“As the long-running host of Crisis Point, […] it was his job to help push the agenda forward while giving the impression that he was unbiased. […] Last week’s show had gone smoothly. The truckers had been marginalized exactly as the White House wanted. Both of Matt’s guests, a leftwing journalist and a liberal strategist had, of course, been personally picked by [the President’s] press secretary…”
-p. 134, as narrated by some reporter we’ll never see again
“The belief that the United States should be unencumbered by international obligations of any kind is a core aspect of this book. It’s obvious fan-service for the intended readership which has been nurtured on a steady diet of American exceptionalism for years. So, without further ado, let’s see what gives Joshua Jordan the right to decide for himself whether or not he’ll obey a Congressional subpoena…”
-ApocalypseReview’s blog (apparently Fred Clark’s not the only one who can do a page-by-page review of LaHaye’s books)
“Tim LaHaye fans will definitely want to pick this one up, as its ending leaves no doubt that further Joshua Jordan adventures will follow. Dedicated techno-thriller fans may find frustrating subtle errors in technology and stretches in plausibility, but anyone looking for a clean, suspenseful novel will enjoy Edge of Apocalypse.”
-James R. Hannibal, New York Journal of Books
-p. 134, as narrated by some reporter we’ll never see again
“The belief that the United States should be unencumbered by international obligations of any kind is a core aspect of this book. It’s obvious fan-service for the intended readership which has been nurtured on a steady diet of American exceptionalism for years. So, without further ado, let’s see what gives Joshua Jordan the right to decide for himself whether or not he’ll obey a Congressional subpoena…”
-ApocalypseReview’s blog (apparently Fred Clark’s not the only one who can do a page-by-page review of LaHaye’s books)
“Tim LaHaye fans will definitely want to pick this one up, as its ending leaves no doubt that further Joshua Jordan adventures will follow. Dedicated techno-thriller fans may find frustrating subtle errors in technology and stretches in plausibility, but anyone looking for a clean, suspenseful novel will enjoy Edge of Apocalypse.”
-James R. Hannibal, New York Journal of Books
For some reason, I bought this book. (Secretly, I’m a glutton for punishment.) I wish I had known before picking it up at all that someone else was reviewing it. Page by page by agonizing page. If I had known that, I would’ve saved about five bucks.
For my fellow Slacktivites out there (I’ve been lurking for the past year or two), thanks to nearly a decade of page-by-page reviews given to us by Fred Clark, we all know L&J, the infamous pair of LaHaye and Jenkins, and how nauseating, how outright evil their “Left Behind” books are, not just in terms of their theology, but also in terms of just how much they violate the basic rules of writing (rule no. 1: Get a damn editor!). LaHaye has rehashed and milked his “Left Behind” concept, and the series in general, for every last wretched cent he can get from his suckers fans, but it probably helps this book by leaps and bounds that his cowriter (re: the guy who actually has to write the book) bothered to do some research beforehand.
From a technical standpoint, it’s not a bad book, if somewhat needlessly padded out over four hundred pages when it could have literally been written in half the length. It helps a lot that LaHaye tapped Craig Parshall, whose past work apparently includes half a dozen legal fiction novels. It also helps leaps and bounds that this book focuses more on the down-to-earth aspects of the end times scenario LaHaye has concocted.
It goes back-and-forth between the POV’s of various characters, taking a mostly macroscopic view of the potential disaster awaiting the U.S. We go from Joshua Jordan, weapons designer and the main protagonist of the story, to his strained relationship with his college-age son, to the ruthless mercenary sent to retrieve his designs, to the federal agent trying to capture said mercenary, to the vice president herself, one Jessica Tulrude. (I’m guessing LaHaye came up with many of the names. Subtlety is not his strong suit.)
Like I said, though, this book could have literally been written in half the length. Why? Because every time LaHaye and his minion (whether it's Jenkins or someone else) write a book, it always has to be spaced out like this. Presumably, this is so those poor readers out there with bad eyes can differentiate between lines of the text.
