Reviews
Posted by Latinophile; March 3, 2009
This is a great read even if you don't know much about the 2012 end times predictions or mayan cosmology. It is a modern re telling of the Mayan creation myth as one age of mankind ends and a new one dawns. The author sets the epic dimensions of the story against a backdrop of both ordinary and extraordinary places, people and plotlines so, while on one level it reads like a fast paced novel including love stories, corrupt politicians, drug runners and international kidnappings it also has a much deeper meaning. Much of the novel and many of the characters inhabit an underworld of ancestors and animal spirits who are meant to help guide the living, but even their roles take on entirely new dimensions as the seismic shift between the ages brings the living and the spirits together in unexpected ways. While a work of fiction, the author introduces a lot of authentic material about the Maya which helped me gain a deeper appreciation of the culture and a whole new understanding of what 2012 is all about.
Posted by E Pohler; March 18, 2009
Mike Weddle's 2012: Under the Witz Mountain is powerfully rich and vibrant on so many levels. Both graphically real and superbly fantastic, filled with the kind of stark details one finds in works by Ernest Hemingway combined with a kind of Magical Realism one finds in works by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Carlos Fuentes, the novel tells a story of the end of one age and the beginning of another as predicted by the Mayans for December 21, 2012. Unlike the doomsday or apocalyptic interpretations taken by some Mayan scholars, Weddle portrays an important, but far from destructive shift in the world order, which includes the roles of humans and their animal soul-mates called kanulob and the Mayan ancestors who dwell under the Witz Mountain. Set mostly in Guatemala and other areas of Mexico, though including some scenes in the U.S., such as the Pennsylvanian maple tree country, the novel creates a rebirth or second coming story based both in Mayan mythology and Christian theology. Weddle successfully combines both religions only to transcend them to a place where their differences are "political," a place where Catholic priests and Mayan shamans, Protestant preachers and Mayan "doers," Christian saints and Mayan ancestors, and biblical and Mayan prophesies come together in a single vision. Threatened by corrupt and ambitious politicians, Mexico and the rest of the world depend on the ability of the prophetic Mayan twins to battle evil and their own insecurities with the help of a stillborn ancestor and a humble, overweight preacher to bring in the New Age.
Posted by B Jenkins; May 27, 2009
I found Mike Weddle's 2012, Under the Witz Mountain to be one of the most engaging books I have read this year. In fact, I read it straight through the night! This book is much more than an entertaining fantasy or sci-fi novel. The characters and the plot lines develop in fascinating and unexpected ways that bring the reader along in an understanding of Mayan myths, current cultural issues and the prophecy of 2012. I am very interested in Maya culture and traditions, but have found translations of the Popul Vuh difficult to relate to. This book brings the creation myth as alive to us, as I imagine the original telling was to the Maya. 2012: Under the Witz Mountain
Posted by Laura Marie; July 3, 2009
Doesn't it seem like there's something going on these days? On the one hand, we hear about resource scarcity, global warming, and threats of nuclear warfare; on the other hand, we are experiencing a greater sharing of wisdom, compassion, and spiritual growth among people. Could the Mayan calendar that comes to an end on December 21, 2012, really signal a new beginning?
Michael Weddle's novel 2012: Under the Witz Mountain explores the ancient Mayan myth of Popol Vuh in modern-day settings with diverse characters, their animal spirits and ancestors. In a style that reminds me at times of Carlos Castaneda and Isabel Allende, Weddle contrasts the harsh realities of life with magical and often beautiful scenes of the afterlife (or maybe better described as a world in between).
This book is a great companion to take you into a new era as we transition into whatever the future may bring. 2012: Under the Witz Mountain