEL won at Scriptapalooza. He has also created a TV Drama, PAPA JOHN, based on his years coaching basketball with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
Over the years, Steve has been inundated with e-mail from teens who hated reading …until they read his novels. When he learned high school teachers were actually using his books in the classroom (MEG had been rated #1 book for reluctant readers) Steve launched Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide non-profit program designed to encourage students to read. Teachers who register for the program (it’s free) receive giant shark posters, free curriculum materials, student-author correspondence, an interactive website, and classroom conference calls/visits with the author. To date, over 10,000 teachers have registered, and the success rate in getting teens to read has been unprecedented. Steve now spends half his work week working with high schools. For more information click on www.AdoptAnAuthor.com
As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 302 reviews
April 28, 2011
El primer tercio del libro me entretuvo, hasta que empezaron a salirse las cosas un poco de control y realidad. Los personajes poco a poco perdieron profundidad (la poca que tenían) y llegó un punto en el que simplemente quería acabarlo por el puro hecho de acabarlo.
March 16, 2025
Steve Alten, probably best known for his Meg book creature features, branched out here to write a techno thriller set in the near future of 2012 (the book came out about a decade before this). Near future thrillers tend not to age well, and this is no exception, but the overall plot was fun and this had its moments.
We know from the prologue that the tale involves aliens; some 65 million years ago, two warring spacecraft fought in our solar system and one was shot down and landed on Earth (the meteor that hit the Gulf of Mexico and wiped out the dinos). Our main protagonist, Dominique Vazquez (Dom), starts the novel working as an intern at a 'loony bin' in Miami. Fresh out of grad school, she is young and motivated. Her boss assigns her a 'special' patient, one Mick Gabriel, who has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. His father, Julius, spend most of his life as an archaeologist investigating the mysteries of the Mayan calendar, which predicted the end of humanity on Dec 21st, 2012. Mick became his acolyte, and when Julius presented his findings to a group of respected peers, he was ridiculed. Mick, outraged, attacked the man behind the ridicule, and this landed him in the loony bin (long story).
In orts and scraps, largely from the notebooks of Julius, we learn about his investigations, which linked the pyramids in Egypt, Mayan temples, the massive drawings in Peru, Stonehenge, etc., all of which he argued came into existence due to some benevolent aliens. Further, Mayan lore especially warned of another 'evil' alien race that would strike down humanity in 2012. Is their any truth to such speculation? Mick thought so, as did his father, but jeez! Can Mick get out of the loony bin and, with Dom's help, save the world, or is he just a loony?
As I stated at first, this had its moments, but the politics and tech of the near future weighed this down considerably. Alten seems to love to 'invent' new tech, much of which (in hindsight) seems pretty laughable today. The political intrigue got old pretty quickly as well, with a geopolitics that also (in hindsight) is almost comical. The story of ancient aliens 'intervening' in human affairs, building ancient monuments, etc., has been done many times in science fiction. I did like how Alten weaved ancient human societies together and he obviously did some research here. All in all, however, hard to recommend, and I will not be seeking the sequels. 2.5 stars, rounding up for the Mayan folklore.
We know from the prologue that the tale involves aliens; some 65 million years ago, two warring spacecraft fought in our solar system and one was shot down and landed on Earth (the meteor that hit the Gulf of Mexico and wiped out the dinos). Our main protagonist, Dominique Vazquez (Dom), starts the novel working as an intern at a 'loony bin' in Miami. Fresh out of grad school, she is young and motivated. Her boss assigns her a 'special' patient, one Mick Gabriel, who has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. His father, Julius, spend most of his life as an archaeologist investigating the mysteries of the Mayan calendar, which predicted the end of humanity on Dec 21st, 2012. Mick became his acolyte, and when Julius presented his findings to a group of respected peers, he was ridiculed. Mick, outraged, attacked the man behind the ridicule, and this landed him in the loony bin (long story).
In orts and scraps, largely from the notebooks of Julius, we learn about his investigations, which linked the pyramids in Egypt, Mayan temples, the massive drawings in Peru, Stonehenge, etc., all of which he argued came into existence due to some benevolent aliens. Further, Mayan lore especially warned of another 'evil' alien race that would strike down humanity in 2012. Is their any truth to such speculation? Mick thought so, as did his father, but jeez! Can Mick get out of the loony bin and, with Dom's help, save the world, or is he just a loony?
As I stated at first, this had its moments, but the politics and tech of the near future weighed this down considerably. Alten seems to love to 'invent' new tech, much of which (in hindsight) seems pretty laughable today. The political intrigue got old pretty quickly as well, with a geopolitics that also (in hindsight) is almost comical. The story of ancient aliens 'intervening' in human affairs, building ancient monuments, etc., has been done many times in science fiction. I did like how Alten weaved ancient human societies together and he obviously did some research here. All in all, however, hard to recommend, and I will not be seeking the sequels. 2.5 stars, rounding up for the Mayan folklore.
March 20, 2024
If popular reviews are anything to go by, chances are you either love or hate Steve Alten's Domain. No matter your propensities in this case, this is not the writers usual fare.
It is easy to see why some readers feel Steve Alten buries them under a mountain of information. This does, at times, feel like an encyclopedic "who is who" of ancient monuments and mysteries. Be that as it may, when all is said and done (assuming you have finished reading the book), whether you like it or not, you will have learned plenty about the history of the Mayas, have plenty of astronomical specialist knowledge, and have had explained in detail, by a madhouse inmate and main character of the plot, how this all supposedly networks with a long foretold end of the world scenario. Premises less than promising? Well, again that will depend on the reader.
The choice of characters and focus on former, the gravity and earnestness (yes, despite the apocalyptic conspiracy) and the proportionally large amount of both, detailed information and narrative without actual dialogue or action, might appear unexciting to some. Admittedly, Steve Alten's Domain does strike me a bit old school. But, that is exactly why I belong to the readers who review Domain positively.
In an age where enormous pains are taken - by authors and 'readers' alike with the introduction of seemingly ever more numerous hosts of quasi main characters that are to cover different races, sexual orientations and age-groups, which in then in turn necessitate dilution and muddling of the literary essence even more in a vain attempt to introduce an equal number of plots strands that consequently must degrade into mere filaments in the desperate attempt to supply sufficient word count for each character, in such an age if you are anything like me old school increasingly becomes "good school". The "squeezing" in of such characters, and the premises they come can quickly get alienated by the plot and vice versa.
One does understand the fear of an author to be branded conservative or worse, one equally understands the commercial reasons behind such questionable literary compromises; after all the more target groups one addresses the higher the chance of a book sale), yet I humbly dare say such sought after conformity taints a substantial percentage of the output of otherwise talented writers.
