12-21

From Dustin Thomason, co-author of bestselling phenomenon The Rule of Four, 12-21 is an edge-of-your-seat novel charting a heroic race to save the world. And as the fateful date approaches, 12-21 is the novel all readers will be talking about. 
 
An ancient prophecy foretells that the world will end on 21 December 2012 . . . 
 
In Central America, a treasure hunter discovers a Maya relic - a mysterious and ornate codex - but when he smuggles it into the US, he brings with him an old and deadly secret . . . 
 
Early in December 2012, the codex comes to Chel Manu, a Maya world authority. She is torn between the chance to translate the codex herself and her duty to alert the authorities. Meanwhile, in an LA hospital, an unknown man is dying of a rare, contagious disease. When Dr Gabriel Stanton is called in, he realises that this is no ordinary infection - and it will spread uncontrollably. 
 
Stanton and Chel must race to decipher the codex's secrets and prevent the prophesied apocalypse . . . 
 
12-21 is a thrilling debut, marking the arrival of Dustin Thomason as a major solo talent. 
 
Praise for Dustin Thomason: 
 
'One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of Rose . . . A blazingly good yarn' San Francisco Chronicle 
 
'Weaves together the past and present seamlessly, I enjoyed it tremendously' Observer 
 
Dustin Thomason graduated from Harvard College and received his MD from Columbia University. He is the co-author of the international bestseller The Rule of Four and has written and produced several television series, including Lie to Me. He lives in Venice Beach, California.

Dustin Thomason co-wrote the number one International and New York Times bestseller, The Rule of Four. He earned his BA in Anthropology from Harvard College and his Medical Degree from Columbia University. 
 
He has written and executive-produced the American television series The Evidence and Lie to Me. He lives and works in Los Angeles. 12-21 is Dustin's first solo novel.

An ancient prophecy foretells that the world will end on 21 December 2012 . . . 
 
 In Central America, a treasure hunter discovers a Maya relic - a mysterious and ornate codex - but when he smuggles it into the US, he brings with him an old and deadly secret . . . 
 
 Early in December 2012, the codex comes to Chel Manu, a Maya world authority. She is torn between the chance to translate the codex herself and her duty to alert the authorities. Meanwhile, in an LA hospital, an unknown man is dying of a rare, contagious disease. When Dr Gabriel Stanton is called in, he realises that this is no ordinary infection - and it will spread uncontrollably. 
 
 Stanton and Chel must race to decipher the codex's secrets and prevent the prophesised apocalypse . . .

Ian Caldwell

Dustin Thomason

One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose - A blazingly good yarn [and] an exceptional piece of scholarship ... A smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs

The Da Vinci Code for people with brains

A stunning first novel ... if Scott Fitzgerald, Umberto Eco, and Dan Brown teamed up to write a novel, the result would be The Rule of Four. An extraordinary and brilliant accomplishment - a must read

An assured piece of fiction that weaves together the past and the present seamlessly ... I enjoyed it tremendously

A marvellous book with a dark Renaissance secret in its coded heart

Tom Sullivan, about to graduate from Princeton, is haunted by the violent death of his father, an academic who devoted his life to studying one of the rarest, most complex and most valuable books in the world. Coded in seven languages, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, an intricate mathematical mystery and a tale of love and arcane brutality, has baffled scholars since 1499. 
 
Tom's friend Paul is similarly obsessed and when a long-lost diary surfaces, they finally seem to make a breakthrough. But only hours later, a fellow researcher is murdered and the two friends suddenly find themselves in great danger. Working desperately to expose the book's secret, they slowly uncover a Renaissance tale of passion and blood, a hidden crypt and a secret worth dying to protect.

Dustin Thomason

Praise for The Rule Of Four

This year's biggest publishing sensation

One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose - A blazingly good yarn [and] an exceptional piece of scholarship ... A smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs

The Da Vinci Code for people with brains

This year's biggest publishing sensation

One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose - A blazingly good yarn [and] an exceptional piece of scholarship ... A smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs

The Da Vinci Code for people with brains

This year's biggest publishing sensation

One part The Da Vinci Code, one part The Name of the Rose - A blazingly good yarn [and] an exceptional piece of scholarship ... A smart, swift, multitextured tale that both entertains and informs

The Da Vinci Code for people with brains

Books by Dustin Thomason

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter