Customer Reviews

Scimitar's Edge: A Novel

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Scimitar's Edge, by Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief of World magazine, answers the what-ifs of the future with the history of the past. Set primarily in Turkey, the reader gets a better grasp of the violence associated with Muslim terrorists.

Phoebe du Pont, rich widow of the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, invites three of her loved ones to visit Turkey and see the country through her eyes. Professor Malcolm Edwards, who uses power and position to negotiate sex from needy students, agrees to accompany his aunt. Archrival Armenian journalist Hall Bogikian consents to the trip only because his love for Phoebe keeps him from refusing her. Malcolm and Hal debate every topic, but agree on two things: their adoration for Phoebe and their vehement atheistic mindset. Phoebe invites her assistant, Sally Northaway, to attend to her needs on the trip, but more importantly, to bridge the distance between the two favorite men in her life. Where the men are pragmatic and skeptical, Sally is optimistic and naïve. Just as Phoebe expected, Hal and Malcolm find Sally to be irresistible, and this conflict leads to more tension as the story progresses.

Hal finds that being on Turkish soil stirs up angry emotions. Grandpa Bogikian's family suffered at the hands of the Turks, and Hal shares this painful history with his traveling companions. Soon they learn firsthand how evil could abound in the minds and hands of the wicked. History repeats itself as terrorists devise ways to torture four innocent tourists. Olasky uses graphic descriptions of the torture, which would garner an R rating in the movie world.

In the midst of adventure and survival, Sally loses her naivety and Hal discovers redemption and hope.

This book is not filled with pages of shallow warm-fuzzies and Christianese. Instead, very realistic characters encounter evil and goodness and must choose between the two.


Kathy Carlton Willis
Living Out Loud Communications and Manuscript Editorial Services
WillisWay@aol.com

As a columnist, Olasky skillfully simplifies the complexities of religion, politics and culture with real life anecdotes. In Scimitar's Edge, he applies his skills to fiction as he illustrates through four Americans (One Christian, three atheists) traveling through Turkey, the complexities of terrorism - and of life in general. Olasky educates and entertains, using contrasts to weave sacred Islamic poetry with American pop culture and unfold truths of life through knitting and chess. Even between brutal acts of stabbings and beheadings, he intersperses comic relief with the likes of cockroaches and carp. As the plot twists and turns, despite all the horrors the travelers endure, they open their hearts to God. And in the end they turn from atheism and begin to find peace with the complexities of their Creator.

Just when you think you have the characters in this terrific book figured out, Marvin Olasky will surprise you!! Loved it...Builds slowly - you will learn a lot about Turkey and some of the most amazing scenery. Quite honestly, I wanted to return to Turkey after reading the first half--until I got to the second half...Be warned, you are in for surprises. But, then again, that is the best part of any novel.

A good story catches you and carries you along for the ride. This book does a decent job on that score, but it does something else that is less common in fiction. It brings home some basic facts about how the enemy thinks. (And of course you can get a strong dose of the murderous ends of that thinking by making yourself watch "United 93" if at risk of forgetting or needing a reminder.) My thanks to Marvin Olasky.

This is a great book, a "page turner" as I call it. I hope we have more such fiction from Mr. Olasky. I also read the magazine World that he is chief editor for. This book is as exciting as some of the other well know current evetns fiction writers like Coonts, Bond, etc., but without the profanity. It isn't far left anti-American like Baldacci's books have become. Other writers with these type books like Olasky are Joel Rosenberg, Oliver North, Mel Odom.

I like Marvin Olasky's columns so well, I was looking forward to his novel, but found it almost a parody of a novel. Well, I read this too long ago and got rid of the book so fast, I can't go back and give specifics, but the characters and scenarios were so unbelieveable I had to laugh. Sorry! I still would read his next novel just to see the improvement I'm sure is coming because at least it wasn't boring and I do have a lot of respect for him.