Evil possession. A cryptic message delivered in an ancient tongue. People transforming into something hideous. And that's just for starters in John Miller's horror story, 2012 Kin Tin Bin Nah.

In 2012 Kin Tin Bin Nah, Calvin, head of Calvin's Psychic Circus, is having a very bad day. At a psychic fair, and right in front of Time Magazine reporter, Linda Orteganaldo, one of Calvin's best psychics, Madam Gladys St. Clare, is undergoing a startling and seemingly deadly alteration – not too mention truly horrible.

At first, the cynical Linda believes this is fakery, but as Madam St. Clare continues to change before her very eyes into something unbelievable, Linda becomes much less sure. Madam St. Clare's eyes go gray, pinpricks of red appear in them, her skin suffuses to a blue color, and she vomits fluorescent green. When the psychic clearly says "kin tin bin nah" in ancient Mayan, Linda becomes convinced this is real. Being Hispanic and of Mayan extraction, she knows the language, knows what the words mean. And those words frighten her! "I am going home" – this seemingly innocuous phrase actually refers to the start of a new age, which frighteningly,means the end of the existing one and possibly everyone now living in it.

At Calvin's shouted request, Linda hurriedly calls for help, for the psychic does not seem to be surviving the ordeal. She isn't breathing. And for Calvin, this all just seems to be the beginning of an ongoing nightmare, one that steadily worsens, because even as he drives to town, people on buses, in cars, and on the streets undergo the same evil transformation. Calvin, besieged by such apparitions of the creature, starts to wonder if he is going insane. Later, at the hospital, he learns it is too late for the poor psychic, Madam Gladys St. Clare. She is dead. Now Calvin and his psychic team of friends, along with Linda, must battle something they only vaguely understand, but somehow must try to stop before it brings about the literal end of the world.

2012 Kin Tin Bin Nah by John Miller starts out swinging, takes right off by putting readers directly in the middle of things, and then keeps them there. Mr. Miller is very good at dragging the reader, almost bodily it seemed, right into the thick of things. Before they can catch their literary breath, they are exposed to one event after another. To say this is just a tale of horror is an understatement, because it is also a suspense thriller of the first order.

The story had me hooked from the opening sentence, and kept me hooked throughout. John Miller is very good at creating a sense of heightened suspense, a steadily creeping sense of horror that made me want to read the book with the lights on – in the daytime.

If I had any quibbles, it is that at some points in the tale, the writing style of Mr. Miller seems just a bit pedantic with regard to his descriptions. I felt some of them could be a bit overly long and involved. At times, they were a little too detailed for me, focusing perhaps somewhat unnecessarily on minutiae. Although this did not happen often, I felt when it did, this acted to slow the story, damage the wonderful building of tension, and the otherwise great pace John Miller created. But again, this was a minor flaw in an otherwise very good book.

2012 Kin Tin Bin Nah by John Miller, is a horror story I heartily recommend. If you like stories of psychics, dreaded prophecies, and white-knuckled suspense, you will love it. It's a great read. And even though I'm not a psychic, I predict you'll want to find out just how good it is for yourself.

Reviewed By
Rob Shelsky
© Sept 2009