BAH, HUMBUG!

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THE ORION PROPHECY
by Patrick Geryl
published: 2001
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Hi, it's me again! I've just finished reading (all that I intend to read of) THE ORION PROPHECY by Patrick Geryl.
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Now, I certainly never thought of myself as a genius, but evidently I'm a bigger maroon than I ever suspected because, frankly, by page 28, I was hopelessly lost and didn't have CLUE ONE what the author was "doing somersaults" about! It seems he had just "indisputably" proven something, but I had no idea what that was, let alone what proved it!
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You see, the author's writing style struck me as being convoluted, and when you're trying to explain complex theories such as this to the common layman (especially THIS ONE, whose math skills are south of deplorable), you had better write crystal clearly. Unfortunately, our author was not up to the task. He might thoroughly understand his subject, but he would have been better served by finding someone else to explain it to us.
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Almost from the beginning, I felt as though I had entered a theater in the middle of the second act of a three act play. After page 57, I was skimming because I had realized that actually comprehending this book was beyond my capabilities. All that I knew for certain was that, based on the translation of the Egyptian 'Zodiac Of Dendera' hieroglyphs (which I was expected to assume had been correctly deciphered), and a series of intricate computations, "THE EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED ON 21-22 DECEMBER, 2012". Forget proving it to me; I'll just take the author's word for it. My brain hurts and my ego is bruised!
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I don't mean to imply that I was unable to relate to ANYTHING that Mr. Geryl had written: On page 73, while postulating on the Age Of Aquarius, he wrote, "In the musical HAIR they sing the praises of it..." I could relate to that because as a kid in the early 1970s, I owned that Broadway musical soundtrack and played it often (although I now hate to admit that!) On page 186, he states that "2,664 - 2,627 = 37". I fetched a pencil, a piece of paper, and a large pink eraser, and I tested it, and sure enough, he was exactly right. I was now a big believer... in THAT! Also, on page 207, he wrote, "Dogs started barking and howling..." and I could relate to that too, because one of my neighbors has a canine friend who keeps it up all day long!
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But what I found most interesting was this tidbit from Room 222-- er... I mean, PAGE 222: "It's about 24,000 miles around the earth at the equator. Since the earth makes a complete revolution every 24 hours, that means we travel 24,000 miles every 24 hours. Divide 24 hours into 24,000 miles, and you'll come to the shocking realization that we are whirling around the global axis at about 1,000 miles an hour."
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Wow!! I had never thought about it in that way before! Boy, that really puts the INDY 500 in a new and disappointing perspective for you, doesn't it? Of course, I question whether it was really worth $11.87 for me to gain this new perspective.
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True, I am being a real MENSA-donkey [smart-ass] in this review, when in fact, this book may contain brilliant theories and rock-solid science. I don't doubt that it MAY be authentic and over my head (kinda like my cowboy hat). I'd love to have it explained to me... more carefully (and with smaller numbers). Meanwhile, I'll assume that the author really knows his stuff, and I just won't plan on doing any Christmas shopping in 2012.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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