Book Review: The Alarmists

The Alarmists
By Dan Hoesel
Bethany House, 2011
English, 320 pgs


Description:
The 2012 phenomenon that's going viral around the globe has led sociology professor Jameson Richards to study the impact on society when, like the Y2K scare, 12/21/12 comes and goes with hardly a wrinkle. This is the date that, according to the Mayan calendar, the doomsayers predict the world will end. Richards teams up with General Michaels, a scientist stationed at the Pentagon whose job it is to monitor the world's fanatics, keeping an eye out for potential terrorists. Together they uncover something sinister going on beneath the surface, linked to billionaire and media mogul Jeremy Maxwell, who also happens to be a huge manufacturer of weapons systems. The 2012 date has captured Maxwell's attention too, and he's looking to cash in on the public's fear and paranoia. And what he instigates--along with his corrupt partners--nearly starts another war in the Middle East, while also bringing the world to its knees economically. It's up to the professor/general team to blow the whistle on Maxwell, hopefully in time to avert a major catastrophe.

Review:
It's not bad. I found it a little hard to stay interested in the story and I had to force myself to finish the book. It's not a bad read though. It was predictable and jumped around a lot. There were a few times when new characters were introduced and I didn't know who they were.

I'm wondering why the Amazon description has a different name for the antagonist. There's no one named Maxwell in my copy of the book.

Anyway, it's not a bad weekend or beach read. I wonder if men would find it more interesting? There is a bit of action and a lot of thinking about what's going on in the story. It's just outside of my preferred genre, but I'm willing to bet my husband will like it.


I received a copy of the book in exchange for a review. No additional compensation has been received and I was only required to write an honest review. All opinions are my own.