Therefore, I congratulate Steve Alten, a writer of fiction who has the guts to dare to inform and entertain us as at the same time and all that with a limited host of characters, he directs his full focus upon. And if such has become "Old school" then we should like it even more.
It is easy to see why some readers feel Steve Alten buries them under a mountain of information. This does, at times, feel like an encyclopedic "who is who" of ancient monuments and mysteries. Be that as it may, when all is said and done (assuming you have finished reading the book), whether you like it or not, you will have learned plenty about the history of the Mayas, have plenty of astronomical specialist knowledge, and have had explained in detail, by a madhouse inmate and main character of the plot, how this all supposedly networks with a long foretold end of the world scenario. Premises less than promising? Well, again that will depend on the reader.
The choice of characters and focus on former, the gravity and earnestness (yes, despite the apocalyptic conspiracy) and the proportionally large amount of both, detailed information and narrative without actual dialogue or action, might appear unexciting to some. Admittedly, Steve Alten's Domain does strike me a bit old school. But, that is exactly why I belong to the readers who review Domain positively.
In an age where enormous pains are taken - by authors and 'readers' alike with the introduction of seemingly ever more numerous hosts of quasi main characters that are to cover different races, sexual orientations and age-groups, which in then in turn necessitate dilution and muddling of the literary essence even more in a vain attempt to introduce an equal number of plots strands that consequently must degrade into mere filaments in the desperate attempt to supply sufficient word count for each character, in such an age if you are anything like me old school increasingly becomes "good school". The "squeezing" in of such characters, and the premises they come can quickly get alienated by the plot and vice versa.
One does understand the fear of an author to be branded conservative or worse, one equally understands the commercial reasons behind such questionable literary compromises; after all the more target groups one addresses the higher the chance of a book sale), yet I humbly dare say such sought after conformity taints a substantial percentage of the output of otherwise talented writers.
Therefore, I congratulate Steve Alten, a writer of fiction who has the guts to dare to inform and entertain us as at the same time and all that with a limited host of characters, he directs his full focus upon. And if such has become "Old school" then we should like it even more.
March 9, 2017
No sabía que este libro es parte de una serie. Lo pongo nuevamente en mi TBR.
June 18, 2012
Well, wasn't that a disappointment.
Some time ago--probably a year or two back--I saw a paperback copy of this book in the bookshop. I glanced at the blurb and thought interesting, but put it back and decided to look it up in the library. Aren't I glad I did.
It wasn't the sketchy science that I found unpalatable. I'm too lazy to look up the real numbers but I can smell circular mathematical reasoning when I stumble on it. By nature I'm an easy sell. Just put some effort into the storytelling, make sure your basic facts are straight, and I'll suspend disbelief long enough to breeze through the book and won't notice a thing. Of course once someone else points out the failures I'll happily join in on the lambasting.
And by put some effort into the storytelling I mean, have the characters act like the rational, slightly cynical but impossibly curious scientists they're supposed to be. I've seen actual physicists act like children at the face of some new exiting data--I felt it--and I wasn't even in position to understand what was so damn intoxicating about it.
Dominique did not in any way fit the mould. Usually that would be a good thing to say about a character, but not when she's supposed to be an abuse survivor dealing with her past by becoming a clinical psychologist. I could have understood a moment or two of weakness at the face of an emotional dilemma, but I could not tolerate her bawling at every single turn. Psychology is different from physics or archeology, but she's gone through the school and the moves. Unless she's bought every single test and article she's written for her professors, her first plan of attack towards Mick's hallucinations would be to verify the facts from independent sources. She did not. Any academic should know better and that the author would brush it aside so makes me doubt his qualifications.
Then again, I know nothing about sport medicine.
But I do know a thing or two about story telling.
The mixing of first and third person limited narratives didn't work. Having finished the book I can appreciate what the author was trying to do with Julius' journal entries, but it did not work. The beginning was too slow and bogged down by the numerology-would-be-archeology and choosing Dominique as the main character from whose point of view to introduce the alternative world, did not work. Failures in her characterisation prevented me from connecting with the story. Once the focus was shifted to Mick and the actual thriller part was embraced, I could see why people could--some would--like this very much.
I've already mentioned characterisation failures, but I've said nothing about the villains. Borgia is the most interesting character of the lot and he has some kind of background to justify his actions. However Foletta, Raymond, Groznyi, and every other nameless halfwit doesn't. I've only taken few basic courses but reading about these characters made me sincerely wish that Alten would invest in a few psychology course books help him write human beings and how they interact with others. Then again, if my guess about the sequel is correct, he didn't need to. Not that I'm in a hurry to find out.
The fact that this book was written over a decade ago shows. With some things Alten gets very close to today's technology but other things made me shake my head. As always the human factor distances his view of status quo from the reality. People die, people cheat, people get elected to office.
Also, I'm not convinced by his chosen method of intimidation. Somehow failing economy and the possibilities it creates with new world order(s) seems scarier than a nuclear holocaust. After all, I doubt I'd have to live through the latter considering my geographical location so close to St. Petersburg.
One last note. This was the last book I expected to read a bad romance in. I have read enough actual romances for that, I don't need it in my science fiction.
Some time ago--probably a year or two back--I saw a paperback copy of this book in the bookshop. I glanced at the blurb and thought interesting, but put it back and decided to look it up in the library. Aren't I glad I did.
It wasn't the sketchy science that I found unpalatable. I'm too lazy to look up the real numbers but I can smell circular mathematical reasoning when I stumble on it. By nature I'm an easy sell. Just put some effort into the storytelling, make sure your basic facts are straight, and I'll suspend disbelief long enough to breeze through the book and won't notice a thing. Of course once someone else points out the failures I'll happily join in on the lambasting.
And by put some effort into the storytelling I mean, have the characters act like the rational, slightly cynical but impossibly curious scientists they're supposed to be. I've seen actual physicists act like children at the face of some new exiting data--I felt it--and I wasn't even in position to understand what was so damn intoxicating about it.
Dominique did not in any way fit the mould. Usually that would be a good thing to say about a character, but not when she's supposed to be an abuse survivor dealing with her past by becoming a clinical psychologist. I could have understood a moment or two of weakness at the face of an emotional dilemma, but I could not tolerate her bawling at every single turn. Psychology is different from physics or archeology, but she's gone through the school and the moves. Unless she's bought every single test and article she's written for her professors, her first plan of attack towards Mick's hallucinations would be to verify the facts from independent sources. She did not. Any academic should know better and that the author would brush it aside so makes me doubt his qualifications.
Then again, I know nothing about sport medicine.
But I do know a thing or two about story telling.
The mixing of first and third person limited narratives didn't work. Having finished the book I can appreciate what the author was trying to do with Julius' journal entries, but it did not work. The beginning was too slow and bogged down by the numerology-would-be-archeology and choosing Dominique as the main character from whose point of view to introduce the alternative world, did not work. Failures in her characterisation prevented me from connecting with the story. Once the focus was shifted to Mick and the actual thriller part was embraced, I could see why people could--some would--like this very much.
