The Last Days (Political Thrillers Series #2)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 496 pages
• Published by: Tyndale House Publishers August 7, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1414312733
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1414312736
• Book Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Weighs: 13.6 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Rosenberg's sequel to the bestselling The Last Jihad (2002) is a near-clone of its predecessor: an action-packed Clancyesque political thriller with paper-thin characters. Presidential envoy Jon Bennett returns as the protagonist, along with his bodyguard and love interest, Erin McCoy, an "Uzi-toting, Arabic-speaking CIA supermodel." Their efforts to broker a Middle East peace, whose centerpiece is a fortuitously discovered deep oil reserve with the potential to make every Israeli and Palestinian wealthy, are literally blown to pieces when a suicide bomber claims the life of the U.S. secretary of state and Yasser Arafat himself. The surviving members of the American delegation, along with the Palestinian and Israeli entrepreneurs behind the oil-drilling venture, are scrambling frantically to escape from the Gaza Strip when civil war breaks out among the factions grappling to succeed Arafat as leader. Meanwhile, the sinister forces behind the attack seek to wreak further havoc by dispatching teams of terrorists to America while provoking the Israeli government to trigger a wider conflagration by invading the West Bank and Gaza. The author singularly fails to suspend readers' disbelief with his baffling decision to set the action in the year 2010 while simultaneously placing real-life events from 2003 such as the invasion of Iraq and the appointment of Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) as Palestinian prime minister seven years in the future. His efforts to make the book a relevant, "ripped-from-the-headlines" tale are already dated-the real Abu Mazen has resigned his post-and the fantasy solution to the intractable political conflict by a deus ex machina will strike many readers as silly.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile
In this sequel to THE LAST JIHAD, Rosenberg returns readers to a Middle East poised on the brink of peace between Palestinians and Israelis. In one act of terrorism, this fragile hope is shattered, and the world is once more plunged into chaos. The story is rich with detail, topical references, interesting characters, and logical conclusions. Reader Patrick G. Lawlor does an admirable job in keeping the action flowing. J.L.C. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Last Days (Political Thrillers Series #2) (Hardcover) The year is 2010. Osama Bin-Laden and Saddam Hussein are dead. Al Qaeda and the Taliban have been neutralized. However, the war on terror is far from over in Joel Rosenberg's new political thriller, "The Last Days," a sequel to the author's successful debut novel, "The Last Jihad." Most of the characters who survived the carnage in the earlier book are back, including Jonathan Bennett and Erin McCoy. Bennett is a tremendously successful Wall Street strategist who gave up the good life to join the staff of his old friend, James MacPherson, the President of the United States. Erin McCoy, a gorgeous CIA operations officer, is Bennett's partner. Bennett and McCoy care romantically for one another, but they never seem to have the time or energy to act on their mutual attraction. President MacPherson has dispatched Jon Bennett to the Middle East to convince the Israelis and Palestinians to sign a peace treaty. It seems that there are tremendous oil and natural gas reserves off the coast of Israel and Gaza. The United States is willing to help turn these reserves into a multi-billion dollar enterprise if the warring factions decide that it is in their best interests to stop the violence. Before Bennett can get his "oil for peace" plan off the ground, a shocking act of violence throws the region into turmoil. Jonathan's mission appears to be dead on arrival. Furthermore, he and his comrades find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war with no obvious means of escape. Rosenberg's staccato writing style is very effective. "The Last Days" is packed with crisp dialogue, fierce battles, fanatical terrorists, and lots of high tech gizmos and weaponry. Although the characters are rather one-dimensional and the plot is only occasionally realistic, the exciting story barrels along so quickly that the reader gets caught up in the adrenaline rush. In addition, Rosenberg's insights on the geopolitical situation in the Middle East add a valuable dimension to this well-researched book. "The Last Days" will certainly satisfy fans of fast-paced action-adventure novels with a political twist. Comment | | (Report this)