Clancy Meets Prophecy
Just today I finished Joel C. Rosenberg's The Ezekiel Option, a book that might have been born from the union of a Tom Clancy political thriller and a Tim LaHaye treatise on prophecy. Like Clancy, it is filled with believable, real-world action. Like the all End Times fiction, the plot is driven by the sequence of events found in Biblical prophecy. Most books that I have read in this genre seems to concentrate on scripture (specifically proving that Jesus is the Messiah) while leaving characters flat and their environment without depth or realism. This marks them a step or two above a Bible study lesson without significance of sensible application.
The obvious comparison is the Left Behind series. These best-selling books seem to abandon all political sense as to how nations really interact based on the personalities of the men and women in charge. Rosenberg, however, has carefully crafted prophecy around well-researched national relationships. Not surprising, considering his background "as a policy analyst for William Bennett, Jack Kemp and Jeane Kirkpatrick at Empower America from 1993-1994, and worked for The Heritage Foundation from 1990 through 1993" (source) and as a writer for the a political news magazine. It also makes sense as Rosenberg began his book considerably later so he could take advantage of current events. Lastly, it helps that the publishing world favors the thriller genre of late.
Generally, it is a very good read. There were times that I didn't want to put it down. Quick paced, interesting subplots, and Scripture is nicely worked into the story, not just slapped in to setup a scene or to justify a section.