I've already mentioned characterisation failures, but I've said nothing about the villains. Borgia is the most interesting character of the lot and he has some kind of background to justify his actions. However Foletta, Raymond, Groznyi, and every other nameless halfwit doesn't. I've only taken few basic courses but reading about these characters made me sincerely wish that Alten would invest in a few psychology course books help him write human beings and how they interact with others. Then again, if my guess about the sequel is correct, he didn't need to. Not that I'm in a hurry to find out.
The fact that this book was written over a decade ago shows. With some things Alten gets very close to today's technology but other things made me shake my head. As always the human factor distances his view of status quo from the reality. People die, people cheat, people get elected to office.
Also, I'm not convinced by his chosen method of intimidation. Somehow failing economy and the possibilities it creates with new world order(s) seems scarier than a nuclear holocaust. After all, I doubt I'd have to live through the latter considering my geographical location so close to St. Petersburg.
One last note. This was the last book I expected to read a bad romance in. I have read enough actual romances for that, I don't need it in my science fiction.
July 25, 2011
Uff, Profecias Mayas, Angkor Wat, Stonehegde sinceramente al leer la cubierta posterior parece que todo va bien y pinta para ser un libro muy interesante, al principio lo es, cuenta con muchos hechos historicos realmente sorprendentes, de pronto la historia se convierte en una novela de Dan Brown o Ken Follet mal escrita, realmente me resulto muy dificil continuar leyendo, logre terminarlo, sin embargo no supe si lei un libro de ciencia ficción, una novela, un libro historico o que lo unico que no me queda claro es hasta donde la información es veraz y donde quedo la novela.
November 9, 2016
Fascinating idea, also nice combination of fact and fiction. However, too much politics and details in my opinion. Got a bit bored in the half way. But I'm happy that I read this.
February 8, 2022
This was my least favorite of the books I read by Steve Alten. Although I only have the Meg Series and the Loch to compare against, I dont remember enjoying this when I read it all those years ago. I have been thinking about re-reading it and then I will rate it again. It didnt leave any scenes or plot points triggered in my head so it is largely forgettable. One day I will give it another shot and re-read it with fresh eyes.
2/8/22- I finally picked this book up and re-read it. Not as bad as I originally remember it but I'll keep the rating at 3 stars. Possibly 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the Mayan prophesy facts and details along with the archeological facts. It was definitely researched. I didn't enjoy the politics, although the scene with the president while on the brink of nuclear war was memorable. The Yucatan peninsula crater, the reason behind the extinction of the dinosaurs , the signal that reached earth across the galaxy, the fusion drones across earth , the scenes with the limestone and CO2....it was definitely fun and entertaining. Not on the level of Michael Crichton but definitely better than the redundancy of Altens Meg series after book 3....
2/8/22- I finally picked this book up and re-read it. Not as bad as I originally remember it but I'll keep the rating at 3 stars. Possibly 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the Mayan prophesy facts and details along with the archeological facts. It was definitely researched. I didn't enjoy the politics, although the scene with the president while on the brink of nuclear war was memorable. The Yucatan peninsula crater, the reason behind the extinction of the dinosaurs , the signal that reached earth across the galaxy, the fusion drones across earth , the scenes with the limestone and CO2....it was definitely fun and entertaining. Not on the level of Michael Crichton but definitely better than the redundancy of Altens Meg series after book 3....
November 2, 2019
3,5 estrellas
Ufff me siento incapaz de dar una opinión de éste libro porque… ni siquiera sabía qué puntaje darle porque si bien la idea de la trama es fascinante mezclando ficción con realidad, se me hizo pesado, me aburría las partes de la descripción política porque contiene muchos detalles que hace perder el ritmo del libro y hasta se vuelve repetitivo.
Otra cosa que me hartó fue descubrir el ingrediente de “E.T.” que para mí fue descabellado aunque, no debería sorprenderme porque los norteamericanos tienen una obsesión con los extraterrestres.
El prólogo me atrapó y sentí que estaba en presencia de aquellos viejos documentales del canal Discovery referidos a “Pangea” por eso empecé a devorarlo pero llegó un momento en que se me hizo cuesta arriba y me dormía porque está bien investigado pero cuando aparecen las naves alienígenas... ufff! me costó hasta terminarlo.
El libro está narrado en tercera persona y su título y portada atrapa, ni hablar de la sinopsis. Éste se publicó en el año 2011, época en la que la sociedad estaba con el asunto de las profecías del 2000 y con ello el miedo al fin del mundo y al fin del calendario maya.
“El Testamento Maya” me gustó una parte del libro y la otra no. La parte que disfruté fue con Dominique y Michael, quienes irán descubriendo datos reveladores que están plasmados en el diario de Julius Gabriel, padre de Michael. Ella es psiquiatra y él es su paciente con un trastorno de esquizofrenia paranoide. Ambos van guiados por la antigua profecía Maya descrita en el ancestral libro o biblia de los mayas: Popul Vuh. Era en las apariciones del libro de éstos dos personajes cuando yo disfrutaba de la lectura porque aborda la psicología y la psiquiatría en las ideas descabelladas que tiene Michael.
Si tengo que mencionar los aspectos positivos del libro serían: en primer lugar el diario de Julius Gabriel –arqueólogo por cierto- porque me enseñó muchísimo sobre los mayas y también la referencia a los “Nephilim”, gigantes del génesis y las deidades de los panteones mesoamericanas, lo triste es que el autor luego me los une a los E.T. y ahí no me gustó, lo sentí poco creíble.
Y otros personajes que me gustaron fueron: Borgia como el villano del libro y futuro candidato a la presidencia en EE. UU., y Ennis Chaney quien es vicepresidente de la nación y enemigo de Borgia.
Más nada quiero contar. No sé si recomedarlo. Quizás para aquellos que quieran conocer sobre la profecía Maya y bueno, tiene un final abierto porque es una trilogía, cuyo segundo libro me lo leeré más adelante y anhelo no sea tan denso como éste.
Ufff me siento incapaz de dar una opinión de éste libro porque… ni siquiera sabía qué puntaje darle porque si bien la idea de la trama es fascinante mezclando ficción con realidad, se me hizo pesado, me aburría las partes de la descripción política porque contiene muchos detalles que hace perder el ritmo del libro y hasta se vuelve repetitivo.
Otra cosa que me hartó fue descubrir el ingrediente de “E.T.” que para mí fue descabellado aunque, no debería sorprenderme porque los norteamericanos tienen una obsesión con los extraterrestres.
