Teenager, Tom Carver, finds an ancient crystal skull on a Cornish beach. Or did the skull find him? What are the awful visions it unleashes? Who is the gibbering hermit that appears? Why is a Native American Hopi elder controlling his dreams?

When Tom discovers a retired army explorer living on the beach, the mystery deepens. This eccentric Englishman discovered a similar skull years ago and divulges the ‘legend’ of the 13 skulls.

The legend tells of a ‘chosen one’ (Tom) who will gather the skulls to deliver a message to stop mankind from killing Mother Earth. Should the sceptical Tom believe the legend? How is it linked to the Mayan calendar that predicts the end of the world in December 2012?

Tom accepts the quest and, accompanied by his best friend he must lie, cheat and steal to succeed. Hotly pursued by the authorities and a US government ’Man in Black’, he journeys from Cornwall to sacred Native American ruins to lost civilisations - where the truth emerges. A truth that sends Tom on a terrifying journey where he faces death to deliver the skull’s message.

THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

The crystal skulls do exist but, if we are to believe the legend, not all of them have been found. Some are in museums, some in private collections. Those that are lost, may not be lost. It’s said that the Hopi tribe do know where the missing skulls are but will not reveal this to anyone.

The legend speaks of 13 skulls, all able to talk and sing. They are said to hold knowledge of the history of the world, the mysteries of the universe and the evolution of mankind. The legend states that the skulls will come together to reveal important information that is vital to the survival of the human race.

Scientific tests on the skulls reveal that it should have been impossible for people in the ancient world to carve them. Without modern tools it is estimated that it would have taken 300 years to carve just one crystal skull. Those tests also suggest that the skulls would have been capable of storing information.

Go into any search engine on the Internet, type in crystal skulls, and find out more about them.

Information about the Mayan calendar, again, can be found via any search engine on the Internet. The Mayan people are said to have charted time accurately over a span of more than 10 million years, including all astronomical events. The world of the fifth sun begins, according to Mayan legend on 21 December 2012. Many see this as the ‘end of the world’. However, the Mayans and many Native American tribes see this period as a time of rebirth; a new era where people will live in both peace and harmony with Mother Earth.

At the end of chapter 11, Tom holds a scrappy piece of paper with a small statement on it. This is an adaptation of part of a long speech made by an insightful Native American called Chief Seattle.

Chief Seattle lived in the mid-1800s and became involved, as did many tribal chiefs, in the struggle against the new settlers who took over their lands and killed millions of their people. No-one is completely sure about the exact words spoken by Chief Seattle and the speech he made to the men in power.

There are many versions in print but all say pretty much the same thing - that mankind is in no position to buy or take anything from Mother Earth or the Great Spirit. Without Mother Earth, we would not be here.

My hero, Tom, has a vision where he witnesses the earth breathing. Yes, the earth does breathe! There are many places across the globe where you can do the same as Tom and stick your head in to a blowhole to feel the breath of Mother Earth. My own experience was at a national park just north of Flagstaff in Arizona. It’s an amazing natural encounter.

Scientists tell us that the air in these holes either blow out or breathe in, depending on the air pressure above ground.

So, although it’s scientifically proven that this is down to weather, I prefer the Native American belief about the earth breathing.

In chapter 20, Davvers refers to a map and I’ve based this, very loosely, on the Piri Reis map. The Piri Reis map was found in the 15th century and is said to be a copy of a much older document. This map accurately charts the land under the ice (one mile thick) at Antarctica. Again, type Piri Reis in to any search engine and you can find out lots about this ancient document. Here’s some amazing facts for you to ponder:

Many scientists believe that the last time the Antarctic was ice-free was between 13000 and 9000 BC. According to our history books, the first civilisation came into being around 3000 BC, so who had the technology to map the land beneath the ice before this date?
The Piri Reis map is drawn assuming the earth is round. (Our history assumed the earth was flat until a few hundred years ago!)
In 1953, a Chief Engineer with the US Navy stated that the only way to draw a map with such accuracy was by using aerial surveying. Who, 6000 years ago, had aeroplanes?

I hope that I’ve whetted your appetite to read the book and perhaps find out more about the unexplained. It certainly challenges our understanding of the world and its civilisations.

The book may be ordered via your local bookstore, Amazon or from Pen Press direct at www.penpress.co.uk.