High up in the Bolivian Andes-4,000 meters above sea level-lies Puma punku, an ancient ruined city that simply could never have been constructed by its Stone Age inhabitants.''Something here really stinks to high heaven,'' writes Erich von Daniken.

''In Twilight of the Gods,'' says von Daniken, ''I document precisely what it was that left the first visitors breathless as they stood before the mighty stone blocks some 400 years ago. I will show you what archeologists discovered hundreds of years ago and demonstrate how much has been destroyed over the centuries. Intentionally.

''I will also prove that Puma punku was not built by any Stone Age people.

''And in December 2012, the gods will return from their long journey and appear again here on Earth. At least that is what the Mayan calendar would have us believe.

''The so-called gods--the extraterrestrials--will come again. We're headed for a 'god shock' of major proportions.

''But doesn't anyone with half a brain know that interstellar travel is simply impossible because of the sheer distances involved? And that extraterrestrials would never look like us?

''Well, dear readers, I destroy these preconceptions. Systematically. One bit at a time.''

In his own inimitable way, Erich von Daniken picks these preconceptions and prejudices apart with a clarity no other author could manage.