The Ezekiel Option
By Joel C. Rosenberg Thorndike Press, Large Print (2006)
ISBN: 0-7862-8234-7
Genre: Thriller - Christian Fiction
Reviewed by Sheldon Ztvordokov - November 24, 2006
Following hard on the heels of The Last Jihad and The Last Days, Joel C. Rosenberg's brings us The Ezekiel Option. As this novel opens, Saddam Hussein has been defanged, and both Osama bin Laden and Yasser Arafat are dead. As important, the peace agreement signed in the pages of The Last Days, between the Israelis and the Palestinians, in is bearing fruit - and oil! While peace and democracy seems to be breaking out all over, it is, in reality, just a false front behind which is lurking unthinkable evil.
The Ezekiel Option is an 'end times' thriller with a strong evangelistic Christian bent. The story starts out with a bang, as an Aeroflot jet liner, filled with 173 passengers, veers off course and head toward Washington, D.C. Despite all efforts to turn the plane, President MacPherson makes a gut-wrenching decision and orders the plane shot down. This is the opening gambit in a high stakes game of chess that leads to a coup in Russia that will end up pitting the United States and Israel against a nuclear armed Russian-Iranian coalition bent upon the destruction of Israel.
At the heart of this story is Jon Bennett, a former Wall Street golden boy turned White House Advisor, who was the pivotal force behind the Israeli - Palestinian peace agreement. After the Aeroflot plane is shot down, Bennett travels to Russia to try to calm the waters, as a campaign of disinformation has been started making it appear as if the U.S. shot down the plane without cause. Working with his longtime co-worker and love interest, CIA operative, Erin McCoy, the two soon find themselves in the middle of the outset of the conflict that threatens to escalate into, at best, World War III.
While in Russia, both Bennett and McCoy are shot. Bennett is returned to the U.S., but he goes home with a heavy heart, believing that McCoy has been killed. Dealing with the injuries to his body, and his soul, Bennett comes to believe that the end times have begun, and that Armageddon is at hand.
The first third of The Ezekiel Option is well-paced and exciting, but as the story progresses, Rosenberg gets bogged down in trying to explain (complete with Bible quotations in both English and Hebrew) End Time theory and in examining the Biblical prophecies that support the blueprint of Armageddon as outlined in the New Testament's Book of Revelation. At times, Rosenberg's foray into 'End Times' theory nearly derails the story, however he still throws in enough action to keep you reading. In part to find out what happened to McCoy, and secondly, to find out if the world will still exist by the end of the book.
Related Reviews:
The Last Days, by Joel C. Rosenberg.
The sequel to The Last Jihad, this novel follows Jon Bennet as he attempts to finalize his 'oil for peace' deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a deal that may be forever off the table when a Palestinian civil war erupts.
The Last Jihad, by Joel C. Rosenberg.
This fast paced thriller starts out with a pulse tinging attack on the presidential motorcade by kamikaze pilots sent by Saddam Hussein to assassinate the president. Simultaneously, targets in France, England, and Saudi Arabia are also attacked by Saddam's fedayeen. As Saddam's reign of terror spreads, it becomes apparent that the US has little choice but to take Saddam out - permanently.
