Alarmists, The [Paperback]

Don Hoesel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2011

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Don Hoesel, bestselling author of Hunter's Moon and Elisha's Bones, lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee, with his wife and two children. He has also published short fiction in Relief: A Quarterly Christian Expression. Don holds a bachelor's degree in mass communication from Taylor University. When not writing novels, he spends his days working in the communications department of a large company.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (April 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764205625
• ISBN-13: 978-0764205620
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,599,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Don Hoesel works in the Communications department for a Medicare carrier in Nashville, TN. He has a BA in Mass Communication from Taylor University and has published short fiction in Relief Journal. He lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee, with his wife and two children. He's published two novels: Elisha's Bones, released in March 2009, and Hunter's Moon, coming in February 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indiana Jones, Meet Fringe, April 2, 2011

By 

T.E. George "Tim George" (Pensacola FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Alarmists, The (Paperback)

NOTE: The Amazon blurb about The Alarmists mixed up the names of several main characters. They are correct here.

The Alarmists begins in a most non- alarming way for Brent Michaels: sociology professor with a day off, sitting in a boat and hoping for a trophy bass from his favorite fishing spot. The time is 2:33 in the afternoon, December 3rd 2012. And the last thing on Dr. Michaels' mind is that 18 days hence marks the infamous supposed end of the ancient Mayan calendar and to some conspiracy types, the end of the world. With his mind far from his class and still focused on his quarry, Michaels receives a phone call from his assistant with a message that will change everything about the way he views life and his certainties.

"You got a call from the Pentagon.
They want you for a consult."

That call transports Brent Michaels to a world he hasn't visited for several years, the world of consulting about sociological probabilities for the military. And a lot has changed! Within hours Michael is introduced to Colonel Jameson Richardson, Captain Amy Madigan and the rest of the Colonel's eclectic assortment of military scientific investigators. This is a unit assigned to investigate and seek to explain the connections between some of the oddest and most unexplainable occurrences on earth. In short, they are racing against time to clarify why the human race seems to be on accelerated course of coming apart at the seams.

Author Don Hoesel does a great job of offering just enough science to lend credibility to a storyline that sometimes reads like Indiana Jones and at others like a really good episode of X-Files or more recently Fringe. For those not into such things, don't be alarmed. This is really an action-adventure story with all the ingredients needed to make it hold just about everyone' interest: a really big crisis, believable heroes, a demented villain bent on having it all and a love interest that refuses to be stifled by the earth shattering events threatening to happen any moment.

At the heart of The Alarmists is one man's realization that science and faith do not have to be mutually exclusive. Ironically the people of faith in the story are the seemingly hardened Colonel and a certain blonde Captain, Brent is beginning to fall far. The very people who have seen the unexplainable and worked to explain it are the ones who most believe in a deeper spiritual reality.

Like Hoesel's debut novel, Elisha's Bones, this is one that invites you to buckle up and enjoy the ride. You'll get to fly in Lear Jets and C130s. You'll be carried from the sands of Africa to the white wasteland of Antarctica. Along the way you'll be invited to see what greed can lead a man to do including trying to help doomsday Mayan prophecies along just so he can say he holds all the toys at the end. And most importantly you will join our hero as he comes face to face with the greatest question of all and hear whispers of the answers he gets.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You won't be able to put this one down., May 21, 2011

By 

CarolB - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alarmists, The (Paperback)

This book is a great suspense story situated in December 2012 with the world approaching the brink of panic - the timing of which coincides with the ending of the Mayan calendar. Don't worry, this book isn't one that jumps head first into the belief that the world will end in December 2012. I found that in the story this subject was dealt with appropriately. I'd love to tell you more but haven't figured out how too without giving away too much.

I can only think of one problem with this book. Once you start it, you're not going to want to put it down until you've finished it. I stayed up till early morning hours finishing the book myself.


I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for writing a review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty and fascinating, February 7, 2012

By 

Jessie G. (Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alarmists, The (Paperback)

This novel reminded me of the Bourne books without the gore and language.

Don Hoesel's style is full of intrigue and drama.

Jameson Richards is a sociology professor who gets pulled into a government elite team of researchers /military personnel who believe there is something sinister behind a 2012 phenomenon tied to the Mayan calendar. Unexplained earthquakes, glaciers threatening to break into the ocean and heightened fighting in the far reaches of the world are all believed to be the work of a single mind. Richards' job is to find out who and help stop him before it's too late.

The only complaint I have is I want to know more! I felt like I needed a sociology degree to grasp the whole genius of this book but Don Hoesel did a great job allowing the reader to experience the story even without prior background in the military or the main characters' field of work.

Men would especially like this author. Gritty and fascinating read.