The Last Jihad

Rating:
Summary: Must read political thriller
Review: I received this book for Christmas 2002. I read it in two days. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and felt it moved quickly. I highly recommend it to others. If you like Clancy-type stories, you'll enjoy this one.

I appreciate Rosenberg's positive outlook toward evangelical Christians. It's all too often that conservative Christians are viewed as unintelligent and out of touch with reality.

Looking forward to Rosenberg's next novel.

Rating:
Summary: Great read! Would have been better if he was a better writer
Review: The Last Jihad is a wonderful thrilling read about the possibilities that exist for evil inside the United States should fail to eliminate the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. Overall, the premise is completely believable in the aftermath of September 11th. There is only one stretch that Rosenberg takes in the book, and even that one is believable in a post September 11th environment where "sleeper agent" has been forced to become part of our vocabulary.
The only major problem with Rosenberg's book is that he writes like a journalist, not a novelist, and also is in need of a better editor. Many of his sentences are too short and clipped of the type that a journalist or public relations writer would write. They are not those of a novelist. However, he will hopefully improve upon that in future novels. There are also numerous strangely constructed sentences that rely on "and" multiple times in the same sentence. There's also a few grammatical mistakes in the book, obviously overlooked by the editors. A more thorough editor would have made this book a much better read.

Rating:
Summary: Save your time and money- skip this book
Review: This book is silly. Any parallels to Tom Clancy are seriously misgiven. "The Last Jihad" attempts to be a political thriller on a global scale, but lacks character development, and suffers from a very predictable plot. It appears that the author rushed through writing and publishing this book, to take advantage of American anger following the 9/11 attacks. I was very disappointed with this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous novel
Review: THE LAST JIHAD is a fabulous novel. Wow! Great plot, interesting characters. I couldn't put it down. You gotta read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A REAL THRILLER
Review: Not bad for a first attempt! Great read... couldn't put it down. Get this one for sure.

Rating:
Summary: Tight plot, forgettable characters, and a little preachy
Review: I received this book as a surprise Christmas gift, and did not wait long to read it. I was excited to dive in after hearing the rave reviews from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, etc., plus the fact that the subject matter is very timely based on current events.

It was a very quick read, and for the most part it was an enjoyable read. The author effectively wove a plot that moved along quickly and was laced with suspense. I didn't want to put it down. These positive qualities are weighed down somewhat by two aspects: the strong right-wing bias of the author gets on your nerves at times (now I understand the Hannity/Limbaugh support), and the complete lack of character development that punctuate the story. The characters actually are stupid and superficial. The action is good though, and the scenario depicted is not terribly far-fetched.

All and all, a good read that delves frighteningly into the possible outcome if Iraq decides to use weapons of mass destruction. Although not a bad first effort, the overall results would likely be much better in the hands of a skilled author of this genre such as Clancy, Cussler, or Dale Brown.

Rating:
Summary: A LEAN CLANCY NOVEL
Review: Don't make the mistake I made of starting this book in bed with the intention of reading a few pages then falling off in sleep. Unlike the Clancy novels this one wastes no time with elaborate background and character building before grabbing your undivided attention. I had to force myself to stop reading it after being jolted wide awake in order to work the next day. I finished it the next day after work in one sitting. Fortunately it was Friday. The story puts you right inside of government power as Clancy does, and creates characters who are real without becoming tedious. The background is clearly and concisely presented far more efficiently than in a Clancy novel. The subject matter is so current and plausible as a war game scenario that it becomes a continuation of the Clancy tradition but much leaner and efficient. I have been wanting a Clancy novel which deals with our current war and here it is without taking up a week to read.

Rating:
Summary: A Riveting Page Turner and a Timely Warning About Iraq
Review: This book is a truly edge-of-your-seat thriller that you won't be able to put down. Rosenberg keeps you reading and could teach Clancy a thing or two about suspence. This book also presents a necessary warning about the danger facing the world if Saddam Hussein is not stopped now. A timely reminder that war with Iraq is certainly necessary to put down the threat Saddam poses to our nation's and the world's security.

Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Debut
Review: I'll get this out of the way first: the single greatest distraction to THE LAST JIHAD is the fact that, in large sections of the prose, it is written just a touch too cinematically. You can read whole sections and see passages heavily influenced by the films of the Tom Clancy novels, the James Bond adventures, and even Fox Television's stellar action suspense series '24.' That's not to say that it's a bad thing ... I just found it occasionally distracting.

However, THE LAST JIHAD deals with a real world scenario, real world characters, and real dangerous potential exploring an incredible "what if?" scenario in the Middle East. The prose is crisp and clean and reads like bullets off the page (I read it in three sittings), and the author quickly establishes premises that all support the main flow of the plot.

While a couple of characters do come of two-dimensional, it's one adventurous tale that ends demanding a follow-up, and here's one enthusiastic reader looking forward to "THE REALLY LAST JIHAD."

Rating:
Summary: Average unabridged audio
Review: See story summary above.

Other than its timely subject, this came off as a somewhat average thriller. Parts of it made you hold on tight and other parts just kept you lingering.
Again I must commend Dick Hill's job at the skill and range in reading these types of novels. He can make an average novel seem better.