Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
`Could this really happen?', January 14, 2010
This review is from: 18 Billion (Mohammed of Babylon) (Paperback)
In Washington DC, a terrorist cell armed with a nuclear weapon conspires to take eighteen billion dollars from the Federal Reserve. They plan to use this money to fund Mohammed of Babylon - rumoured to be the Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam and a proponent of peaceful jihad. The government's investigation into the terrorist cell behind the theft discovers that an international corporation, Global Consultant Ltd, which seems to be driven by greed rather than ideology, is funding global terrorism. How far does its influence reach, and what will it take to counter the terrorism already in motion? The ongoing threat of terrorism; the motivation provided by religious extremism; the power of eighteen billion dollars and the potentially dangerous conflict of interest between a peaceful leader and fundamentalist followers: all of these are key ingredients in this thriller. How will Mohammed of Babylon react to receiving this money, and for what purpose will he use it? Sadly, for me, this novel wasn't entirely successful. The urgency required by the events was dampened by a combination of poor editing and verbose writing. Passive, descriptive language slowed down my reading and tended to detach me from the story. I needed to see or feel the action rather than read all of the steps involved. This is the first in a planned series of novels to feature Mohammed of Babylon. In a world unsettled by the fact and the threat of terrorism this novel will have a ready audience. Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly a page-turner of an action/adventure suspense novel, February 15, 2010
This review is from: 18 Billion (Mohammed of Babylon) (Paperback)
When authors draw upon their own specific fields of experience and expertise they create fictional backgrounds and details for their stories that significantly enable their readers to 'suspend disbelief' and enter the 'theatre of the mind' that differentiates the truly good novels from the merely adequate ones. Such is the case with Jack Gresham's "18 Billion", a riveting tale of global terrorism that could come from today's newspaper headlines and television news hour lead stories. Afghan terrorists have smuggled a nuclear weapon into Washington D.C. with the intention of stealing 18 billion dollars from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The government's urgent intervention uncovers an even more sinister plot by an international corporation that seems to be behind global terrorism, not for any ideology, but in order to make money -- a lot of money. Deftly written from first page to last, "18 Billion" is truly a page-turner of an action/adventure suspense novel, and the stuff of which block buster Hollywood movies are made!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2.0 out of 5 stars
I tried to like this book., January 24, 2010
This review is from: 18 Billion (Mohammed of Babylon) (Paperback)
Terrorists claim to have planted a nuclear bomb in Washington DC and demand access to the New York Federal Reserve Bank or they will set it off. So begins the rather far fetched 18 Billion. Without any confirmation of the bombs existence the terrorists are given access to the Federal Reserve Bank, where they make off with the title's 18 billion, dollars that is. The terrorists transport the money out of the country and turn it over to Mohammed of Babylon. Mohammed is an Islamic religious leader who condemns violence and some believe is the Mahdi. Mohammed secretly meets with the President of the United States and makes a secret agreement to return the money in exchange for the removal of U.S. troops from Iraq, amongst other things. 18 Billion is billed as Book One of the Mohammed of Babylon series. I tried to like this book, there are parts of an interesting story in it, however the problems pushed the interesting parts aside. Without going into a point by point explanation I'll just hit the high points. While the writing style wasn't bad, I had to reread some paragraphs to understand what they were saying and a lot of the dialogue seemed forced and unnatural. Government agents make no mistakes in 18 Billion, and their ability to trace e-mail and phone calls seems greatly exaggerated. I was willing to over look these issues, along with the unbelievably of the U.S. Government giving terrorists $18 billion based solely on the claim they would detonate a nuclear bomb if they didn't get it, however there was one more problem which ended any chance of me reading further books in the series. Towards the end of the book, the President's spiritual advisor- Reverend Daniel Barkley, who previously had almost no role in the book, is sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with friends when they are joined by a "Mr. Goodson", a friend of Barkley's unknown to the others. After dinner Goodson leaves and no one except Barkley can remember his being there. This incident had nothing else to do with the rest of the book; I can only think readers will hear more about this character in later books. I will leave it to them to find out if Mohammed is the Mahdi and if Goodson becomes God's son and the world becomes a wonderful place. In a short four pages Mr. Gresham ended any chance of me reading future books in this series. I'm obviously not the target audience for this book, and while I could be wrong, I think this book is aimed at the Left Behind crowd. So if you're a fan of that series you might want to give 18 Billion a try. I received a review copy of this book from Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|