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Customer Reviews for Bethany House The Alarmists
Bethany House The Alarmists
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.
Average Customer Rating:
(13 Reviews) 13
Rating Snapshot (13 reviews)
5 stars
2
4 stars
5
3 stars
5
2 stars
1
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11 out of 1385%customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for The Alarmists
Review 1 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
A Sci-Fi thriller that is very timely...
Date:July 7, 2011
candids
Location:Watertown, WI
Age:35-44
Gender:female
Quality:
3
out of
5
Value:
3
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
2
out of
5
This “end of the world” sci-fi thriller was a good read. It took me awhile to get into it, but about half way through it captured my interest. Of course, it’s very timely, with many thinking the world will end in December of 2012 which is the premise of this novel.
I got a bit lost in the science terminology as I’m not really a sci-fi reader, but it was a good story line with interesting characters and I enjoyed the change of pace overall. One thing that disappointed me though is that though it was clean and had Christian references, it didn’t clearly present the Gospel. There are definitely points in the story line where it could have been presented, but the author kept it rather vague. Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys science fiction without the secular mindset.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review. I was not told that I must give a positive review.
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Review 2 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
gripping tale
Date:July 7, 2011
ATaylor
Location:Texas
Age:25-34
Gender:female
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
I’ll admit that it took me a while to find the groove in “The Alarmists.” But once I dug in, this book was great!
“The Alarmists” is my first read by Don Hoesel, and I’m really impressed by his assembly of this story. What could have been an incredibly tangled web of too much information was instead a well-planned, drop-into-the-action, international suspense narrative.
Set in 2012, the plot centers on greedy Arthur Van Camp, who is will move at any cost to fulfill a lifelong dream. Through Van Camp we meet a host of other characters, all able to shirk morality to achieve personal gain.
In the opposing camp, we find Colonel Richards and his research team, charged with investigating unusual events around the globe. They’ve contracted Brent Michaels, a sociologist, to help solve their most mysterious case yet -- determining why the world is hurtling toward its end and finding a way to stop it.
In short, this is a classic tale of good versus evil, although Hoesel takes the opportunity to explore the juxtaposition of faith and science as well.
I appreciated the succinct dialogue and narration; this is in keeping with the military-style under toe felt throughout the book. The reader isn’t given any fluffy information, and what you are given feels like exactly enough to draw you into the next chapter.
I would recommend this book to any adult reader -- but in the world of fiction where "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" reign -- men will find this book a breath of fresh air.
I received this book for free from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.
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Review 3 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
Interesting, but not great
Date:June 5, 2011
Jack
Location:West Bend
Age:35-44
Gender:male
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
Normally one to shy away from fiction and stick to healthy debates on theological issues this was an interesting book for me to review. When I do delve into fiction it must be something that grabs my attention right away with a subject that may have some real world parallels to it. Don Hoesel's new book can loosely have some of those parallels so the summary intrigued me. Someone may possibly be orchestrating some events to coincide with the thought that the world will end on 12/21/12. Bring in sociologist Brent Michaels and team him with Colonel Jameson Richards in order to try to identify who might be trying to bring the world into a state of fear and you have the makings for a page turner. Add to this mix a woman assigned to help Michaels and you now have more intrigue. With all that as the backdrop for the story it sounds like it could be great...but I would have to say the book was only good. Often I will judge a fiction account by how often I desire to pick it back up and how often I stay with it. To say I labored through this is not quite the case, but I did not lay awake thinking of how it would end. The character development was decent and the narrative was fairly easy to get through, it just did not leave me hanging by a thread desiring to start the next chapter.
I did receive this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review and was not compensated in any other way.
I did receive this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review and was not compensated in any other way.
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Review 4 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
Great theme!
Date:June 1, 2011
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
I recently read the book, The Alarmists, by Don Hoesel. The scenario of this book is about a very wealthy man with media monopolization who manipulates the ending of the world--or at least a panicked world. And you know what? I could totally see something like this really happening.
The book takes you from one corner of the world to the other. Brent Michaels is a college professor who is called in by the Pentagon to consult as a sociologist--trying to put world events together to see if there was once source creating chaos around the world. Colonel Richards of the NIIU is the person in charge of tracking the breakdown of civilization. And Colonel Richards has a team working for him which now includes Dr. Brent Michaels.
The book takes you from one corner of the world to the other. Brent Michaels is a college professor who is called in by the Pentagon to consult as a sociologist--trying to put world events together to see if there was once source creating chaos around the world. Colonel Richards of the NIIU is the person in charge of tracking the breakdown of civilization. And Colonel Richards has a team working for him which now includes Dr. Brent Michaels.
Brent Michaels begins to believe that someone is manipulating small events towards one large polarizing event to piggyback on the ending of the Mayan calendar, December 21, 2012 which would create total chaos and the complete breakdown of civilization. As he reaches this conclusion, he only has 9 days to discover who is behind it...and exactly what is that polarizing event.
This book was fun to read after I finally got into it. The first part of the book had me confused with the characters. Later, you understand that one man has an assumed name. And since the book tracks all over the world with the different characters, it was a bit hard to follow at times. But the theme of the book clearly had me intrigued.
I'd give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Thank you to Bethany House for providing this book for 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.
Thank you to Bethany House for providing this book for 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.
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Review 5 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
You won't be able to put this one down.
Date:May 21, 2011
seabe
Location:Fallon, NV
Age:35-44
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
The Alarmists by Don Hoesel
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
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Review 6 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
one man tries to profit from end times hype
Date:May 15, 2011
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
It is December of 2012. A special Pentagon task force headed by Colonel Richards has noticed an increase in man-made and natural disasters. Brent Michaels is a sociologist whose specialty is seeing order in chaos. He is pulled on to the team in an attempt to understand what is going on.
Arthur Van Camp might just be the richest man in the world. But he wants more. He owns a number of companies, companies that would benefit from unrest in the world. So he has been causing it. An oil refinery bombed. A terrorist attack. And the events accelerate as the time gets closer to December 21, the day the Mayan calendar ends.
Captain Amy Madigan has been assigned as Michael's right hand assistant. As the two pursue the analysis of the troubling events, they also begin to get to know each other. The excitement grows as they go with a team to investigate a terrorist attack and are attacked themselves.
Van Camp's right had man is Alan Canield. He is given the money and power to cause the necessary havoc. His grand plan is to plant explosives on an ice shelf in eastern Antarctica and blow the shelf on December 21. The resulting tsunami would hit the coast of China with a vengeance, killing millions. And who would the Chinese blame but the U.S. Canfield has a plan and it is progressing right on schedule.
Only Richards' team can stop the planned devastation.
Hoesel has crafted an exciting novel. The action is believable and the characters are well developed. I recommend this book for a great read.
Arthur Van Camp might just be the richest man in the world. But he wants more. He owns a number of companies, companies that would benefit from unrest in the world. So he has been causing it. An oil refinery bombed. A terrorist attack. And the events accelerate as the time gets closer to December 21, the day the Mayan calendar ends.
Captain Amy Madigan has been assigned as Michael's right hand assistant. As the two pursue the analysis of the troubling events, they also begin to get to know each other. The excitement grows as they go with a team to investigate a terrorist attack and are attacked themselves.
Van Camp's right had man is Alan Canield. He is given the money and power to cause the necessary havoc. His grand plan is to plant explosives on an ice shelf in eastern Antarctica and blow the shelf on December 21. The resulting tsunami would hit the coast of China with a vengeance, killing millions. And who would the Chinese blame but the U.S. Canfield has a plan and it is progressing right on schedule.
Only Richards' team can stop the planned devastation.
Hoesel has crafted an exciting novel. The action is believable and the characters are well developed. I recommend this book for a great read.
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Review 7 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
Good action; poor motivation
Date:May 9, 2011
Suzanne
Location:St. Louis, MO
Age:45-54
Gender:female
As the last date on the Mayan calendar—Dec. 21, 2012—approaches, more and more devastating events are occurring, seemingly in a random fashion across the world. General Richards’ team of scientists at the Pentagon, which has been studying these events, begins to think they are anything but random, so they bring in sociology professor, Brent Michaels, whose specialty is seeing order in the chaos of human interaction. When they discover that someone is manipulating events and feeding the end-of-the-world hysteria, they rush to find evidence to back their beliefs in time to avert a major catastrophe.
Once I waded through a confusing opening scene and too much backstory in the initial chapters, the pace picked up and I pieced together what the protagonists were trying to accomplish and why. The action continues at a good pace, especially once the person manipulating the devastating events takes aim at the team trying to find him. I had a little trouble buying into the concept that a single man could bring about all of the events in the book and the motivation behind his actions. I also didn’t understand why the general’s team was studying the events and how it led them to believe that they are more than random events.
