The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg

My entire body aches. My neck is stiff, my fingers are cramped, and my heart is pounding out of my chest.

And all I did was read a book!

"The Last Jihad" is the first in a series by author Joel C. Rosenberg. I jumped on this bandwagon late; this novel first hit shelves in 2002, not long after 9/11, and stayed on the NYT bestseller list for eleven weeks.

Mr. Rosenberg is being called the Christian Nostradamus. "The Last Jihad" was written almost entirely before 9/11 occurred, and opens with a hijacked airliner flying a kamikaze mission into an American city. Then 9/11 happened, and life changed dramatically--his fiction became our truth.

Jon Bennett and Erin McCoy work for GSX, brokering huge financial deals that net millions. He has an uncanny knack for ferreting out information that most overlook. She has a way of getting him where he needs to go, and quickly.

Both get sucked into the world of politics, terrorism, and intrigue that grabs you by the heart and does not let go. From the opening attack that catapults us into the action, until the closing volley in the new war on terror, Mr. Rosenberg takes us on a journey that boggles the mind and puts the events of the last six years into an entirely different light.

Filled with rich detail about the operation of the White House and our national security, Mr. Rosenberg (I just can't bring myself to call him Joel!) paints a vivid picture of both what might have been and what just might be on our horizon.

The tapestry of the Middle East is exquisite and opens up a view of their world unlike anything else I've read. (Have I mentioned that this kind of fiction just isn't my cup of tea---though I'm now switching to Mr. Rosenberg's brand of brew:-)

His knowledge and ability to seemingly "know" how world events will play out have had people wondering if he worked for the CIA or for the Mossad. I can understand why! (The answer is "No") This is an ongoing series--and "The Last Jihad" is a novel that you WILL NOT want to miss.

Read "The Last Jihad". If it doesn't drive you to your knees in prayer for our government officials, nothing will. If it doesn't create a thirst in you for Scriptural knowledge about coming events, nothing will. And if it doesn't make you turn your eyes to the Eastern skies...well...hmmmmm

"The Last Jihad" gets an overwhelming six out of a possible five bookmarks from me...it is just over the top in my estimation. And I have three more novels in the series, plus his non-fiction edition titled "Epicenter"...thank goodness the "Epicenter" DVD comes out soon!

I'm voting "The Last Jihad" as the best political thriller of 2007 (even though it was published prior to this year, I read it this year, and I'm the voter:-)!

Happy Reading!

Deena