Joshua's Hammer [Paperback]

DAVID HAGBERG (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Forge (2000)
• ASIN: B000OTWF1Y
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,016,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

DAVID HAGBERG is a former Air Force cryptographer who has traveled extensively in Europe, the Arctic, and the Caribbean and has spoken at CIA functions. He has published more than twenty novels of suspense, including the bestselling Joshua's Hammer, Soldier of God, and Allah's Scorpion. He makes his home in Sarasota, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent thriller, July 21, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joshua's Hammer (Kirk McGarvey Novels) (Hardcover)

During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabian billionaire Osama bin Laden becomes a leader of the resistance. He uses his vast funds and charisma to fight the invaders. When the Soviets depart, the heroic bin Laden calls for a Jihad against the west. He finances terrorist activities that have killed thousands, but now prepares his most horrific scheme to date. He bought a nuclear device from one of the former Soviet Republics, planning to use the mass destruction weapon in the United States.

The CIA knows he will strike soon, but surprisingly bin Laden instead asks, through a circuitous path, for a meeting with a high-ranking agent. Deputy Director of Operations Kirk McGarvey goes to meet with the terrorist in Afghanistan, but a foul up occurs. The Americans launch a missile strike that kills bin Laden's precious teenage daughter. There is no room left for discussion as the stricken father sends an emissary to kill Kirk's daughter as well as the child of the President. Only Kirk stands in the way of an eye for an eye.

David Hagberg is one of the more interesting writers of thrillers in the new millennium. His works rival that of Clancy, Koontz, and Cornwell. With JOSHUA'S HAMMER, he probably surpassed these notable authors. The heart thumping story line is a chilling thriller that gets inside the heart and soul of its cast, humanizing a terrorist and a CIA operative. Mr. Hagberg turns the genre into his personal playing field with this realistic drama that never eases up the throttle.

Harriet Klausner

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Frightening Plot, July 25, 2001

By 

Newt Gingrich (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
("THE")   

This review is from: Joshua's Hammer (Kirk McGarvey Novels) (Hardcover)

This is a very fast moving novel that captured me almost from the first moment. It is simultaneously a sympathetic view of Osama bin Laden and the United States intelligence and antiterrorist efforts. In Kirk McGarvey, the deputy director for operations Hagberg has created a believable hero with a believable family and very human frailties. This book is a cross between Tom Clancy and Ian Fleming. Assume that bin Laden acquires a tactical nuclear weapon that is easy to hide (they do exist, both we and the Russians have them, some of the Russian depots have been unpaid, and the system could leak.)

The plot involves bin Laden sympathizers in Central Asia that may have infiltrated the vulnerable Russian system. Bin Laden wants to use this threat to achieve an American withdrawal from his homeland of Saudi Arabia. The United States deciding it can take no chances launches a preemptive strike using Tomahawk cruise missiles to hit bin Laden's camp. Nevertheless, the action neither kills him nor hurts the nuclear weapon. Bin Laden then decides to use the weapon in the United States and specifically targets someone close to the President who is in a very public setting along with thousands of other people. It will get you to think hard about the real dangers of terrorism and the challenge of creating a strong enough system to defeat it. I am going to look for more novels by Hagberg.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get to know Kirk McGarvey...you'll be glad you did, July 2, 2001

By 

Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Joshua's Hammer (Kirk McGarvey Novels) (Hardcover)

Ever since I picked up my first Kirk McGarvey novel about 7 years ago, I have been been a HUGE fan of David Hagberg and he has done nothing but inspire that trust in novel after fantastic novel of high adventure and international intrigue. 'Joshua's Hammer' is easily one of the best McGarvey tales yet. An absolutely riviting yarn which walks the fine line between fiction and reality.

First off a meeting is arranged with notorious world terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Apparently Osama wants things to change, and he needs the help of America in order to pull it off...but the CIA sends their chief of station from Saudi Arabia and Osama only wants someone higher up to make the arrangements. But before that happens the former Chief of Station and his entire family are killed vacationing in Orlando. Did Osama order the hit, or was it one of his underlings? Kirk McGarvey steps in and decides to find out by going himself to negotiate with Osama. Kirk has a GPS chip implanted on his body so the CIA will always know exactly where he is...and if something goes wrong, the President is strong-armed into ordering an attack. Osama apparently is dying of cancer and wants to return back to Saudi Arabia, but that cannot happen unless things change, and it looks as though the beginning of a possible truce is forged between him and Kirk...but not before the GPS chip is discovered and surgically removed, and accidentally broken. Washington now believes Kirk to be dead, and before he can get word otherwise to the powers-that-be in DC, the attack is launched on Osama's compound.

This is where the story goes from fast right into high gear. Osama is spared in the aftermath, but his daughter is killed, and now the filthy American Infidels MUST pay. Osama's bargaining chip was a small suitcase-sized nuclear weapon he purchased from a weapons depot in one of the Soviet Union's many break-off nations. Obtained with the ultimate hope of forcing America to accept peace on Osama's terms, now is scheduled to be transported to San Francisco only to be detonated under the Golden Gate Bridge during a Special Olympics footrace...a race that stands out because the President's mentally handicapped daughter will be running in it. The race is truly on. Can Kirk stop them? Will they truly detonate this 1-kiloton device? Finding out the answers is really a great deal of the fun that this novel provides--which it has aplenty, too. Not just good, but a GREAT example of a novel charged with excitement literally from page ONE. Trust me, get to know Kirk McGarvey, and soon you too will understand why he is compared constantly to Jack Ryan and Dirk Pitt. Highly Recommended.