El prólogo me atrapó y sentí que estaba en presencia de aquellos viejos documentales del canal Discovery referidos a “Pangea” por eso empecé a devorarlo pero llegó un momento en que se me hizo cuesta arriba y me dormía porque está bien investigado pero cuando aparecen las naves alienígenas... ufff! me costó hasta terminarlo.
El libro está narrado en tercera persona y su título y portada atrapa, ni hablar de la sinopsis. Éste se publicó en el año 2011, época en la que la sociedad estaba con el asunto de las profecías del 2000 y con ello el miedo al fin del mundo y al fin del calendario maya.
“El Testamento Maya” me gustó una parte del libro y la otra no. La parte que disfruté fue con Dominique y Michael, quienes irán descubriendo datos reveladores que están plasmados en el diario de Julius Gabriel, padre de Michael. Ella es psiquiatra y él es su paciente con un trastorno de esquizofrenia paranoide. Ambos van guiados por la antigua profecía Maya descrita en el ancestral libro o biblia de los mayas: Popul Vuh. Era en las apariciones del libro de éstos dos personajes cuando yo disfrutaba de la lectura porque aborda la psicología y la psiquiatría en las ideas descabelladas que tiene Michael.
Si tengo que mencionar los aspectos positivos del libro serían: en primer lugar el diario de Julius Gabriel –arqueólogo por cierto- porque me enseñó muchísimo sobre los mayas y también la referencia a los “Nephilim”, gigantes del génesis y las deidades de los panteones mesoamericanas, lo triste es que el autor luego me los une a los E.T. y ahí no me gustó, lo sentí poco creíble.
Y otros personajes que me gustaron fueron: Borgia como el villano del libro y futuro candidato a la presidencia en EE. UU., y Ennis Chaney quien es vicepresidente de la nación y enemigo de Borgia.
Más nada quiero contar. No sé si recomedarlo. Quizás para aquellos que quieran conocer sobre la profecía Maya y bueno, tiene un final abierto porque es una trilogía, cuyo segundo libro me lo leeré más adelante y anhelo no sea tan denso como éste.
August 10, 2012
Started off well - seemingly well researched and reasonably well written, but I'm afraid I lost interest with all of the alien space craft. After ploughing through about 4 fifths of the book, I couldn't even bring myself to finish it.
October 17, 2025
I really didn't think this book would be for me however I quite enjoyed it - just shows it's always worth pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.
Three stars.
Three stars.
September 9, 2015
I’m going to be completely honest and say I entered this trilogy with no real idea of what to expect.
Entering the book unsure what to expect, I must admit that I enjoyed it more than I had expected. I have not read all that many alien books and the fact that this one was connected back to the Mayan calendar was very interesting. That being said, the three star review reflects the fact that I have not read all that many books in this genre rather than across all the books I have read.
When compared to books I have read in other genres this one doesn’t quite compete. If I’m honest it took me a while to get into the writing style – although that could just be because of the book I came from. Also, I felt as though the book could have been cut down in size somewhat. I felt as though certain aspects were dragged out more than they needed to be. Events weeks before doomsday were given much more attention than the days leading up to the end of the Mayan calendar. I realise that these events were important yet at times I felt as though I was forcing myself to carry on reading.
Still, it was well researched and interesting. I’m glad I picked up the trilogy and gave something different a try.
Entering the book unsure what to expect, I must admit that I enjoyed it more than I had expected. I have not read all that many alien books and the fact that this one was connected back to the Mayan calendar was very interesting. That being said, the three star review reflects the fact that I have not read all that many books in this genre rather than across all the books I have read.
When compared to books I have read in other genres this one doesn’t quite compete. If I’m honest it took me a while to get into the writing style – although that could just be because of the book I came from. Also, I felt as though the book could have been cut down in size somewhat. I felt as though certain aspects were dragged out more than they needed to be. Events weeks before doomsday were given much more attention than the days leading up to the end of the Mayan calendar. I realise that these events were important yet at times I felt as though I was forcing myself to carry on reading.
Still, it was well researched and interesting. I’m glad I picked up the trilogy and gave something different a try.
August 15, 2022
Conspiraciones del fin del mundo, mayas extraterrestres, geopolítica... Una mezcla de todas las cosas posibles sin pies ni cabeza. Hacía mucho tiempo que no me alegraba tanto de terminar un libro.
March 5, 2025
I started reading this after reading the MEG series and I have vague memories of reading and hating it when I was younger so I expected to dislike it.
Honestly I ended up reading this one well into the night because I enjoyed it.
Spoiler Alert
Characters:
Michael (Mick) Gabriel: This is one messed up dude. He grew up with a mother and father who spent his childhood going from archaeological to archaeological site looking for clues that the ancient men were helped to advance by aliens! He has spent the last decade or so in a mental hospital. Oh and he is the prophesied chosen one to save the world from the 2012 doomsday.
Julius Gabriel: Mick's father. He is alive for the first chapter of the book then he is dead. But don't worry you will get to learn all about him. In between chapters are sections from his journal. They read like a conspiracies theorists wet dream. And he has a habit of randomly underlining words in his journal, and I mean randomly. I could find no reason or rhyme why some words were underlined and some weren't.
Dominique Vazquez: A newly graduated Psyche student given Mick's case as her first and only case. Like all of Steve Alten's love interests she is at least 10 years younger than Mick. I feel like she should be lined with metal then wrapped with copper. Her opinions swing back and forth over whether Mick is truly crazy so fast and so many times she would be able to power my computer.
Pierre Robert Borgia: The antagonist of the book. He has one eye and is Secretary of State. He is pissed off when a black man is tapped to become the Vice president to the sitting president. I mean who would ever believe that a black person could be vice president in 2012 and be able to be elected in 2016.
The book starts off with letting us know what killed the dinosaurs. I'm sure you are sitting snug with your theories that it was an asteroid or possibly a mega eruption, but nope. It was aliens. Yes the book starts off with dinosaurs being wiped off, particularly a group of velociraptors take that Chricton, by an alien ship crash landing into the earth. It by the way was shot down by another alien ship.
The book then skips a few years, well a couple of million but who's counting, to a scene where the Gabriels are uncovering a precious ancient artifact using all the care of a modern archaeologist. Just joking despite the book stating over and over again that Julius Gabriel is a revered and well regarded archaeologists his methods of excavation is to go to the Nazca Lines with a metal detector. Once it is set off he digs through the thousand year old art to find what ever is buried there, it's a space coffee can. He then pulls it open to reveal an ancient map of the world which he quickly photographs which is good since he doesn't take any care to preserve the thing and it turns to dust.
