I read fiction because I’m looking for an escape from real life. For me there are a couple of types of fiction. Some you know is nothing more than a fantasy (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc.) The second type blurs the boundaries of reality and has you thinking “this could really happen”. The Last Patriot fits firmly into the second category. Thor does an amazing job blending his fiction with real life… so much so that you have a hard time deciding where the facts end and the story begins.
From The Cover:
June 632 A.D.: Deep within the Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat in Mecca, the Prophet Mohammed shares with his closest companions a final and startling revelation. Within days, he is assassinated.
September 1789: U.S. minister to France Thomas Jefferson, charged with forging a truce with the violent Muslim pirates of the Barbary Coast, makes a shocking discovery – one that could forever impact the world’s relationship with Islam.
Present day: When a car bomb explodes outside a Parisian café, Navy Seal turned covert Homeland Security Operative Scot Harvath is thrust back into the life he has tried so desperately to leave behind.
Saving the intended victim of the attack, Harvath becomes party to an amazing and perilous race to uncover a secret so powerful that militant Islam could be defeated once and for all without firing another shot, dropping another bomb, or launching another covert action. But there are powerful men who are determined that Mohammed’s mysterious final revelation continue to remain hidden forever.
Commentary / Review:
If you like Jason Bourne, you’ll love Scot Harvath. If you enjoyed the DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons, you’ll enjoy this novel. This book has plenty of action and a ton of suspense and you make your way through. It’s a quick read even though Thor has a TON of detail in there. The weaponry that he describes is lethal as his the main bad guy referred to in countless ways through out the book but I always think of as “The Assassin”.
While Thor doesn’t hide his politics (I’ll leave it to you to determine) they definitely don’t come into the way of the story so Republicans and Democrats alike can enjoy this book. The world of espionage has always intrigued me so this was right up my alley. I’m always on the lookout for a good spy story and this one definitely quenched that thirst.
There were only two minor negatives that I could find. One was that I had a hard time (at the beginning) keeping the characters separate in my mind. This is due in part to Thor’s attention to detail and the fact that he wants his characters genuine. It wouldn’t make much sense to have Islam militants named “Bob” or “Fred”. A minor thing that’s really on me rather than Thor. The second is the end of the book (which I won’t spoil here). There’s a character that comes from out of nowhere in the last 5 pages that kind of left me saying “huh” but it definitely didn’t mess up the story as a whole.
This is the first Brad Thor book that I’ve ever read… I can guarantee you that it won’t be the last. If you’re looking for a recommendation I’d say definitely pick up The Last Patriot. This is a very good read especially for history buffs. Would LOVE to see this made into a movie one day – it would look awesome on the big screen.
