Customer Reviews

Operation Firebrand-Crusade: Let My People Go (Operation Firebrand Trilogy, No.2)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jefferson Scott's cyberthrillers were forerunners in the Christian market, ahead of their time and underappreciated. (I highly recommend "Virtually Eliminated," if you've never read it.) Here, in the Operation: Firebrand series, Scott breaks fresh ground again, exploring military options from a Christian perspective. This time, his team is headed for Sudan to rescue enslaved southern Sudanese from cruel taskmasters.

The Firebrand team, a conglomerate of men and women from different backgrounds and with different skills, goes to world hotspots to rescue those in need. Financed by a wealthy Christian woman, the team is never without work--thankfully for us readers. While the first book was a bit ponderous in setting up the ideas for the series, this second gets going quickly. Scott writes gritty battle scenes--particularly in a heartwrenching prologue--but never for gratituous thrills. He has something to say about the needs of the world around us and the means in which we meet those needs. Operation: Firebrand is a great concept.

Scott creates some laugh-out-loud moments to lighten the mood at appropriate intervals. The dialogue is snappy. Despite a large cast of characters, he keeps us sympathetic toward the team as a whole. The story is clear, the messages straightforward, and the plot fast-paced. For me, the movie references and word pictures became too much a few times, but the story never flags.

If you enjoy adrenaline-packed stories, quirky and humorous characters, and morals to ponder as you turn the last page, then grab the first two books in this series and get ready for the third.

According to Scott's website, the Firebrand team is headed for North Korea next. That should be a timely and interesting read!

Operation: Crusade is an outstanding addition to Jefferson Scott's already impressive resume. This book is as authentic as David Morrell's First Bllod, as intriguing as Robert Ludlum's Bourne Identity, and as enjoyable as anything by Michael Crichton. This is truly moving fiction!

Jefferson Scott has outdone his first effort in the Firebrand series with book two: Crusade. I must warn you though, I was surprised that he was as detailed as he was in explaining the situation in the Sudan. He certainly gets past the common "sterilized" Christianity that sees everything through rose colored stained glass windows that never allow the reality of the world to pass before our eyes. Scott is open, accurate, and intense.

This book exposes the persecution facing Christians in the Sudan. I've reasearch the area. Scott is accurate.

The probing question of this book is why does evil happen in the world - theodicy. Team leader and former Navy Seal, Jason, deals with his hatred for predators that prey on children. If you've got an ounce of compassion in your heart, this book will get you fired up. Personally, in one scene, I could easily have done what Jason did to such a predator. This book will hit your emotions.

In this book the Team is sent to the Sudan to rescue a group of tribal people - Dinka - who have been taken as slaves. They stay a little too long and get a little too active in their strikes against the established slave trade, so much so that they reap the whirlwind. It's a great story that will wrap itself around you. You will be reading fiction, but realize it is based on the reality of many people in the Sudan.

Rachel is the focus of this story. She's a 20-something Israeli who formerly worked for MOSSAD. Two things seemed out of character for her in this story. 1. She makes a reference to Romper Room (a 20-something Isreali???). 2. She did not know that C4 is stable and only detonates with a fuse. Both of those things seemed out of character for her. Otherwise, her story is pretty realistic.

I hope you enjoy Crusade as much as I did. I'm looking forward to book three in the series.

Jefferson Scott has a way with words. He brings a gripping story to life that doesn't make the mainstream news. Thanks for opening my eyes to the Sudan. A great read, I can't wait for the next book in the series to see what happens to the Firebrand team next!

I really liked Crusade, even much more so than the first Firebrand book. I appreciated Scott's in-depth research and deft handling of the terrible situation in the Sudan. He wrapped it in a great story that had all the elements of action, romance and spirituality and that asked the big questions, but like in life, didn't provide all the answers. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

This Jefferson Scott adventure takes you from a vacation getaway to a tough mountain training camp to the tougher Sudanese terrain. With action that is breathtaking, characters that are as complex as they are likeable, humor that is somehow both understated and hilarious, underneath it all is a reflection of true human drama and the God who is ultimately sovereign over it - using people, imperfect people at that, to accomplish His plans.
If you read one, be prepared to read all three in the Operation Firebrand series... you'll be hooked.

I have read many books and this one and the first one have been the best books I have ever read. I am a christian and I have been waiting for a book like his to come out for a long time and it finally did. I would recommend the book to anyone who likes action books without profanity and explicit content. I certainly hope that everyone takes a look at his books. If Jefferson Scott happens to look at this let me encourage you to keep on going in writing your books. They're AWESOME!!

Jefferson Scott does it again with the Firebrand team! Once again he provides an awesome wit, along with sometimes a strange sense of humor that I appreciate. And he once again shows how a member or two might show some weaknesses. You might also want to look for hints of Veggie Tales in this thriller.

Eloise sends the team to Sudan, where the Firebrand team looks to free women and children who are slaves. Jason deals with the subject of revenge and also how to respond to certain situations like a true leader. You also find Rachel wishing to seek retribution in certain places of this book. Garth and Lewis never fail to crack me up throughout the book, and Lewis brings along his friend, Chunky. It also has a beautiful Christian witness through everything the team encounters. This book has some awesome action the whole way through the book. It also deals immensely with grace and mercy and forgiveness. I can't wait for the next book in this series! Give us more, Mr. Scott!

This is the 5th Jefferson Scott book I have read, and it is the most enjoyable so far. Although the plots are simple and predictable, it works. Firebrand Crusade is a light reading version of the typical shoot 'em up.

Anyone who is familiar with Christian fiction knows that trying to find a well written book within the genre is sadly hard to find. Most novels are so sterilized that nothing can growth within them or grow from them. The characters are unrealistic, flat and let's face it boring. I have found myself constantly disappointed after finishing a "good" Christian novel. I kept coming to the sad conclusion that even the bad secular fiction I had read was better than 95% of Christian fiction. As I have grown and matured I had hoped that the genre would do so as well, but unfortunately it has not progressed at all for at least the last ten years.

At the point that I was going to give up on Christian fiction altogether I came across Jefferson Scott's "Firebrand" series. I set myself up for another disappointment, but was pleasantly surprised. His books are filled with realistic, imperfect Christian people trying to live right. The plots are exciting, well-researched and refreshingly real. No whitewashed, over-processed, bland stories here. The books also shine a light on the tragedy in other parts of the world that Americans (particularly Christian Americans) are often not aware of or refuse to acknowledge. With each novel the characters develop and grow and the plot lines get better and more intriguing.

For anyone who is tired of the same old boring Christian books and is ready for something groundbreaking in the Christian genre or if you just want to read an exciting and interesting book, I highly recommend any of the books in the "Firebrand" series, or anything by Jefferson Scott.

***I just found out that Barbour Publishing is putting the series out-of-print, so make sure to buy the books while you can. Also if you enjoy this series write to the publisher and let your voice be heard (email: info@barbourbooks.com. Snail mail: PO Box 719 / 1810 Barbour Dr. Uhrichsville, OH 44683). If we don't speak up the genre will never change and we will be doomed to marshmallow fiction forever.