Joel-stradamus

Without Warning: A J B Collins Novel – Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House)

How many times have you heard the phrase “ripped from today’s headlines” uttered about a book, television show or movie? It is with some regularity that writers for all of these mediums have either taken a story directly from the news or have shuffled the facts into their stories.

Now ask yourself how many times have you heard the phrase “ripped from tomorrow's headlines”? Well, readers of Joel C. Rosenberg that he is the often prescient forecaster of things to come, a Joel-stradamus if you will, of the world of Islamo-terrorism. Rosenberg is back with the third installment in the J B Collins series, featuring the New York Times national security writer who all too often finds himself mixed up in terrorist activities.

Without Warning finds Collins freshly recovered from the terrorist attack detailed in Rosenberg’s First Hostage and attending the State of the Union address, delivered by a President who seems to have convinced himself that the Islamic terrorists are on the run; sounding oddly familiar for those who lived through the Obama administration.

Naturally Collins calls it right when he can’t shake the feeling of imminent danger and the U.S. Capitol is attacked during the State of the Union. Here’s hoping the Rosenberg got this one wrong, but it does leave that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach as you work your way through Without Warning.

With Collins character, Rosenberg has created not so much an anti-hero as an unlikely hero. Unlike so many of the heroes that dot thriller fiction, Collins relies on the brawn of his brain more that the brawn of his body. Once again Rosenberg hits all the marks with the pacing of the story; you won’t be left hanging and waiting for the next action twist with this quick read.

Next Level Terrorism

The Third Target – Joel C. Rosenberg – (Tyndale House Publishing)

Joel Rosenberg burst on to the fiction scene over a dozen years ago with his book The Last Jihad which combined a startling mix of ripped from today’s headlines with a dash of Nostradamus-like prognostication on the future direction of terrorism in a post-9/11 world.

Since that point Rosenberg has displayed an almost uncanny ability to hang out on the cutting edge of fact-based, real world, fictional tales. When you ponder the average timeline from final edits to the bookshelf, Rosenberg’s latest, The Third Target and its ISIL (or ISIS if you prefer) based storyline, once again proves he has his finger squarely on the pulse of Middle East tensions.

Rosenberg ratchets up the tension when he posits the terror inducing thought that ISIL terrorists in Syria have stumbled upon a cache of chemical weapons and are planning to put them to use; the targets are obvious, the question that remains is where and when.

Fictional, New York Times correspondent J B Collins gets wind of the chemical coup and gets flung headlong into the story as he tries to track down the details from disparate sources and even from the terrorists themselves. Rosenberg’s hallmarks are all in place with solid pacing, plenty of twists and turns and believable characters all around.

No Fortunate Son – A Pike Logan Thriller - Brad Taylor – (Dutton Books)

John Fogerty and Credence Clearwater Revival dropped the term “fortunate son” into the popular lexicon with the anti-war anthem of the same name in 1969; which featured Fogerty growling the line “I ain’t no Senator’s son.” Despite the double negative, the implication is that the offspring of the elites were not the one tapped to serve in the military.

It is those offspring that are the centerpiece of Brad Taylor’s new Pike Logan thriller; No Fortunate Son. The children and relatives of high ranking administration and elected officials are suddenly coming up missing; disappearing from their jobs and taskings at U.S. military outposts at far flung places around the world.

The race and the hunt is on to not only discover who is behind the kidnappings, but also to save lives. False flag fingers are pointed in the direction of Middle Eastern terror types, but are they really behind the plot to bring the U.S. government to its proverbial knees?

This plotline throws Logan and the Task Force team into uncharted waters as they move from hunting down bad guys to take out and move into the world of police investigation and what it takes to hunt down a different kind of bad guy. Taylor’s background as a special forces operator is diametrically opposite of this kind of work, but he handles it all with his usual aplomb and dispatches yet another winning entry in this series.

Rain On The Dead – Jack Higgins (Putnam Books)

Jack Higgins remains a true master when it comes to delivering an international thriller. His latest outing Rain on the Dead, features a cast familiar characters; spies and assorted ruffians, converts to the cause of good triumphing over evil.

It is those usual suspects and the predictable nature of their always in the right place at the right time to deliver forceful action with often stunning speed and agility that may be the downfall of this book. While I am certainly not  prudish about the use of violence in a storyline, the simple fact that many of Higgins characters could easily qualify for government funded retirement benefits that make the speed and accuracy that the force is delivered with a bit hard to believe at times.

The old master may have visited the well of reformed IRA shooter Sean Dillon and friend one too many times. While still an entertaining yarn, you’ve got to wonder how much this gang has left in the tank.

 

Joel Rosenberg - Damascus Countdown (Tyndale House Publishing)

Is author Joel Rosenberg a modern day Nostradamus, able to accurately predict the future before it happens? If you are a fan of his work and have followed his books you know that he has an almost uncanny ability to target world events by offering in fictional accounts previews of what is to come

That ability coupled with his skill in crafting well written and engrossing books has made him a regular visitor to the bestsellers list. In his latest entry, The Damascus Countdown, Rosenberg continues the story arc of David Shirazi, has he plays beat the clock in a harrowing race to hunt down a pair of nuclear warheads, gone missing from Iran’s arsenal.

Rosenberg’s writing has a ripped from today’s headlines quality that lends to the authentic feel of the writing. He mixes the right amount of back story between the action segments to give depth and avoid coming off like some cheap, slam bang, car chase movie.

While Rosenberg’s day job as a communications advisor in Washington, DC has allowed him to rub elbows with many world leaders; while I am not certain how much access he has had to the corridors of power, the detail of his writing takes on a very realistic, been there done that quality. Here’s hoping he remains a successful author and not a prescient predictor of things to come.

A complimentary copy of Damascus Countdown was provided to me by Tyndale publishers. All opinions and comments regarding the book are my own, and have not been influenced in any way.