Gary Jennings’ the 2012 Codex

Rita Critchlow and Cooper Jones enter remote Mexican canyon country in search of a codex said to contain a prophecy associated with Quetzalcoatl and the end of the current age. Cartels, rival seekers and environmental catastrophe turn the archaeological pursuit into a race for survival. The modern plot treats the approaching year 2012 as a source of political manipulation and apocalyptic fear rather than as a direct continuation of the colonial Aztec saga.

Five centuries earlier, the slave-scholar Pacal undertakes a parallel search within the empire of Moctezuma II. Drought, warfare and ritual crisis surround the court as reports of Hernán Cortés and his allies announce a more immediate destruction than prophecy alone. The two timelines connect through the missing manuscript, combining historical fiction about the eve of the conquest with a contemporary speculative thriller.