The Last Patriot: A Thriller (7) (The Scot Harvath Series)

Thriller authors generally need a real world enemy to wrap their story around. Few are like Michael Chrichton who invent everything. No, for most thriller authors, it is the threat of the moment that matters. Nazism and Communism have had their day, but today belongs to radical Islam. Brad Thor has cranked out several very good thrillers, but "The Last Patriot" is one of his best. Former Navy SEAL, Secret Service agent and Presidential troubleshooter Scot (with one "t") Harvath is in Paris with his girlfriend Tracy Hastings, who is still recovering from injuries received in her job as a Naval demolitions specialist. Scot observes a car being stolen and another car pulling into the vacated parking space. His intuitive sense of action is aroused and he pulls Tracy away from the cafe where they were sitting. Passing a bookstore, a stranger in a hurry bumps into them and starts crossing the street. Scot senses trouble and covers the stanger with his own body as a car bomb goes off. Borrowing liberally from Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code", Thor plunges Harvath into a labybrinth of clues, assasins, plots and counter-plots as a search for the prophet Mohammed's rumored last revelation which has the potential to change the nature of Islam. The action never stops. A former CIA assassin, Matthew Dowd, now a dedicated convert to Islam and a stone-cold killer is murdering his way toward the secret. The President's man is looking for the secret. Soon the CIA and FBI are involved. Thomas Jefferson's 1805 war against the Barbary pirates is invoked as other aspects of Jefferson's wide ranging interests and genius. The plot moves from one bit of violence to another, with nary a thoughtful moment in between. In other words, this a perfectly satisfying thriller, an American flag waver. Thor's characters have a bit of depth. Scot Harvath's exploits just make you want to stand up and cheer (provided you support the United States and its goals). Thor is particularly aggressive in his views of radical Islam and the poltically correct multiculturalists in the United States and elsewhere who are yielding democracy to a theocracy. As noted, the plot borrows heavily from "The DaVinci Code" with the protagonist having to piece together bits of a puzzle while the bad guys are trying to kill the good guys. From time to time, Thor asks the reader to accept a jump in logic or an implausible happening, such as hairbreadth escapes. But Thor is a strong enough writer to carry the reader over the occasional chasm. The ending, however, is on the weak side and a real stretch. I don't know if Thor ran out of time or ideas, but the last few pages weren't nearly as satisfying as those that went before. Still, for thriller fans, "The Last Patriot" is a wonderfully jingoistic, red, white and blue story, filled with All-American heroes and nasty bad guys. Great fun reading! Jerry

I heard Brad Thor being interviewed on the radio, taking about how George Bush wasn't the first Western leader to go to war against Islam, The French nobles combined with the English Crusaders and Spanish Christians went to war and sacked Jerusalem more times than historians can remember. The City of Jerusalem has been the cause of religous wars since time was recorded, and continues to do the same thing now. I was intrigued by the publics lack of historical knowledge in their response to the interview. Needless to say, by the time the interview was over, I wanted to read the book. I write a series of fitional novels about Islamic Terrorism, and terrorism in general, called the `Soft Target` series. As a witness to an IRA bombing in Warrington England the subject terrifies me. Mr. Thor said in the interview that even though the main character is reoccurring, his books are all really written as stand alone novels. On the back of this one I have a lot of reading to do, it`s excellent. Taking Mr. Thor at his word, I decided to give his book a try and I enjoyed this book immensely. I bought it the day it came out, finished it during the night. Way back when, Mohammed had one final revelation for the Koran, but was assassinated before it was revealed. If it gets out the course of history will be changed and maybe not for the better, at least that's what some really bad people think. Scot's job, of course, find the secret. Bad guys job, of course again, stop Scot. And where is this secret? Well there's clues out there. One buried in Thomas Jefferson's copy of DON QUOXITE. It seems Cervantes once had been a prisoner of the Barbary pirates. So we read along as Scot races along to find the clues and find the secret and while we're immersed in Scot's world we learn a bit of history, like why the Marines are called leathernecks, why they have that verse in their song "To the shores of Tripoli." Having served in the Marine Corps, I knew the answer to that last one, but you know, I never did know about that leathernecks thing. The Marines in 1815 had collors made of leather on their uniforms to protect themselves from the scimitars the Muslim's used, seems they wanted to keep their heads and if you want to fill your head with a some good escapist reading, you won't be sorry you picked up this book.