Overall, I rate this book as a 3 because the action carried me along well, but the lack of believable motivation was a big enough issue for me that I didn’t feel like I could rate it any higher.
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Review 8 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
End of the World - 12/21/12
Date:May 1, 2011
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
3
out of
5
My Review: This is a hard review for me to do. I don’t think this is a bad story. The characters are interesting and there’s plenty of action and suspense. It’s just not a story I enjoyed. For me it was more the topic than anything else. I’m not big on “end of the world” stories. With that said, I’ll try to tell you the good and the bad of this story.
The Good: An interesting take on an upcoming event, the end of the Mayan calendar, though there could be other books out there, this is the first I’ve read. Our villains are motivated by everything from greed to revenge. Our military team is unique in that they’ve been investigating strange happenings that are scattered around the world. The military brings in Sociologist Brent Michaels to help analysis these events and determine what is happening.
There was good chemistry between the three main characters, Michaels, Colonel Richards, and Maddy. There was definitely a line of faith interwoven to the story but was not overtly Christian in its tone.
The story is fast paced and the story starts on November 30, 2012 and tracks daily the events leading to the end of the world.
The Bad: It just didn’t suck in me, until the last “few days” and then I found myself wanting to see how the author was going to end the book.
Again, not a bad book, but it’s also not a book for everyone. I’ve not read any other books by the author, so if you’ve like other of his books you’ll probably enjoy this one.
Thank you to Bethany House, I received a copy of the book in exchange for a review. No additional compensation has been received and I was only required to write an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to Bethany House, I received a copy of the book in exchange for a review. No additional compensation has been received and I was only required to write an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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Review 9 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
Date:April 24, 2011
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
What the future might hold has always gripped man’s imagination, and Don Hoesel is not the exception. He writes about a secret research military group that investigates cases that do not fit any other department in the Pentagon. Their leader, Colonel Richards, is a man of faith who allows enough room for lack of explanation for some of the situations they have to deal with every day. Whenever his time allows him to, he enjoys digging into prophecies about the end of the world in 2012.
However true or not, the team has been analyzing coups, earthquakes, explosions, and a series of phenomena that have left them with enough information to conclude that the world is in a self-destruct pattern and that its end is near. This is where Brent Michaels comes to join the team. He is a Sociology Professor who has done consultations for the government before. He is left with the daunting task of making sense of the huge amount of information Richard’s team has gathered during the last years. He fits right into the team, and is shortly included in their outings.
Little by little, the investigation puts the pieces together, but the mastermind that is behind the events the team is after, will not let them get further. With their lives endangered, the team needs to make haste to save the world. Even if Brent is not a believer, he certainly is a man of good character, so he decides to stay with the team long after his consultation should end. Richards thanks the latter, even if he now needs to look after his life; this fact is proven more difficult after an outing when Michaels and a member of the team are almost killed.
I will not ruin the rest of the story for those who will read it; I will say that despite a slow beginning, the story and the pace pick up and get to the point where it is difficult to put the book down. It is a good story, but I was disappointed by the end. It just ends, abruptly and almost too coincidentally. I just feel that the author could have developed a little more (the material to do so is in the story), and make a better conclusion. There are bits and pieces that come together too fast, and there are bits and pieces that are left sort of unattended.
Anyway, it is easy to read, highly entertaining, with good language, and as I have said of Mr. Hoesel’s books before, they should come with popcorn!!!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review. This did not bias my opinion on the book, nor on the author.
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Review 10 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
The Alarmists
Date:April 24, 2011
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
Chaotic events, earth shattering, catastrophic disasters, end of the world, doomsday thrillers. This book is so what I love to read about and I loved this action packed, page-turner, suspense thriller. You will meet the hero a sociologist, a research team that is trying to figure out all the chaos and events, a greedy villain who thrives on attaining insane wealth at all costs, and the "fall guy" who helps to create this chaos and eliminates any witnesses knowing that he will soon be eliminated. Very relevant in the chaotic world we live in.
". . . opportunity found its greatest fulfillment in chaos: the man who kept his head while everyone around him panicked was the man who won. "
Arthur Van Camp in The Alarmists
Arthur Van Camp in The Alarmists
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Review 11 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
December 2012... the end of the world?
