Decipher

By Stel Pavlou

Ancient monuments all over the world - from the Pyramids of Giza, to Mexico, to the ancient sites of China - are also awakening, reacting to a brewing crisis not of this earth, connecting to each other in some kind of ancient global network. A small group of scientists is assembled to attempt to unravel the mystery. What they discover will change the world.

Imagine that 12,000 years ago it really did rain for 40 days and 40 nights. That storms reigned supreme. Imagine that survivors of human civilization really were forced to take to boats or hide out in caves on mountaintops. Then consider that these same myths from around the world predict this kind of devastation will occur time and again. What could cause such a catastrophe? What occurs in nature with such frightening and predictable regularity? A pulsar. But this is not just any pulsar - the ordinary type that pulses once a second, a minute, or even a week. This pulses once every 12,000 years and sends out a gravity wave of such ferocity it beggars belief. Not only that, it's closer than anybody has ever imagined. For it lives in our own backyard. It is the Sun.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Mar 11, 2010
• ISBN: 9781849831383

Stel Pavlou

Stel Pavlou is a British author and screenwriter. He is the author of the bestselling novel for adults Decipher, as well as Gene, and has also written short stories based in the world of the popular television series Doctor Who. Daniel Coldstar: The Relic War is his first book for young readers. Stel lives in Colorado. You can visit him online at www.stelpavlou.com and at www.danielcoldstar.com.

Reviews for Decipher

[marieharbon_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Under rated book. It has some fantastic ideas regarding 2012 and although Dan Brown-like, it's actually much better. It was fast paced and a generally engaging read.

[chromiumdomium · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very enjoyable, fast paced. I really enjoyed this book. However, you'll have to suspend disbelief a little and just submit to the ride in order to appreciate it. Whilst reading this, I constantly felt as though I were watching the scenes as if they were designed and written as a screenplay for a movie; which incidentally would be great fun.

[jarratt_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Waaay too long. If Crichton (RIP) had written it, it'd be excellent. The story's way too convoluted. It's basically about the sun emitting a burst of energy that destroys everything in it's path. But the people of Atlantis, 12,000 years ago, knew how to take all that energy, "freeze" the earth, then eject that energy back into space. Rather silly and again, very complex. Quite disappointing.

[benjaminhahn · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

My friend Matt and I started crazy book on the long drive from Seattle to Anchorage AK in the summer of 2007. We got about half way through and I ended up with it on my bookshelf. If you thought The Da Vinci Code was a bad, then this book by far, will blow you away. It is so ridiculous. Pavlou takes every possible conspiracy theory, paranormal activity, cultural/urban myth and blends it into a doomsday adventure book, chock full of alien cultures, secret histories, mind reading, hidden technology, pseudo-science and paranormal hoopla. In a way, this alone makes it entertaining and interesting, but I fear for those readers who fall for the absolute absurdity this book dishes out as plausible plot lines. I know I should finish it but its so hard to do it without someone there to laugh at with me. If you have any respect for your own intelligence pass this book up and buy something less contrived. However, if your a skeptic looking for a good laugh, this may fit the docket.

[jj2006_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a great book, and really well written. The basic premise is that there is a signal emanating from under the ice in Antarctica. But to who and what the signal transmitting means remains a mystery. Ancient monuments all over the planet, from the Pyramids of Giza, in Egypt, to Mexico, right through to ancient sites in China are reacting to a events caused by something, but not on earth, out in space.It seems that the signals being broadcast from under the ice are from the long lost civilisation of Atlantis. But it seems that these are just a prelude to something much greater. Could it be that the ancient city is one great machine and if so what could be its use or its purpsoe.It is the year 2012, the year that the Mayans predicted the world would end.This is a wonderful adventure novel, in the true sense of the word. Kind of like a mix of Indiana Jones and Stephen Hawking.The novel deals with a group of characters that are all specialists in their fields, from geologists to physicists, and the main character Dr. Richard Scott, who is a linguist.The novel takes the reader on a very complex journey that weaves not only ancient languages together, the history of religions and myth, together with solar physics and archaeology. It's very intricate and anyone who can't juggle more than two ideas together at the same time should probably skip it.To make up for this complexity, the language choice of the book is deceptively simple.

[salkin_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not particularly well-written, but contains many interesting references to real (if far-out) theories about the nature of pre-history. I refer to the Bauval-esque theories that technological levels must have been rather higher than modern historians credit to account for certain engineering and astronomical feats, and for the presence of certain carved images and common mythological structures in places having no contact with each other.