Customer Reviews

18 Billion (Mohammed of Babylon)

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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

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!

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.

Mohammed of Babylon, the possible Mahdi of the future, is thrust into a devastating scenario. A group of jihad terrorists have planted a truck with a nuclear bomb in the heart of Washington and another one somewhere in the United States. A Mahdi is defined as the expected redeemer of Islam who will be be the promised one whose presence causes the conversion of the entire world to Islam before the end of the world. Mohammed is well-educated and at the moment has vowed to work for peace, believing that jihad does not mean war and destruction. But the scenario grows more complex, and the reader is constantly unsure who Mohammed will support and who he will condemn.

Meanwhile, the President of the United States, Leonard Bronson, and his top government advisors are forming a plan to neutralize the bomb and recover the $18 million they have been forced to pay to avert the detonation of this bomb that could lay waste to Washington, D.C. and its population who are seemingly unaware of the potential annihilation looming in their midst.

Jack Gresham depicts a scenario of intense anxiety and tension under girding the political plan which appears to be calmly and coolly handled. The reader is unsure at which of dozens of points the plan could jettison into chaos and failure. The goal? Destroy America's -financial infrastructure, not a new one for sure but definitely a scenario that is nightmarishly too credible in today's complex world of splintered and united terrorist groups throughout the world.

Discovery and elimination is the plan, followed by a series of events that on one hand seems contrived but upon contemplation appears to be what is probably happening in the present or will be happening in the unthinkable future!

18 Million is the first book of a planned series focused on Mohammed of Babylon, narrated by an author whose ability to create unbearable fear of terror and respect for those who fight this evil on a day-to-day basis is more than worth a read . It makes one wonder how many similar plans have been thwarted and which one will be the one to eventually succeed? Mohammed at the end of the novel must make a choice, a decision the reader will be awaiting with excited anticipation!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on January 13, 2010

This 337-page story begins with a 5-page Preface explaining some basic concepts to the reader: What terrorism is, the financing of terrorism, how banks get involved, the Intelligence community, and what Jihad is. This section is followed by a 2-page cast of characters (e.g. Leonard Bronson, President of the U.S.), so you can better follow the story. The author explains that although "the concept of Islam as the one international religion is prevalent among Muslims, and Jihad is the accepted method to make this happen," there are different interpretations of Jihad/Holy War among Muslims. While some believe Allah's will is through peaceful endeavors, others, such as Al Qaeda, believe in achieving through terrorism and destruction. Many people believe that if the war on terrorism is not fought and ended abroad, it will move to American soil with destructive consequences.

Our story begins in the Saudi National Commercial Bank, with a money-laundering deposit that will eventually find its way into financing terrorism. In the first few pages, we meet Wahid and Mona, a young couple who meet an unremorseful death at the hands of a cousin. Well, actually, the mother and baby escape and the baby becomes Mohammed of Babylon, a well-educated young man who is interested in learning about all things, all people, all religions.

Anyway, all heck begins to break loose as our friendly hot dog/food truck type street vendor turns out to be part of a terrorist sleeper cell. The small food truck is exchanged for a look-alike food truck, only this one has a thermonuclear device in it. The terrorists, including friendly Joe, are prepared to detonate it unless their demands are met. The demands include 18 BILLION dollars from the New York Federal Reserve Bank, deposited into the account of Mohammed of Babylon.

As the President, the National Security Council, Homeland Security, CIA, and his other advisors, you begin to see very quick investigatory action on the part of the U.S. in tracking down the perps. As we try to diffuse one bomb and while the threat of another bomb lurks overhead, Mohammed tries to decide what to do. As a peaceful man, he is not comfortable with money obtained through terrorism. He really wants to give it back to the US. But, how would he do so, without loosing face to those Muslims who look at him as their spiritual leader?

I got so into this plot that I burnt the sweet potatoes I was steaming. I was so into the plot that I couldn't put the darned book down. I thought the pot could wait a few more minutes. Actually the potatoes are ok, just a little bit of a charcoal flavor. But, I think the pot was a victim of the plot. My Beta Carotene turned into Delta Carotene :-0

Anyway, this book is gooooooood! I'll be back with more info later. Got to get back to my book. I am about 3/4 finished.