We skip again and it's 10 years later. Mick is in an insane asylum. Why? Well it turns out that the Secretary of State was at one time an archaeologist. He had a thing for Mick's mother and was actually engaged to her. But he got tired of searching for aliens and decided to go work in the real world, the fool. While away Julius confesses his love for her, they are happy get married have Mick spend years searching for proof that aliens exist. She dies of pancreatic cancer Julius get's invited to give a speech at some important archaeologists event, it turns out it's a trap. Borgia gets up on stage to introduce Julius but instead roasts him. Julius has a heart attack and dies. Mick being 14 gets angry and attacks Borgia causing him to lose an eye. As revenge instead of having the kid arrested he pulls strings and gets him committed as insane and then pays a doctor to never let him out.
Dominique is introduced. She is a confident strong independent woman who will go a long way in making us feel that maybe equal rights and representation is starting to happen. And by that I mean within the first pages of her introduction she is humiliated by her new boss, has to talk about her sexual history and gets hit on by a co-worker. She then meets Mick and despite shocking him with a neck tazer the first time she meets him, she soon falls in love.
In the mean time something is happening in South America. There is an earth quake people die and a large amount of black goo rises. It turns out to be alien poo. It is deadly and kills anyone it touches, it also causes anyone who touches them people it touched to die.
Mick tells Dominique that the history we know is false. All the giant amazing monuments built by all of our previous ancestors were not built by them. Instead all of them were inspired by White Men with Blue eyes and White hair how managed to train all the savages....(Yes we have a Latino character being written by a white man telling us that all the great achievements made by people of color in the past was really done by white men.)
These white men were aliens who then got funky with some of the women of the time introducing their DNA into them and starting a race of super people. The aliens then left and civilizations reverted to savagery.
All of this was done to warn everyone that in 2012 all the stars in the milky way would line up and open the ability for a stargate of some kind to open and destroy the world.
Eventually Mick convinces Dominique that he's telling her the truth. She helps him to escape and they go down to Peru. Diving into an ancient well they find a secret passage way into a Mayan pyramid and inside find a space craft named Baalam.
While in the real world, off the coast of Peru where the earth quake happened mechanical birds start to come out of the water. Flying at night they keep landing in places where there are huge limestone deposits. When the sun rises they, being solar powered, create Nuclear Fusion explosions. No one sees these birds and so America blames the Russians, the Russians blame the Americans and the Australians who now have a giant hole in their continent blame everyone. Bad words are said, Borga doesn't help the situation and all the top officials head off to Mount Weather, to hide in the nuclear bunkers. Unfortunately the Russians know about it and pay a man to sneak in a suitcase nuke and most of the government, not the president or vice president but including the president's family, are turned into nuclear waste.
This makes the President angry and he says mean things, the Russian leader says bad things and would you know it pretty soon missiles are flying.
Thankfully cooler heads figure out what is going on and convince the President to call off the attack. He sends a command and his missiles blow up. He then tries to convince the Russian Leader to do the same. Giving a heart felt speech and saying that the best way he can show his sincerity is to kill himself. Which he does shooting himself in the head.
The Russian Premier isn't impressed so he says hold onto your asses and does not blow up his missiles. America sends off a second wave, because as every American knows if there is one thing we have a lot of it's nuclear bombs.
Just as all hell is about to happen Mick figures out that touching the spaceship activates it, because he is one of the decedents of the alien supermen. Inside the ship it somehow sends out a signal, that is routed through all the ancient monuments like the Giza Pyramids and Stone Hedge, turns out they were build as a way to cover up giant alien radio transmitters, that turns off all of the nuclear missiles and disarms all the mechanical birds. It is then revealed that they were all on limestone deposits and that them going off would have made CO2 levels rise to extinction level.
The lovebirds to the horizontal tango and she thinks that they are going to spend a happy life together but then Mick says the prophesy is not over. Out of the water come a giant flying dragon. It can not be destroyed by the Army, Navy or Air Force, but Mick has an ancient sword. Because the super aliens said he could Mick believes he can fight the giant dragon with the sword and would you believe he can. Pretty soon the dragons dead but it's mouth opens. This is the stargate. Mick rushes into the gate to fight what is coming, which turns out to be two women/demons I don't know it was 3 am. He kills them but instead of getting to go back to earth he instead meets an ancient alien who tells him that the book needs a sequel and that the his job isn't done. He puts Mick in a stone bathtub and sends him off to a far off planet where the Super Technologically advanced smart and infallible aliens are being oppressed and only Mick and his sword can save them.
Borgia is sent to Jail. Dominique ends the book pregnant with twins and knowing that Mick is alive and will return some day.
Some good things to say about the book is that for being so far from the date of 2012 Steve does make some startling good predictions. Cars that do not use keys to start. Self driving cars, well he was off a few years but got close and some other technological items. He also set up a black man to be president in 2016.
Three out of Five
Honestly I ended up reading this one well into the night because I enjoyed it.
Spoiler Alert
Characters:
Michael (Mick) Gabriel: This is one messed up dude. He grew up with a mother and father who spent his childhood going from archaeological to archaeological site looking for clues that the ancient men were helped to advance by aliens! He has spent the last decade or so in a mental hospital. Oh and he is the prophesied chosen one to save the world from the 2012 doomsday.
Julius Gabriel: Mick's father. He is alive for the first chapter of the book then he is dead. But don't worry you will get to learn all about him. In between chapters are sections from his journal. They read like a conspiracies theorists wet dream. And he has a habit of randomly underlining words in his journal, and I mean randomly. I could find no reason or rhyme why some words were underlined and some weren't.
Dominique Vazquez: A newly graduated Psyche student given Mick's case as her first and only case. Like all of Steve Alten's love interests she is at least 10 years younger than Mick. I feel like she should be lined with metal then wrapped with copper. Her opinions swing back and forth over whether Mick is truly crazy so fast and so many times she would be able to power my computer.
Pierre Robert Borgia: The antagonist of the book. He has one eye and is Secretary of State. He is pissed off when a black man is tapped to become the Vice president to the sitting president. I mean who would ever believe that a black person could be vice president in 2012 and be able to be elected in 2016.
The book starts off with letting us know what killed the dinosaurs. I'm sure you are sitting snug with your theories that it was an asteroid or possibly a mega eruption, but nope. It was aliens. Yes the book starts off with dinosaurs being wiped off, particularly a group of velociraptors take that Chricton, by an alien ship crash landing into the earth. It by the way was shot down by another alien ship.
The book then skips a few years, well a couple of million but who's counting, to a scene where the Gabriels are uncovering a precious ancient artifact using all the care of a modern archaeologist. Just joking despite the book stating over and over again that Julius Gabriel is a revered and well regarded archaeologists his methods of excavation is to go to the Nazca Lines with a metal detector. Once it is set off he digs through the thousand year old art to find what ever is buried there, it's a space coffee can. He then pulls it open to reveal an ancient map of the world which he quickly photographs which is good since he doesn't take any care to preserve the thing and it turns to dust.
