Customer Reviews

Fuse of Armageddon

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Hostage negotiator Mulvaney Quinn understand middle east politics and what could trigger Armageddon. As Quinn works to broker the release of 30 wealthy, American, evangelical Christian hostages, from Palestinian terrorist Khaled Safady, he discovers a plot that could begin the great war. In an unlikely alliance with a Nevada cop, the two of them have to work quickly to save their lives and to stop the multiple attempts to start the final battle.

How I love books that challenge my thinking! I think it's safe to say Fuse of Armageddon was written with the intent to counter the dispensational viewpoint. While it does a good job of explaining dispensationalism and the `holes' in this view point, I would have liked to have seen more time spent presenting the author's opinion on the scriptures used to support dispensationalism. A lot of great points are made in regard to how dispensationism's natural course leads to racism and prejudice, how it begs radicals to make their own plans to rebuild the temple instead of waiting on God, and how it encourages Christians to focus on Christ's return instead of his current work. At times though, I did feel the story got a little bogged down with the repeat of similar arguments, just from different people.

I'm always impressed with how easily Sigmund Brouwer can write so many different styles seemingly with easy. I've read his slow southern approach, historical fiction, serial killer mystery, and now a fast paced, middle east thriller. If you're familiar with Brouwer, you won't be disappointed. As with previous books, Fuse of Armageddon is well written with excellent characters. From the hero Quinn to the terrorist Safady, each character is developed with a personality and a voice worth listening to. As strange as this may sound, even the cold-blooded terrorist made good points.

With the immense popularity of end time books and often questionable theology that accompanies those books, Fuse of Armageddon is a nice alternative that encourages the reader to look at all people as loved by God, not just Jews and Christians.

I read the majority of this novel while on vacation. And it went past that even. Fuse of Armageddon is a large/long novel.

In a nutshell, this the response to the Left Behind series. Where Left Behind talks about the biblical end times as if they were to happen on our lifetime, Fuse of Armageddon speaks on the idea that it has already happened a long time ago. And the people who believe Left Behind theology could actually cause much more destruction than they realize.

Mulvaney Quinn is a hostage negotiator whose wife and daughter were killed when a suicide bomber destroyed the bus they were on. He is called in to speak to the terrorist who kidnapped a group of Christians when they were touring Israel.

What Quinn doesn't know is that there are powerful men pulling the strings behind-the-scenes who want to see their vision for Israel and Palestine come true.

If their plan succeeds, life would forever change on this planet.

While not as pop culture as Left Behind was, this story does give the reader a different look on how religion plays a part in our dealings with the Middle East.

If you can get past the length, Fuse of Armageddon is a nice "beach" read.

I tend to read more nonfiction than fiction, but I must say I've enjoyed all 3 books in this series. All 3 have been definite page-turners.

The plot is a little complicated at times and it can be hard to keep track of what's going on. Especially since the book keeps you guessing at a lot of characters' real intentions (which is one of the things that keeps this book so interesting). Although the book makes no effort to make the ending surprising, the characters keep you guessing and there's suspense until the very end.

One reviewer commented that this book is a bit of a Trojan horse for Hanegraaff's ideas, which is true. A few scenes were obvious devices to work the theology in, but at least the scenes were still plausible and didn't seem too out of place. As Hanegraaff often says on his radio show, ideas have consequences, and the authors try to show that here. Dispensationalism has major consequences for the Middle East and our foreign policy.

My only complaint was that this book was completely unrelated to the last two in the series. I hope the authors write another "Last Disciple" book soon so I can find out what happens to those characters too.

Overall, I'd recommend this book, both for its ideas and the story itself. It's very good on all accounts, and a very worthwhile read that will certainly entertain you and may transform your thinking while it's at it.

I have been an avid reader of "End time fiction" for a number of years, and have read both Christian and secular perspectives..and while I enjoy a good story and actually don't have to agree with the foundational premise of the story line to enjoy the read, I found this book to be greatly disappointing as it appeared to be more focused on convincing (converting) me to the author's perspective and less on the fictional story. On a positive note, I was glad I received this book during a limited free offer.And the novel story line and premise could have been an excellent one had it been less "preachy" toward the author's belief system.

Well worth the time to read. Great story and love the theology weaved in. Well worth the read. Highly recommended.

I just finished reading this book (on my Kindle) and had a very hard time stopping when I needed to. It is well written and the story and characters are believable. The book does have a Christian theme flowing through it, which is good, but it is also an education on the effects of American policies toward the Israel / Arab problem.

This was an amazing Christian fiction action thriller. It really made me think. I would definitely recommend this book. It even has some romance.

Originally published on my blog at hewhocutsdown.blogspot.com.

Recently my wife & I sat down & had lunch with a much more experienced writer and author, Sigmund Brouwer. He & I are working together on a project that is yet to be released, but he gave me a gift in his latest work, entitled Fuse of Armageddon.

It's a strange animal.

In writing style, the pace matches some of Clancy's novels (most notably Rainbow Six), constantly accelerating toward the climax. This works both for and against the novel, as I finished it in two sittings (would have been one had I a longer flight), but there is only a much abbreviated dénouement to close it, where a few more pages would have been warranted.