Even with this in mind, though, there’s so much damn padding. This was a problem with “Left Behind,” and it will probably be a problem with this series too. There’s a subplot involving Debbie, a friend of Jordan’s family, which frankly could have been excised without any trouble at all. From a character perspective, it’s probably meant to establish that Jordan’s wife is more caring and better at dealing with people than Jordan (plus, Debbie was apparently the wife of “Fort,” an associate of Jordan and a member of Jordan’s personal ensemble). It was also probably a metaphor for how we, as human beings, become dependent on earthly things which distract us and ultimately prevent us from being closer to God. It still seemed like an unnecessary tangent, though.
The A-plot of the book starts off with a sort of action “prologue” (gee, this sounds familiar); following a near-miss with an American naval plane, the Koreans launch a pair of missiles at the U.S., specifically New York City. You’d never see Koreans trying to attack us via some out-of-the-way spot like Memphis, Tennessee (perhaps they know better, considering the King lives there and all…). Luckily, high-tech weapons specialist Joshua Jordan (who, as a side note, was probably beaten up every day after school until he changed his name or started designing weapons, whichever came first) uses a missile defense system called “Return-to-Sender” (RTS) to avert the catastrophe. The missiles are reprogrammed and diverted back to the Korean base from whence they came, killing those responsible for launching the attack.
Brought ever closer to World War III, this series of background chapters ends with one Pastor Campbell trying to scare us into Christ. After listing off a series of signs such as earthquakes, “drought and pestilence,” and “worldwide conflict”—all of which have been conveniently offscreen at this point—he warns the congregation—and by extension, us—to come to Jesus before it’s too late. Already, I’m not sure which approach is better; in this novel, we’re apparently in the middle of an international crisis, but I’m not sure it’s an “end times”-worthy scenario, which makes the whole book seem lukewarm in contrast to the first chapters of “Left Behind,” which was quick to depict the presence of supernatural forces. There’s no question that a missile crisis is scary, but again, it’s not “end of the world” scary.
The book then skips ahead two weeks, and in the eighth chapter we join one Agent John Gallagher, a member of an elite federal counterterrorism unit, as he narrates the aftereffects of the attack. The U.S. President at this time, one Virgil Corland, has apparently become bogged down by “indecision” following the attack, despite the fact that America basically caught a pair of missiles and threw them right back where they came. It’s revealed near the end of the book that “R & D has been pretty much halted with President Corland’s edict against any ‘exotic new missile defense systems’,” which seemed like an afterthought on the part of the authors to put the U.S. in a more vulnerable position, and made me think that maybe theirbook president should stop being so “political” and just all-around failing at life. Still, it’s an understandable position; no one wants to be the President who may have started World War III, even if it was in self-defense.
The book goes on to show Jordan’s congressional hearing over the legality of the defense system. Here we have another infodump on the possible future of the U.S.; one Senator Hewbright discusses the ramifications of various “disastrous treaties” with the U.N., including the “United Nations Covenant of Tolerance and Human Rights that, I’m ashamed to say, the United States Senate also ratified.” (p. 64) There’s another passage (p. 119) where a U.S. marshall laments the presence of a U.N. Human Rights division based in California, thinking to himself, What was happening to America? It’s a telling piece of characterization for both of these chraracters, but probably a characterization choice which reflects badly on the author’s viewpoints rather than anything intentional.
If I were reading a LaHaye book for the first time, I would be wondering right now if there was something I’m missing in a covenant for “tolerance and human rights,” something “bad” I should know about. As it is, it’s still a very confusing view on international relations in general and the U.N. in particular, but not a surprising one. LaHaye’s views on international relations are far too strange for me to describe in detail, but suffice to say, foreign countries in general—and the U.N. in particular—are not to be trusted. The book includes many instances of the words “globalist” and “internationalist” and “dirty Commie hippie-ist [sic].” As far as LaHaye and the other John Birchers are concerned, “human rights” is nothing but a moniker the U.N. operates under in order to take over the world.
