February 15, 2011
New Age spiritual popularizer Redfield ruled the best-seller lists in the 1990s with his Celestine series of adventure parables, then left readers hanging after The Secret of Shambhala: In Search of the Eleventh Insight (1999). He now resurrects searcher Wilson James, known as Wil, and his fellow traveler, the unnamed narrator, just in time to offer a positive spin on the Mayan prophecy for the year 2012. A mysterious Document is being released around the world with instructions on how to use powers of the mind and spirit to elevate world consciousness and usher in not doomsday but, rather, a time of unity and peace. Redfield suggests that current economic crises, religious extremism, and political polarization are signs that we must change our ways. But Wil, the narrator, and a band of neatly diverse seekers (a Jew, a Muslim, a scientist, a few Christians, and a few Native Americans) must attain enlightenment immediately (instant karma, anyone?) in order to stop a band of terrorists from detonating a suitcase nuke. Celestine-heads and others looking for miraculous fables will embrace this hokey yet hopeful spiritual action fantasy. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Redfields previous books dominated best-seller lists for years, and his return will stoke avid interest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)