This is maybe one of the most difficult reviews I've done on my blog for various reasons. I started reading this book thinking it was a thriller - which I guess it is. I liked it in the beginning because it read like a thriller - which I suppose it is. Then, toward the middle or end, it started to get weird. It was kind of a weird that I personally laugh at, so it was kind of entertaining, but then when you think about other people reading it, it kind of scared me a little.
It tells the story of a young man and his parents who escapes Iran with the help of an American embassy worker. They never tell their son of their perilous escape, and he goes on to live the American dream. He is an Iranian/American, living a mostly typical life. His father is a doctor, and he is a good student, but he always feels the pull of some darker past and gets in trouble, despite his high intelligence. Wow - the making of a spy.
And that is what David becomes. He is the master of many languages and infiltrates the Iranian "government" to try to stop the enriching of uranium which the US fears (and is right) will be used against Israel and then the states. It's a good plot with some great twists and good, engaging characters. And then it just gets weird, as I said.
The reason for the title is that all the Iranians are waiting for the coming of the 12th Imam, which is like their Christ, who will come at the end of the world to save all devoted muslims and kill all infidels, namely the Israelis and Americans. And then he, who they also call the "mahdi" appears. Yup, he appears to some people, doing miracles and performing wonderful acts. So the muslim leaders who are in charge of the nuclear program in Iran, finally have him as a guest at their meeting, and he tells them to start annhilating the "infidels" as quickly as possible, and Allah will reward them. Yes, they think he just stands before them, a man, speaking at their meeting.
If that's not weird enough, one of the workers in the Iranian plant, a nonviolent muslim, has a car crash, and as he fumbles from his car, who does he come upon but . . . yes, wait for it . . . Jesus Christ. Whup, there he is. Jesus himself appears to the man and tells him to not be afraid but there are false prophets around, and he needs to basically convert, and he'll be alright.
Now, while I don't usually tell the ending in my reviews, I'd love to make an exception for this book. Oh, whoops, excuse me! There is no ending! No, nothing, nadda, no ending. And it's not even like, "ok, here's the ending that you have to fill in and wonder how to interpret it until you go to book club and discuss it" ending. This is an actual, and most dispised by Lisa, nonending. A more blatant set-up for the sequel has never existed. And that makes me mad. It's kind of like movies that in the end are like "Whoops! Just kidding- it was all a dream!" aka "Vanilla Sky" style. Ugh. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Well, I'm almost done with my rant about how disappointing this book is before I start talking about religion and how disapointed I am in many people of my own Christian religion of late, and how this book actually should teach some people something about how we need to watch for false prophets and that each religion's Bible must be interpreted by many in order to get a handle on its meaning otherwise chaos in the form of world domination and extreme bigotry may occur. So, I'll get to the point of my mistake in reading this book. In the back it was recommmended highly by Rush Limbaugh, and on Amazon I REALLY should have read this disclaimer in a review - "Rosenberg laces his political speculation with evangelical Christian themes, which will bother those who like their thrillers unencumbered by the author’s political and religious beliefs." Yeah, that would be me.
So, while I love people coming to check out books in our library, please pass this one up. But I love a good debate, and I believe everyone's opinion is valid. How about you?
2 comments:
The reason why the book doesn't end is because it's the first in a three part series.
I could guess that, but most series titles have some kind of an ending that wraps up immediate issues while still leaving the reader wanting more.
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