Thematically it takes aim at a very specific target market: open-minded, evangelical Christians who read thrillers such as the ridiculously popular Left Behind series. In all truth it is very open all, with vividly detailed locales and arguments that lay the foundation before building upon them, but this does not discount it's primary role. Fuse is really meant to expand evangelical Christians' thinking to really look at the consequences of a dispensational eschatology hell-bent on pre-millenialism. If you didn't understand that last sentence, don't worry about it; I didn't mean you.

The sarcastic comments of Khaled Safady probably capture this irony the best. In listening in to a Christian group touring the Holy Land, he juts in (paraphrased):


"In miles, how long is that river of blood?" (referring to the predicted river of blood from God's 'winepress of wrath')

"Roughly two hundred miles, twenty-five feet wide and four and a half feet deep."

"Incredible. How many people would this require?"

"Two hundred million."

"But I'm a physician. I've seen horrible accidents. I've seen people die. Any wound with enough blood loss to lead to death stops the heart long before the heart can pump itself dry. How will Christ squeeze the remaining blood from two hundred million bodies?"

"Revelation tells us there is a great winepress and that the blood came from the winepress."

"Incredible. All two hundred million bodies get fed through a winepress to be squeezed of their blood? How long would that take? Even at the rate of one body per second, that would only be 60 bodies per minute, 3600 bodies per hour, and from what I've calculated just now...maybe 80,000 per day. Make it 100,000 for even math."

"I find this macabre..."

"But earlier I heard a chorus of amens and hallelujahs...joy as you had us contemplate the deaths of liberals and gays, Arabs and Muslims who are left behind. I find that equally macabre"

"The unjust will pay the price"

"So you're telling me Jesus will return and spend his first 5 and a half years squeezing out the blood of his enemies?"


If you're going to read Revelation and other biblical prophesy as literal events, fine. But accept the consequences of that interpretation, as grotesque and horrific as they may be. Or take a step back and seriously re-evaluate what brought you those beliefs.

I know that I have gotten truly enraged; something that has happened only 3 times since leaving home; listening to a tele-evangelist giving Israel carte blanche for genocidal warfare. I in no way believe in supporting terrorism, and that includes the terrorism of nation-states.

This book is not a theological breakdown, nor is it a political seminar or a primer on Mid-East policy. What it is, is a thriller that leaves you with the question: do my beliefs add or detract to the problems at hand? Is that because of me, or because of the belief?

And that is what makes this such a wonderful book. It's a step back from my usual bookshelf (I prefer source works, history and Dostoevsky) but for a general audience, this is a voice that needs to be heard, a novel that needs to be read, and more than just read. It requires action, and like the Jonathan Silver in the novel, making the jump from theory to action can be a frightening one, but it can make a world of difference.

Peace

Fuse of Armageddon is a novel to be enjoyed on two levels. On one level, it is a solid piece of Christian fiction. Sigmund Brouwer is a clever story teller who rises to the task of authoring a thriller tailored to a modern Christian audience. The plot's strength is its subtlety; the heroes are not gloriously converted or the perfect blend of holiness and worldly wisdom. They are fallible and at times their faith seems ambiguous. Even the villians have a point. Although Brouwer is clever writer who has done his homework, at times the plot lines seemed a bit rushed and the dialogue stiff and awkward.

On the second level, the novel is essentially a trojan horse for Hanegraaf's theological position on the end times, which runs counter to the doctrines held by millions of evangelical Christians. Through the fictional characters, Hanegraaf is able to carefully pinpoint and apply pressure on some weak points of popular end times theology. For example, querying why there would be the need for restored Jewish sacrifices in the light of Christ's atonement does indeed give one pause. That it comes from a Islamic terrorist is a delicious irony.

One flaw is the thinly veiled contempt for those who hold the contrary view, and that comes out in the book. Evidently to Hanegraaf, the millions of believers who hold to "Rapture theology" have basically been duped by slick talking TV preachers, and are stuck in an intellectual rut of not being able to think through difficult theological concepts. Maybe they need to listen to the Bible Answer Man broadcast more.

To his credit though, Hanegraaf doesn't waste a lot time splitting doctrinal hairs, but emphasizes the disastrous impact of years of western Christian neglect toward the Palestinians and the geopolitical events in the Middle East. On this point, Hanegraaf's moral logic is unassailable.

This is a very good book; very entertaining and morally engaging to anyone who has wondered about the Middle East crisis from a Biblical perspective. You may not agree with the thesis, but it contains a viewpoint that is intelligently and creatively presented.

Don't bother with this one. It draws you in with a compelling story, but it soon becomes clear that it's only a cleverly constructed straw man. It's intellectually dishonest in two ways: 1. Dispensationalists are presented as sociopaths and those who disagree as selfless heroes. 2. Dispensationalism is demonized while the author's view is glorified. In conclusion, it's an inaccurate picture of both views and those who hold them, totally unfair, and a cheat to the reader who expects a good story, not a rant.