Date:April 21, 2011
Quality:
3
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
3
out of
5
The Alarmists... a book review
How does an elite army unit and a dusty professor of sociology work together to save the world?
Colonel Richards leads up an elite Pentagon unit of "scientist" soldiers who travel the world collecting data from geological disturbances and other unknown events on the Armed Forces Global Threat Assessment. When the colonel feels there is a pattern emerging, he brings in Brent Michaels, a well-known sociology professor. His specialty "is seeing order in the chaos of human interaction." Brent is now on Colonel Richards team to uncover the reason the world is spiraling downward toward doomsday... the end of the world!
"It's December 2012 and the world is approaching the brink of panic-the timing of which eerily coincides with the ending of the Mayan calendar. but, beneath the despair of both fanatics and doomsayers, and amid a rising tide of both man-made and natural disasters, something far more dangerous emerges." Are these disasters all natural or is someone directly involved for personal reasons?
Colonel Richards' team only has until December 21, 2012, to thwart the end of the world. Do they manage to find the correlations in all the data? Are the Mayans correct in their assessment of the end times?
Click HERE to read an excerpt from the book.
I found the beginning of the book to be slow, both in character development and plot. About 1/4th into the book, the plot picked up and the characters are better developed. This book didn't hold me captive, but the story line was interesting.
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book for my review from Bethany House Publisher.
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Review 12 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
Hoesel is growing in his writings
Date:April 19, 2011
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
The Alarmists
by Don Hoesel
by Don Hoesel
*******************
Is it the end of the world in Dec 2012? There seems to be a conspiracy theory that it is - in concordance with the Mayan calendar -- but is it really? Sociologist Brent Micheal's is taken to the pentagon to figure out whether this current threat of doomsday is coming or whether someone is just trying to scare the rest of the world. As the time edges closer to the end can Michaels and the team solve this explosive threat?
I previously read Hunter’s Moon by Don and surprisingly, I still remember the story (I read a lot of books so remembering one of them that wasn't my favorite is rare.) As I recall it was okay, but not my favorite as far as Christian suspense went - HOWEVER, The Alarmist has reconciled my opinion of Mr. Hoesel and I enjoyed this one a lot! I can see the growth in his writing and I like what I see! I liked to see that the theme of science and God do go hand in hand, that was well conveyed. It brushed off the "just clean" book and came into the Christian category for me; still Christian lite, but yes it made it in and that excited me!
The Alarmist is a fast paced political thriller - a touch of humor in it, but mostly kept me on my toes and curious as to what would happen next. I found he dug deeper in this book and made it more believable for me. I enjoyed the characters and seeing where they came from. I could get into the book easy and get lost into it. I liked Maddy with her stance on religion; Abby reminded me of Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds, at least in my head that's how I had her pegged ~ hard working and under appreciated!
This isn't a girly book, but rather one everyone can enjoy. For those who like a good suspense - you know the ones that cover a little espionage and military cover ups you'll enjoy this one!
Well done Don! I'll be looking for more of your books in the future!
*******************
*review copy provided
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Review 13 for The Alarmists
Overall Rating:
Decent as a light read, not great
Date:April 14, 2011
Quality:
3
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
3
out of
5
I was really excited to receive a copy of The Alarmists, by Don Hoesel, to review. It sounded like the kind of movie that my husband and I like to watch, but in book form. While I appreciated the plot, and I even liked the main character, Brent Michaels, (although I kept picturing a certain blonde rocker with a similar name, lol) the book as a whole was a bit lackluster to me. The very beginning of the book captivated me - reminded me of the movie Sahara meets a Discovery Channel Documentary - something fun to read. And it was fun, but I have to describe the writing as shallow. I never really connected to any of the other characters and I really would have liked to see the plot deepen. I loved how the book brought up the subject of how much science and the Bible really do go hand-in-hand, in addition to a faith element brought in. (As opposed to many of the "Christian" books I read that have NO mention of God whatsoever, they are simply a "clean" book.) Both of these themes, however, fell a bit flat. I would have liked to see them both developed more. If you are looking for a light read, I might recommend this to you. I wouldn't say it's a "girly" book, though.
I wish I could say better things about this book, it just fell a bit flat for me.
I received this book free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review.
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