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Average Customer Rating:

A gripping political thriller in the tradition of Clancy!

Customer Rating:

The Last Jihad is the opening installment of Joel Rosenberg's series of novels set in the United States, Israel and around the Middle East. This book went to press before the war in Iraq began, so the story is set in a world where Saddam Hussein is still President of Iraq, although Osama bin Laden is dead, and al-Quaida has been completely decimated, as have many terrorist camps across the Middle East and North Africa. The War on Terror appears to over, having been won by James "Mac" McPherson, an American president whose success has won him a second term in office. An attempt on McPherson's life is discovered to be part of a series of terror attacks carried out simultaneously around the globe, targeting the leaders of the United States and its allies. Israeli agents uncover and thwart a plan to carry out a nuclear attack against Israel. All of the attacks are traced back to Saddam Hussein's regime. The Israeli prime minister seeks to pressure the United States to "go nuclear" on Iraq, threatening that if the U.S. doesn't do it, Israel will. Jon Bennett, a close friend of President McPherson, is brought into the picture. Bennett is a Wall Street whiz kid working on a huge oil and natural gas deal which is set to bring great wealth to both the Israelis and Palestinians. Before entering politics, McPherson and Bennett had worked closely together on Wall Street. Now Bennett has been brought into his former boss' inner circle as a senior economic advisor. And he and his partner, Erin McCoy, are now being asked to promote the Israeli/Palestinian oil and gas deal as a U.S. public policy move. Rosenberg is a Jewish-born believer in Jesus Christ, and while The Last Jihad does exhibit some faith-based subplots, the central theme of this story is the terrorist threat against the United States and Israel. The Last Jihad was originally released by Forge Books, a secular publsher, in late 2002 followed by The Last Days. Tyndale House, a Christian publisher, released the third book (The Ezekiel Option) in 2005. The following year, Tyndale House released the next installment, The Copper Scroll) while also reissuing both The Last Jihad and The Last Days. Rosenberg concluded the series earlier this year with Dead Heat, released through Tyndale House. Joel Rosenberg has crafted a gripping political thriller in the tradition of Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum. The Last Jihad would make an excellent movie. A screenwriter could just replace Iraq and Saddam Hussein with Iran and Mahmoud Ahmadiniejad, and this story could fit into the post-Saddam world. The Last Jihad is an excellent read, and I am looking forward to reading The Last Days.

The last Jihad

Customer Rating:

Refered to this book by a friend. The book is a thriller and gets you from the first page. It was confusing for a while because of the difference in the book and actual events. This goes away as you quickly get into the book and quit trying to make the little details fit. The story does an excellent job of presenting how people of faith(Christians) react to world events compared to one of the main characters who has no faith. the presentation is not over bearing or heavy handed. The people of faith are attractive and makes me proud of our faith.

White hot . . .

Customer Rating:

I read this one in two days, and the last 1/2 in a single sitting. Very rare for the slow reader that I am. This political thriller was written shortly after 9-1-1, and released just prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It is set in the near future (c2011?) and remains extremely timely. The action screams from the pages from the opening event of an assassination attempt on the President, and doesn't let up. Rosenberg is a saavy political and military writer. He takes the action all over the world, from Colorado's mountains, to Saddam Hussein's Baghdad (he was alive when this was written), to Russian train stations, to the hills of Jerusalem. The plot basically involves Iraqi aggression, with nuclear overtones, against the west. The story is credible enough, and complex enough. Characterizations are OK, with less overstatement than I usually have to suffer in this type of a novel. As I mentioned, this was written prior to the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein, but interestingly . . . substitute Iran for Iraq, and Achmedinijhad (sp) for Hussein, and you have an up-to-date "could happen" adventure thriller. Rosenberg is Clancyesque in his use of current military/security procedure and technology, but not perfect. (I have some personal experience). Neither is the editing, and it reveals that this book was rushed to press. Examples: His description of the size and composition of a presidential motorcade was over the top (maybe in 2011, who knows). A Navy Seahawk helicopter is called a Skyhawk in one erroneous reference. I believe a .45 caliber ACP round is used in auto-pistols, NOT revolvers (.45 Colt round). And, Dirty Harry movies aside, NO modern plainclothes enforcement officer carries a .45 caliber six shot revolver (excess weight, bulk, limited capacity). This comment, by the way, concerns the same agent in the story that not only always carries night vision goggles in his luggage (maybe), but also packs a spare set (uh, no). You can't load half a dozen adults, including their equipment and a stretcher into the typical metro police helicopter and get the thing off the ground. Why when under urgent attack in the high tech "safe room" of a Jerusalem home, does the owner resort to calling the White House and waiting for a SEAL Team to arrive, when there are more than adequate response resources available within minutes from the Israeli authorities. There are more, but you get my drift. Rosenberg also reasonably and only semi-subtley inserts a Christian salvation message in the story. I say "reasonably", as Islam is given equal time in the book, in terms of idealistic speeches. Fair enough. So this was not perfect, but it was a super-engaging can't-put-down fun read that remains on target with what's going on in the world. I'll go 5 stars for that.

Great political thriller! You can't put it down.	Customer Rating:
This book is almost unreal it's so real! The events Mr. Rosenberg writes about actually seem to come true shortly after he writes about them. It's hard to put down the book once you start reading.

Good first novel

Customer Rating:

Rosenberg's first novel is a pretty good thriller. His action scenes are fast paced and thrilling, even though he crowds in a lot of technical details about weapons. I read these scenes rapidly, eager to find out who would live and who would not. He also includes a geopolitical story line, which tends to slow the book down. When the hero sits in a on a presidential cabinet meeting my attention began to wander. This part of the story was less interesting. It was also less believable. The novel sustained my interest through to the end. The action slowed at times, but never stopped. The characters were believable enough. They were described in about as much depth as one would expect from an action novel. This first novel does not rise to the level of Tom Clancy, but it is a good start. I think Rosenberg compares favorably with authors like Vince Flynn.