We skip again and it's 10 years later. Mick is in an insane asylum. Why? Well it turns out that the Secretary of State was at one time an archaeologist. He had a thing for Mick's mother and was actually engaged to her. But he got tired of searching for aliens and decided to go work in the real world, the fool. While away Julius confesses his love for her, they are happy get married have Mick spend years searching for proof that aliens exist. She dies of pancreatic cancer Julius get's invited to give a speech at some important archaeologists event, it turns out it's a trap. Borgia gets up on stage to introduce Julius but instead roasts him. Julius has a heart attack and dies. Mick being 14 gets angry and attacks Borgia causing him to lose an eye. As revenge instead of having the kid arrested he pulls strings and gets him committed as insane and then pays a doctor to never let him out.
Dominique is introduced. She is a confident strong independent woman who will go a long way in making us feel that maybe equal rights and representation is starting to happen. And by that I mean within the first pages of her introduction she is humiliated by her new boss, has to talk about her sexual history and gets hit on by a co-worker. She then meets Mick and despite shocking him with a neck tazer the first time she meets him, she soon falls in love.
In the mean time something is happening in South America. There is an earth quake people die and a large amount of black goo rises. It turns out to be alien poo. It is deadly and kills anyone it touches, it also causes anyone who touches them people it touched to die.
Mick tells Dominique that the history we know is false. All the giant amazing monuments built by all of our previous ancestors were not built by them. Instead all of them were inspired by White Men with Blue eyes and White hair how managed to train all the savages....(Yes we have a Latino character being written by a white man telling us that all the great achievements made by people of color in the past was really done by white men.)
These white men were aliens who then got funky with some of the women of the time introducing their DNA into them and starting a race of super people. The aliens then left and civilizations reverted to savagery.
All of this was done to warn everyone that in 2012 all the stars in the milky way would line up and open the ability for a stargate of some kind to open and destroy the world.
Eventually Mick convinces Dominique that he's telling her the truth. She helps him to escape and they go down to Peru. Diving into an ancient well they find a secret passage way into a Mayan pyramid and inside find a space craft named Baalam.
While in the real world, off the coast of Peru where the earth quake happened mechanical birds start to come out of the water. Flying at night they keep landing in places where there are huge limestone deposits. When the sun rises they, being solar powered, create Nuclear Fusion explosions. No one sees these birds and so America blames the Russians, the Russians blame the Americans and the Australians who now have a giant hole in their continent blame everyone. Bad words are said, Borga doesn't help the situation and all the top officials head off to Mount Weather, to hide in the nuclear bunkers. Unfortunately the Russians know about it and pay a man to sneak in a suitcase nuke and most of the government, not the president or vice president but including the president's family, are turned into nuclear waste.
This makes the President angry and he says mean things, the Russian leader says bad things and would you know it pretty soon missiles are flying.
Thankfully cooler heads figure out what is going on and convince the President to call off the attack. He sends a command and his missiles blow up. He then tries to convince the Russian Leader to do the same. Giving a heart felt speech and saying that the best way he can show his sincerity is to kill himself. Which he does shooting himself in the head.
The Russian Premier isn't impressed so he says hold onto your asses and does not blow up his missiles. America sends off a second wave, because as every American knows if there is one thing we have a lot of it's nuclear bombs.
Just as all hell is about to happen Mick figures out that touching the spaceship activates it, because he is one of the decedents of the alien supermen. Inside the ship it somehow sends out a signal, that is routed through all the ancient monuments like the Giza Pyramids and Stone Hedge, turns out they were build as a way to cover up giant alien radio transmitters, that turns off all of the nuclear missiles and disarms all the mechanical birds. It is then revealed that they were all on limestone deposits and that them going off would have made CO2 levels rise to extinction level.
The lovebirds to the horizontal tango and she thinks that they are going to spend a happy life together but then Mick says the prophesy is not over. Out of the water come a giant flying dragon. It can not be destroyed by the Army, Navy or Air Force, but Mick has an ancient sword. Because the super aliens said he could Mick believes he can fight the giant dragon with the sword and would you believe he can. Pretty soon the dragons dead but it's mouth opens. This is the stargate. Mick rushes into the gate to fight what is coming, which turns out to be two women/demons I don't know it was 3 am. He kills them but instead of getting to go back to earth he instead meets an ancient alien who tells him that the book needs a sequel and that the his job isn't done. He puts Mick in a stone bathtub and sends him off to a far off planet where the Super Technologically advanced smart and infallible aliens are being oppressed and only Mick and his sword can save them.
Borgia is sent to Jail. Dominique ends the book pregnant with twins and knowing that Mick is alive and will return some day.
Some good things to say about the book is that for being so far from the date of 2012 Steve does make some startling good predictions. Cars that do not use keys to start. Self driving cars, well he was off a few years but got close and some other technological items. He also set up a black man to be president in 2016.
Three out of Five
May 18, 2019
When I came across this book, I glanced at the blurb and wanted to read it immediately. The story looked very interesting at first with ancient history, technology, extraterrestrial life, and politics. But when the story gets to the end, it seemed to be more fantasy and magical rather than science fiction. It felt like Steve Alten poorly merged ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Independence Day’ with a Mayan prophesy.
Some parts of the story were well researched, especially the ancient history which I absolutely loved, and some parts were absolute dire. I keenly appreciate Alten’s effort to encapsulate history, science, mythology, philosophy, technology, and politics into a single plot. But unfortunately, he destroyed everything he built by venturing into an almost magical/fantasy genre.
One last note, Bad romance!
Some parts of the story were well researched, especially the ancient history which I absolutely loved, and some parts were absolute dire. I keenly appreciate Alten’s effort to encapsulate history, science, mythology, philosophy, technology, and politics into a single plot. But unfortunately, he destroyed everything he built by venturing into an almost magical/fantasy genre.
One last note, Bad romance!
June 27, 2017
Whew, that was a long torture.
May 23, 2014
I started reading this book years ago when i was on a long distance bike trip and staying at a friends house for a few nights. I had never heard of the mayan doomsday prophecy or even of many of the ancient places in this book like the nazca plateau. I was horrified, i was intrigued. Unfortunately i had to leave before i could finish the book. It had ignited in me an intense curiosity of the mayans and their prophecy and i started learning all i could about both which led me to learning much more about the ancient world and its amazing structures. For that i'm very grateful that i came across this book. I finally tracked down the book again (i had forgotten both the title and authors name) and determined i would finish it. Of course i couldnt remember most of the story line so i had to read it all over again and what a disappointment it was. The characters are, each and every one of them, completely unbelievable and actually quite unlikeable, especially the main character Dominique. What a sniveling, whining, unimaginative, gullible excuse for a phycologist who could always be counted on to do the wrong thing, be the annoying screamer, and trust the wrong person. The writing was boring, too bogged down by wordy descriptions and excerpts from too many different peoples perspective that had little to nothing to do with the rest of the story. I found myself skipping or quickly skimming whole sections of the book, mostly the political scenes and the scenes where i could tell, following the previous pattern, that the person whose perspective it was written in was about to die. I read it, i managed to finish it, i'm relieved to be done with it. Finishing this book took a serious act of willpower, ugg.
