The Ezekiel Option

When I selected this book to read, I knew something of Rosenberg's background, being a former political advisor, a born again Christian, a former researcher for Rush Limbaugh, his Jews for Jesus connection, etc. but those things were neither a draw nor a drawback to me. I was just interested in a good story. So as I began the book, the religious influence in the book was fine. Dan Brown sold millions of books using religious themes, and I enjoyed his books. So it wasn't the religious emphasis that bothered me about the book. But gradually, as "The Ezekiel Option" continued, the praying, biblical quotes and Old Testament prophesies as an explanation for current events started to wear me down. These underlying themes became distracting, show more and made me feel like I was being preached to by an evangelical sunday school teacher. (When I want that, I go the Sunday services). As an example of what I mean, when Rosenberg would have one of the stories characters pray for success, he doesn't just say "and he prayed". He writes out the entire prayer for you to read. I started to say, OK, let's get on with the story, and then it dawned on me that "oh, THAT is the story". The point seemed mainly to express Christian faith and prayers and how the biblical prophesies are / will be coming true. The more I read, the more I started to feel manipulated, being promised an action / thriller, and getting not-so-subtle religious messages instead. I started to feel the primary purpose of the repetitive religious theme in the story was intended to "teach" me my lessons. I certainly felt that way when I got to the end and saw that Rosenberg didn't have any way of ending the story in a realistic or creative way. It has a very silly and unrealistic ending. This is not a spy thriller in the nature of a Clancy or Flynn. Rosenberg took me down the path of the Tim LaHaye / Jerry Jenkins "Left Behind" series of religious books, and it became a distraction from the intrigue of the story. The emphasis on Christianity is one thing if I knew what I was getting into when I started reading, but I didn't. Don't get me wrong, I am Christian and not against religion. But I prefer the Christian lessen, subtly noted in a book like Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken", when the oft-tortured POW turned to Christianity to turn his life around as a much better example of religion than the fire and brimstone use in "The Ezekial Option". There are too many other writers to choose from who offer a good read and an exciting story without trying to draw me over to the writer's perspectives. This was my second (and last) Rosenberg book. show less

The good news is that Joel Rosenberg is writing quality thrillers, with plots which are so plausible that some of the things he has written about have come to pass. A Russian commercial flight, with one of the oligarchs on board, is hijacked and headed to Washington D.C., forcing the President to make the only call possible. Meanwhile, there is a coup in Russia, with a new leader emerging, who is polished and appeals for peace and prosperity for Europe, eventually causing a U.N. vote to sanction Israel for its possession of nuclear weapons. Now White House advisors, Jon Bennett and Erin McCoy are caught in the middle of the coup and have to rely on their old friend, former head of Mossad, Dr. Eliezer Mordechai, for help and guidance. A show more bit too much heavy on scripture and Christianity kept this from 4 stars for me. show less

The Ezekiel Option is a political thriller with heavy religious overtones. It starts off with a Russian oligarch oil baron getting killed in a hijacked airplane that the Americans shoot down prior to it hitting Washington DC. This causes Cold War era hostility between the US and Russia. Shortly thereafter, a coup occurs in Russia, and the president is overthrown. The new Russian dictator has big ambitions, striking alliances with Iran and most of Europe in an attempt to control the world’s oil supply. They also plan on annihilating Israel. Standing in the way of this plot are presidential advisor Jon Bennett and CIA operative Erin McCoy, who were caught up in the coup in Russia. Meanwhile, Dr. Eli Mordechai, the former head of the show more Mossad, has uncovered Old Testament scripture references that uncover everything that is happening now and will eventually lead to God striking down all of the enemies of Israel.

There were aspects of this novel that I enjoyed. There was a lot of action and intrigue. Overall, I thought the writing was very solid. The immediate comparison is The Left Behind series, and this is about eight million times better than that, but that doesn’t say much because the writing in the Left Behind series is among the worst I’ve ever read. The incorporation of the prophecy was also interesting. Where the novel fails is that it is just so unbelievable and unrealistic. I am only willing to stretch my disbelief so far. To believe that the rest of the world will side with Russia and Iran to attack Israel is utterly preposterous. The reaction of the European countries to what is occurring is similarly unrealistic. In fact, there is very little about this novel that I found believable. I also found the preachiness of the book to be very heavy-handed. Even though I found the scripture prophecies to be interesting, the overly detailed explanation of it ground the novel to a halt at times.

Carl Alves – author of Two For Eternity show less

Jon and Erin are at the Kremlin when a coup takes place. Both are captured. Jon is sent home, but Erin is kept and tortured. Meanwhile, signs are showing that the prophecy in Ezekiel 36-38 is about to unfold. Jon heads back to Moscow to try and find Erin.

Reads like a Hollywood blockbuster. Very exciting, hard to put down. Intriguing Biblical insight.

Rosenburg truly captures the prophecy of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel in this book. Wonderful story that ties into today's happenings and shows how we're being led down the road to fulfill the prophecies in the Bible.

Saddam Hussein is gone. Yasser Arafat is dead. An American president is trying to spread freedom and democracy throughout the Middle East. But suddenly a new evil looms on the horizon. A dictator is rising in Russia. Iran is feverishly building nuclear weapons. A new Axis of Evil is emerging, led by Moscow and Tehran. And Jon Bennett and Erin McCoy - two senior White House advisors - find themselves facing the most chilling question of their lives: