New novel/thriller, The Shaman: Science, Nature, Prophecy......nature is getting even!

July 18, 2009 - PRLog -- It's all here in one remarkable book - exotic jungle adventure, well-researched anthropology, philosophy, and natural history, and a driving plot revolving around a mysterious ancient prophecy of apocalypse. All of this is woven into the intricate storyline of Mark D. Longo's The Shaman: Science, Nature, Prophecy.

Mark D. Longo, an author, musician, and scientist now finishing his Ph.D. in Ecology at Stanford University, has done a remarkable thing. He has crafted a work of fiction that seamlessly blends high brow philosophy and discourse with heart pounding action and suspense. The result is a book that, like the philosophy it propounds, is greater than the sum of its parts, and is as intellectually nutritious as it is viscerally exciting.

A group of American businessmen has disappeared in the jungles of Guatemala. The government blames guerrillas but the locals have a different theory. They believe the "Guardians of the Forests" have reawoken and are now taking their revenge on humanity. Unaware of these developments, nature documentary filmmaker Jared Foster and his anthropologist friend, Christopher Burgeis, depart for Guatemala to shoot footage for Jared's latest project. Their trip becomes an odyssey of discovery during which they explore vast expanses of geography and mind. They must put their newfound knowledge to the test when they reach their final destination for it is there, among the crumbling ruins of the Petén wilderness, that they learn the truth about an ancient prophecy of apocalypse. Nature, it seems, has indeed found a champion and it is no longer the rainforests that are in danger.

At once a gripping thriller based on Maya legend, The Shaman is also a paean to the environment and a meditation on the merging synthesis between traditional indigenous wisdoms and modern scientific thought. It is that rare page turner that provides valid intellectual appeal and leads us to contemplate the world we think we know with fresh eyes full of wonder.

"A fantastic adventure incorporating well-researched philosophy, natural history and anthropology. Think Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance meets Indiana Jones."
--Diamantis Sellis, doctoral candidate in Ecology at Stanford University

"An informed and eloquent brief for Maya country...I'll be sharing it with my students."
--Dr. David Freidel, anthropologist and co-author of A Forest of Kings

"There were many times when I looked up from the book, simply amazed, and spent time thinking about what had just happened. The Shaman is a seamless blend of interesting characters, driving plot, cutting-edge thinking and science, and a uniting world view that really leaves an impression on you when you finish the book."
--William Love-Anderegg, ecologist and author of A Song of Shadows

Read the reviews and the cliff-hanger prologue at www.markdlongo.com/the_shaman.html

The Shaman: Science, Nature Prophecy
By Mark D. Longo
ISBN 978-1-440-41249-3
336 Pages Paperback (6x9)