March 4, 2012
Domain is a really ambitious novel--the first in a trilogy--from Steve Alten, who seems to be trying to get people to see him as the next Michael Crichton instead of as a poor man's Peter Benchley. The story weaves together conspiracy theories regarding everything from ancient Mayan prophecies to Genesis' reference to the Nephilim to the question of who built the pyramids to the seeding of human life by aliens. But, while I keenly appreciate the effort and realize that Alten really worked his heiney off on this one, I was still somewhat disappointed with the end result. For one thing, the Alten cheese factor is still occasionally in effect, and some of the dialog is bad enough to make you wince. The main character, Dominique, drove me crazy the way she constantly switched allegiances and allowed herself to be talked into doing or believing whatever the other characters wanted her to. The biggest problem, though, is that the book is just too darn long, mostly because of all the "facts" that Alten tries to squeeze in regardless of whether or not they add anything to the story. Unlike Crichton, who makes his factual information interesting by having characters present it within dialog, Alten assaults the reader with a constant barrage of scientific info-dumping that will have been largely forgotten by the time they reach the next page. Still, if you can look past its many flaws, Domain is certainly an entertaining enough read, and a sign of potential good things to come from Alten in the future.
September 8, 2023
El Testamento Maya es una novela de ciencia ficción, thriller y suspense escrita por el autor estadounidense Steve Alten. Fue publicada por primera vez en 2001 y es la primera entrega de la trilogía Maya.
La historia sigue a Julius Gabriel, un arqueólogo que descubre que el calendario maya no es simplemente una herramienta para medir el tiempo, sino también una predicción del futuro. Gabriel cree que el calendario predice el fin del mundo en 2012, y está decidido a encontrar una manera de evitarlo.
En su búsqueda, Gabriel viaja por todo el mundo, visitando algunos de los lugares más emblemáticos de la historia antigua. En el camino, se enfrenta a una serie de peligros, incluyendo asesinos, gobiernos corruptos y criaturas prehistóricas.
El Testamento Maya es un libro emocionante y lleno de acción que seguramente mantendrá a los lectores en vilo hasta la última página. La historia es bien escrita y los personajes son convincentes. La trama es compleja y llena de giros inesperados.
La novela también toca temas interesantes, como la naturaleza de la realidad, el destino de la humanidad y la posibilidad de vida extraterrestre. El autor ofrece una perspectiva única sobre estos temas, que seguramente dejará a los lectores pensando.
La historia sigue a Julius Gabriel, un arqueólogo que descubre que el calendario maya no es simplemente una herramienta para medir el tiempo, sino también una predicción del futuro. Gabriel cree que el calendario predice el fin del mundo en 2012, y está decidido a encontrar una manera de evitarlo.
En su búsqueda, Gabriel viaja por todo el mundo, visitando algunos de los lugares más emblemáticos de la historia antigua. En el camino, se enfrenta a una serie de peligros, incluyendo asesinos, gobiernos corruptos y criaturas prehistóricas.
El Testamento Maya es un libro emocionante y lleno de acción que seguramente mantendrá a los lectores en vilo hasta la última página. La historia es bien escrita y los personajes son convincentes. La trama es compleja y llena de giros inesperados.
La novela también toca temas interesantes, como la naturaleza de la realidad, el destino de la humanidad y la posibilidad de vida extraterrestre. El autor ofrece una perspectiva única sobre estos temas, que seguramente dejará a los lectores pensando.
August 24, 2014
Thriller que comienza bien, planteando una serie de situaciones y conflictos que llaman la atención del lector, pero que a medida que va avanzando degenera hasta sumergirse en lo inverosímil.
Es cierto que este libro pertenece en cierto modo al género de la fantasía, pero, desde mi punto de vista, el autor ha resuelto el final de una manera que defrauda.
Puntos positivos: la primera mitad del libro es intrigante y está construida de forma que gusta y en ciertos momentos llega a atrapar, los personajes son interesantes y el lector se siente atraído por ellos y sus conflictos.
Puntos negativos: además del final demasiado fantasioso que ya se ha mencionado, el hecho de que el libro esté escrito en presente no ha llegado a gustarme. De hecho, la lectura en este tiempo verbal desagradaba por resultar extraña. Mala elección, según creo, por parte del autor.
No lo recomiendo. Hay muchísimos libros mejores y más interesantes que éste.
Es cierto que este libro pertenece en cierto modo al género de la fantasía, pero, desde mi punto de vista, el autor ha resuelto el final de una manera que defrauda.
Puntos positivos: la primera mitad del libro es intrigante y está construida de forma que gusta y en ciertos momentos llega a atrapar, los personajes son interesantes y el lector se siente atraído por ellos y sus conflictos.
Puntos negativos: además del final demasiado fantasioso que ya se ha mencionado, el hecho de que el libro esté escrito en presente no ha llegado a gustarme. De hecho, la lectura en este tiempo verbal desagradaba por resultar extraña. Mala elección, según creo, por parte del autor.
No lo recomiendo. Hay muchísimos libros mejores y más interesantes que éste.
December 6, 2020
Libro entretenido aunque creo que al final desvaria un poco.
April 28, 2022
Because of that ending. Because Malaysia was mentioned. And because it was a trilogy!
May 25, 2023
Este es de los libros más problemáticos que he leído y una de mis mayores decepciones de este 2023. En verdad quería que me gustará, ya que a mí me me encantan las historias que intentan resolver un gran misterio a la vez que incluyen datos históricos... Pero este fue un completo desastre.
Creo que la idea central de libro era maravillosa,(explorar la cultura maya, los misterios que encierran sus profesias y edificaciones), pero con la ejecución que le dieron, la destrozaron por completo, ya que tiene un constante bombardeo de información de diferentes culturas, lenguaje técnico y científico, que llega a ser muy abrumador. Esto provocaba mucho sueño ( había días en que no podía avanzar más de 10 páginas por qué me quedaba dormida).
Este libro además cuenta con una problemática politica que solo provoca que la atención del tema central cambie por completo, además la mayoría de sus personajes tienen una moralidad muy cuestionable.
Me pareció más una versión muy mal escrita de las novelas de Dan Brown (que por cierto yo AMÉ el Código Da Vinci, por eso pensé que me encantaría esté libro).
