December 21, 2012 marked the end of the ancient Mayan calendar. If you recall, many predicted the end of world in some cataclysmic event. Others saw it as the end of one cosmic age and the beginning of another. Well, we’re still here, so the first camp of believers must have been wrong. Or were they? What if a doomsday device had been set to explode. What stopped it? And herein lies the intriguing set up to AWAKE: The Legacy of Akara by Dayna Dunbar and Julia Nadine Padawer. From the book jacket–

Akara is Home to A Civilization Far More Evolved Than Our Own. Long ago on Akara, a planet in the Pleiades cluster, The Ravaging Era raged. It was a time of toxic greed, rampant warfare, and environmental devastation. Akarans were on the brink of extinction. Out of the turmoil, a critical mass of beings experienced an awakening, which sparked a spontaneous shift in consciousness across the planet and ushered in the Rebirthing.

A Thousand Years Later. Mobius–a candidate for the Discovery Corps, Akara’s elite space program–stumbles upon an ancient relic. The artifact reveals that a rogue space commander from the Ravaging Era attempted to colonize Earth. The legacy of his reign now places Earth in jeopardy.

AWAKE does a cracking job of setting up a classic Hero’s Journey with young Mobius, a less-than-perfect Akaran, given the mission to save Planet Earth. The opening chapters of the book jump between the four-fingered, big-eyed Akaran crew and the drug infested jungles of Guatemala. Diego, a slightly crooked jungle ranger, emerges as a secondary hero. Two story lines ultimately converge when the earthlings meet the E.T.’s and race the clock and numerous bad guys to save the world.

This tale is fun on several levels. Mayan legends and visionary spirituality add dashes of spice and flavor to the sci-fi adventure. Mobius, Diego and their small collected team are all individually interesting characters. Dialogue and action is laced with humor. There’s even a little romance between Diego and the rich American girl, Jillian. A little something for everybody here.

As I write this review Earth seems on the brink of our own Ravaging Era, so the book becomes a timely cautionary tale. We can go the path of destruction, as the doomsayers predict. However, we live in a freewill zone. Hence, a Rebirthing Era is also a possibility, if enough humans Awake.

Author Dayna Dunbar shares a deeply personal out-of-this-world experience in Sedona that changed the course of her life and ultimately inspired the book. She met co-author Julia Nadine Padawer at the University of Santa Monica, a school known for spiritual exploration. This collaboration took seven years to complete. Their work honing AWAKE into a well-paced, layered adventure results in a real page turner.

Enjoy Dayna’s intriguing real-life experience and then click over to Amazon and purchase a copy. Currently only $1.99 as an ebook.

Available at Amazon in paperback, kindle and audio version.