Former Navy SEAL thirty-seven year old Scot Horvath has left Homeland Security to get out of the covert operations business and start a fresh new life away from mass murdering terrorists who claim their ideology is blessed by God. He wants a normal life and feels as he closes in on forty undercover operations is a younger persons game. He also remains shook up that his significant other former Naval Explosive Ordinance Technician Tracy Hastings lost an eye and almost her life and almost died at the hands of some rabid avenging assassin. They talk at a Paris café when Scot notices an Arab setting off an IED that targets University of Virginia Professor Anthony Nichols, who as he vanishes turns out to be a lot more than a highly regarded history teacher. The two retirees soon learn of the discovery of a seventh century version of the Koran in which the Prophet Mohammed informed his disciples of a radically different vision than that found in the Koran of today; if the lost revelation is published the Jihad extremists would lose much of their religious claims. Clues lead to President Jefferson's war on the Tripoli pirates and the third president's notes in an original copy of Don Quixote. Although they expect to learn more investigating Monticello, the American in Paris and President Jack Rutledge must end their estrangement caused by the incidents in his last assignment (see THE FIRST COMMANDMENT) while the Muslim extremists want the two Americans stopped. This is an exhilarating thriller mindful of the Da Vinci Code but different that will hook the audience from the moment that Scot and Tracy learn of the lost revelation and never slows down until the final incredible spin. A critical key to this engaging tale is that the romantic relationship between the lead couple is limited as the inquiry and safety supersede everything. Brad Thor provides a strong insightful tale that links seemingly unconnected historical dots leading to the contemporary sleuthing by Scot and Tracy; accompanied by enthralled fans of the series. Harriet Klausner

The character of Scot Harvath has been one of my recent favorites in the last 3-4 years since discovering Thor's books, and 'The Last Patriot' virtually cements this bold character into (at least MY version) of great leading Action/Adventure Hero's. Controversy is nothing new to Brad Thor by any means...however, with that said, I believe he is courting a whole new set of problems, or seriously potential problems with the storyline here. Religion in general is a very touchy subject, but as we have seen over the last decade or so, even fictionalizing specific events in Muslim History can be viewed as MAJOR Blasphemy--the kind that involves life-threatening retaliation. Don't believe me? Anybody remember Salmon Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses'? 'Nuff said. I heard an interview done with Thor on Glenn Beck and I'm not the only one concerned here. I honestly feel that if somewhere, sometime soon if I read about Brad Thor being the target of Terrorists, well, let's just say it won't surprise me (read the book and you'll understand). The book, though is a hum-dinger of a story. Easily Thor's best-to-date. Like other reviewers, I like when events in history are tied in with current storylines, and I REALLY like it when its done right...and I am happy to say Thor really nails it with this latest installment. Action on top of intrigue firmly attached to a healthy dose of adrenaline mixed with a Titanic-sized load of action and you have an idea of how well constructed 'The Last Patriot' truly is. I have enjoyed these books a lot since I first began them, but this one seriously places the bar at a level that is amazingly high compared to the previous Tales of Scot Harvath--and THEY were great, if that tells you anything. One thing I enjoy in particular about Harvath is that no matter how death-defying his exploits end up being, I always find myself thinking that were I under similar circumstances, and I had Scot's talent, what Thor describes is pretty much dead-on with how I feel I would act and say--or at least what I'd like to THINK I would act and feel if our roles were reversed--which I am glad they aren't. For those who are fans of how Cussler takes historical events and weaves a seamless tale of adventure into a modern tale of action, you honestly owe it to yourself to give Brad Thor a try--and while you don't HAVE to start at the beginning to appreciate each book, I personally feel that by starting with 'The Lions of Lucerne' you will get a much better appreciation not only for the character of Scot Harvath, but you will get a ringside seat to Thor's growing talent for storytelling that just gets better with each book...no REALLY. Kudos to Thor for not just a good addition to this series, but EASILY the best to date by a country mile...and that's saying a LOT.

I became a fan of Brad Thor after I read 'The First Commandment' and could not wait for his next one. There was a very nice lady at Simon & Schuster who heard my cry and sent me a copy of this one and it did not disappoint!! Of course this one will catch a little flack because it raises some questions about the religion of Islam and questions the validity of Muhammad and the Koran. I loved how Brad interwove history in with the story and about just how long this war with some of the homicidal, radical Muslims has been going on. This is a mystery, suspense, thriller rolled up in one! I love authors who have that special "it" that make you keep reading and reading and makes you take an extra 5 minutes on your lunch just so you can finish the chapter. The kind of writing that actually makes you tell your wife, "Hold on baby I'll hook you up after I finish this page!" Yeah, this book is THAT good! This will definitely be one of the best political-thrillers you'll read this year and will, if you aren't already, make you a die-hard fan of Mr. Thor!! I'm not a big non-fiction reader but I love history. So I really appreciate when an author takes history and makes it fun, interesting, and not so freaking boring! I know authors (including this one) take liberties with history and the re-telling of it, but I can live with that because it just makes me go out and see if what they say is true. Did our former Presidents know about the Muslim invasions BEFORE this country was even a country? Did Adams and Jefferson know something and leave us clues to help us? Did our forefathers know how completely stupid, impotent, and P.C. our leaders would be (have) become? I say YES to all 3 but you'll have to read this book and do your own research to figure that out. Either way 'The Last Patriot' is one heck of a book and a must read for this summer and seasons to come.