Sentí mucha falta de respeto hacia la cultura maya y hacia mi país México por parte del autor, por qué en esta historia los políticos, militares y policías estadounidenses pueden entrar y salir de México sin ninguna restricción, prácticamente en no hay gobierno en México en esta historia. Además de que se ve una clara apropiacion y mezcla de creencias que solo hacen ver de manera negativa a las deidades y prácticas prehispánicas.
Definitivamente no pienso continuar con esta saga.
Creo que la idea central de libro era maravillosa,(explorar la cultura maya, los misterios que encierran sus profesias y edificaciones), pero con la ejecución que le dieron, la destrozaron por completo, ya que tiene un constante bombardeo de información de diferentes culturas, lenguaje técnico y científico, que llega a ser muy abrumador. Esto provocaba mucho sueño ( había días en que no podía avanzar más de 10 páginas por qué me quedaba dormida).
Este libro además cuenta con una problemática politica que solo provoca que la atención del tema central cambie por completo, además la mayoría de sus personajes tienen una moralidad muy cuestionable.
Me pareció más una versión muy mal escrita de las novelas de Dan Brown (que por cierto yo AMÉ el Código Da Vinci, por eso pensé que me encantaría esté libro).
Sentí mucha falta de respeto hacia la cultura maya y hacia mi país México por parte del autor, por qué en esta historia los políticos, militares y policías estadounidenses pueden entrar y salir de México sin ninguna restricción, prácticamente en no hay gobierno en México en esta historia. Además de que se ve una clara apropiacion y mezcla de creencias que solo hacen ver de manera negativa a las deidades y prácticas prehispánicas.
Definitivamente no pienso continuar con esta saga.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2020
Este libro tiene sus años y tuvo más gracia leerlo en 2012.
Se me ha hecho un poco más largo que entonces, pero este tipo de libros sobre el apocalipsis siempre me entretienen, y ha cumplido su función.
Se me ha hecho un poco más largo que entonces, pero este tipo de libros sobre el apocalipsis siempre me entretienen, y ha cumplido su función.
September 5, 2018
A readable sci-fi paperback. I wish it delivered more apocalypse than science but the Mayan etc. angle was pretty neat.
January 27, 2020
Me encantó leer la parte misteriosa de la Riviera Maya. Quizá me fascinó más por hablar de lugares que he visitado.
January 25, 2024
Está muy bien como mezcla historia y ciencia ficción, pero al final tiende a fantasía y ha perdido un poco el encanto
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2023
El libro en si no está mal, es fácil de leer y demás. Pero no ha conseguido darme ese toque de intriga que pretende, ni he logrado empatizar con ningún personaje, ni emocionarme con el romance . Ha sido como, meh
August 9, 2011
Michael Gabriel was raised by his archaeologist parents to believe that the Mayan Doomsday prophecy is true. After Julius Gabriel, Mick’s father, is discredited by an old enemy, and Mick beats the man severely after Julius dies, Mick spends the next 11 years in solitary confinement in a mental institution. It is nearing the Earth’s day of doom, December 21, 2012, when Dominique Vasquez, an intern, is added to his psychiatric team. Mick needs Dominique’s help, but first he has to convince her that he’s not really crazy, which isn’t easy with the wild stories he’s telling. Despite stern warnings, Dominique finds Mick’s urgent statements about the end of the world compelling, particularly when the Mayan prophecy starts to come true. She finds herself in a dilemma between believing everything she’s ever known, especially from the education she worked so hard to get, and believing Mick’s strange stories about the end of the world when bizarre things start to happen in the Gulf of Mexico.
To date, this is Alten’s best book, and that is high praise. In this story, he weaves ancient history, scientific speculation, and science fiction together for one heck of a tale. The action takes awhile to get going, but the pervasive sense of impending doom kept the pages turning. There are ugly, creepy villains with an agenda, along with selfless good guys intent on saving humanity despite itself, and the story crosses realms and a galaxy. Readers who insist on realism should look elsewhere, but those who like to get swept away on a wild ride with few restraints are in for a treat.
Steve Alten always writes good books, but in this one he has outdone himself. I highly recommend it.
To date, this is Alten’s best book, and that is high praise. In this story, he weaves ancient history, scientific speculation, and science fiction together for one heck of a tale. The action takes awhile to get going, but the pervasive sense of impending doom kept the pages turning. There are ugly, creepy villains with an agenda, along with selfless good guys intent on saving humanity despite itself, and the story crosses realms and a galaxy. Readers who insist on realism should look elsewhere, but those who like to get swept away on a wild ride with few restraints are in for a treat.
Steve Alten always writes good books, but in this one he has outdone himself. I highly recommend it.
May 6, 2009
El Testamento Maya By Steve Alten is about the Maya calendar and the Maya prophecy. In the Maya caledar it says that the world is going to end on december 21, 2012.
The most important characters of the book are Michel and Dominique. Michel was an archeologist, him and his father julius Gabriel a famous archeologist tried to discover the significant of the Maya prophecy. After his father presented their discovery to te scientist community, no one believe what they said and his father reputation that took him thirty years to build was destroyed. after the presentation Michel's father died of a heart attack. Michel went mad and attack the scientist, he was put on a mental hospital. Dominique is a psycologist, she has Maya ethincity from part of her mother. after her parents died she was adopted and move to Florida there she became a psycologist. Dominique attends michel.
There is a lot of interesting things on the book but, the thing that I found most interesting is when they said that the sun is going to be in the center of the milky way on december 21 ,2012. that is something that I found very interesting because it's something that is actually going to happend on december 21 ,2012. it is also intereting because it's amazing how the Mayas were able to predict something like that.
A word that could describe this book would be intence because there is a lot of action and interesting facts of things that could happend on the future. Another word that could describe the book would be interesting because is interesting to know how the Mayas,the Olmecs, And the Aztecs were able to be so advanced in astronomy,mathemathics, and architecture.
The most important characters of the book are Michel and Dominique. Michel was an archeologist, him and his father julius Gabriel a famous archeologist tried to discover the significant of the Maya prophecy. After his father presented their discovery to te scientist community, no one believe what they said and his father reputation that took him thirty years to build was destroyed. after the presentation Michel's father died of a heart attack. Michel went mad and attack the scientist, he was put on a mental hospital. Dominique is a psycologist, she has Maya ethincity from part of her mother. after her parents died she was adopted and move to Florida there she became a psycologist. Dominique attends michel.
There is a lot of interesting things on the book but, the thing that I found most interesting is when they said that the sun is going to be in the center of the milky way on december 21 ,2012. that is something that I found very interesting because it's something that is actually going to happend on december 21 ,2012. it is also intereting because it's amazing how the Mayas were able to predict something like that.
A word that could describe this book would be intence because there is a lot of action and interesting facts of things that could happend on the future. Another word that could describe the book would be interesting because is interesting to know how the Mayas,the Olmecs, And the Aztecs were able to be so advanced in astronomy,mathemathics, and architecture.
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