Customer Reviews: Read 148 more reviews...
 Misleading Back Cover Overview July 25, 2008
Don't get me wrong...I am a HUGE Joel Rosenberg fan, but I'm having a tough time with this book. The back cover is completely misleading regarding the plot and since he has the tendency to be right a lot, reading this current plot line gives me a disturbed feeling, which hinders my enjoyment of the book. Usually I can't put his books down, but I'm almost scared to pick this one up! It is intriging enough to make me want to finish; I just hope he's completely wrong about this at a future event.
 hold on to ya hats!! July 20, 2008
Hold on to ya hats people...Joel is coming out with another book in the series of the Last Jihad...called the The Revolution...so am sure it will not disappoint us...am looking forward of purchasing it from amazon.com...
Masterful storytelling, full of surprises and shocks, unforgettable and unstoppable July 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It wasn't until I started reading Joel C. Rosenberg's books that I realized I had been using a cliche when I would say that "anything can happen" when describing the twists and turns a plot can take. That statement should be reserved almost exclusively for Rosenberg's novels, particularly DEAD HEAT, his latest work. I will tell you without reservation that anything can and does happen here, including a number of things for which I was/am nowhere near ready.
If you have not read the author's previous novels --- THE LAST JIHAD, THE LAST DAYS, THE EZEKIEL OPTION and THE COPPER SCROLL --- you may want to jump into those before picking up this current one. Though Rosenberg does a good job of providing background on the characters in DEAD HEAT (particularly Jon Bennett and Erin McCoy) with respect to what has gone before, knowledge of the backstory of this series will help newcomers more fully appreciate the current book. However, it's not necessary, especially when an all-too-imaginable yet unthinkable cataclysmic disaster befalls the United States within the first quarter of the novel.
Bennett and McCoy, former presidential advisors doing missionary work in Jordan, are far removed from the disaster, yet are facing significant problems of their own. McCoy has suddenly fallen victim to a mystery illness, while Bennett has received an anonymous telephone call from someone who claims knowledge of what has befallen the U.S., as well as the ability to prevent more disaster from occurring. But there is a price, one that both Bennett and the President are reluctant to pay.
The U.S. government, however, is on war footing, and while it races to determine the source of the calamity before further damage can be done, a second and most unexpected danger threatens from within. Rosenberg saves the most shocking event of all for the book's conclusion, as the United States, in the midst of a retaliatory strike, experiences an event unprecedented in world history.
Rosenberg's novels have Biblical prophecies as their foundation and are set in what are generally known as the "end of days." There is no denying that he is a masterful storyteller, one for whom absolutely nothing is off the table. While some have found fault with the plot-driven elements of his work, Rosenberg's frenetic pacing elevates the events of his narrative to a fever pitch, even as he ratchets things up another notch or five. Full of surprises and shocks, DEAD HEAT is unforgettable and unstoppable.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
I love it. July 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is fascinating. I didn't want to put it down. The book really makes you think about where your life is. I have been reading the Bible more often after reading this book. I can't wait to read the others.
Wakeup America! July 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an excellent book being well written and well thought out. Keeps the reader on the edge of their seat with every page turned. One finds the characters both real and endearing. Each draws one into their lives and the reader experiences the range of emotions along with the character in this high-energy packed thriller. More than just a good read, this book paints a chilling picture of what can all too easily occur within our great country and within our own lifetime. Having studied in depth world events and trends this reader can see all the needed alliances and current events coming together to create just such a time as what we find between the covers of this fictional, yet all too true to life book. The world is quickly spinning toward such horrific scenerios. It used to be that major world powers were held incheck by the threat of annialation from the other if they were to strike- each knew the risks to their own nation. We benefited from a type of nuclear stability that has existed for the last 50 years due to three basic suppositions: there were only 2 major players in the game, both players were in balance, and both were Rational. Now, with the emergence of rogue nations and terrorists aquiring WMD's, all bets are off.And, if during this race to become nuclear, what actual use of WMD would not escalate? The list grows of nations that would use such to their own benefit as our current adversaries are not being motivated by traditional, rational best interests, but by devout religious beliefs- how do you win or even avoid a race with someone who believes he wins the entire game if he loses? Tho this author is Not a prophet, as one who has intensely studied both world events and world religion, it is this reader's strong belief God has used this author as a warning for all to heed- be they secular or religious in their personal beliefs. Based on what has come to pass with the other books in the series,as well as Most Biblical prophecies being fulfilled during the last 50 years, this reader believes the books to be a firm warning of what is near and perhaps on our very horizon.
|