With this apparent international conspiracy to erode the sovereignty of our nation in mind…the protagonist’s mind…somehow?...Jordan is asked by Congress to hand over the specifications for the RTS system. Naturally…Jordan refuses. He thinks that handing his specs over would make the system vulnerable to foreign intelligence.
Which brings us to Atta Zimler, also known as the “Albanian” (in the same tradition as Heroes’ “The Haitian” and “The German” and “The Black Guy Who Uses Your Fear To Make Him Strong”). It’s almost a hundred pages in, and it strikes me how well-written, how well-constructed, this book actually is (at least compared to L&J’s efforts). The transition to Zimler’s intro, and the assassination he carries out over the next ten pages, are nearly cinematic in tone. Frankly, it wouldn’t be out of place in a movie (probably not a unique phenomenon in novels nowadays considering this is 2011, but still).
Brought ever closer to World War III, this series of background chapters ends with one Pastor Campbell trying to scare us into Christ. After listing off a series of signs such as earthquakes, “drought and pestilence,” and “worldwide conflict”—all of which have been conveniently offscreen at this point—he warns the congregation—and by extension, us—to come to Jesus before it’s too late. Already, I’m not sure which approach is better; in this novel, we’re apparently in the middle of an international crisis, but I’m not sure it’s an “end times”-worthy scenario, which makes the whole book seem lukewarm in contrast to the first chapters of “Left Behind,” which was quick to depict the presence of supernatural forces. There’s no question that a missile crisis is scary, but again, it’s not “end of the world” scary.
The book then skips ahead two weeks, and in the eighth chapter we join one Agent John Gallagher, a member of an elite federal counterterrorism unit, as he narrates the aftereffects of the attack. The U.S. President at this time, one Virgil Corland, has apparently become bogged down by “indecision” following the attack, despite the fact that America basically caught a pair of missiles and threw them right back where they came. It’s revealed near the end of the book that “R & D has been pretty much halted with President Corland’s edict against any ‘exotic new missile defense systems’,” which seemed like an afterthought on the part of the authors to put the U.S. in a more vulnerable position, and made me think that maybe their
The book goes on to show Jordan’s congressional hearing over the legality of the defense system. Here we have another infodump on the possible future of the U.S.; one Senator Hewbright discusses the ramifications of various “disastrous treaties” with the U.N., including the “United Nations Covenant of Tolerance and Human Rights that, I’m ashamed to say, the United States Senate also ratified.” (p. 64) There’s another passage (p. 119) where a U.S. marshall laments the presence of a U.N. Human Rights division based in California, thinking to himself, What was happening to America? It’s a telling piece of characterization for both of these chraracters, but probably a characterization choice which reflects badly on the author’s viewpoints rather than anything intentional.
If I were reading a LaHaye book for the first time, I would be wondering right now if there was something I’m missing in a covenant for “tolerance and human rights,” something “bad” I should know about. As it is, it’s still a very confusing view on international relations in general and the U.N. in particular, but not a surprising one. LaHaye’s views on international relations are far too strange for me to describe in detail, but suffice to say, foreign countries in general—and the U.N. in particular—are not to be trusted. The book includes many instances of the words “globalist” and “internationalist” and “dirty Commie hippie-ist [sic].” As far as LaHaye and the other John Birchers are concerned, “human rights” is nothing but a moniker the U.N. operates under in order to take over the world.
With this apparent international conspiracy to erode the sovereignty of our nation in mind…the protagonist’s mind…somehow?...Jordan is asked by Congress to hand over the specifications for the RTS system. Naturally…Jordan refuses. He thinks that handing his specs over would make the system vulnerable to foreign intelligence.
Which brings us to Atta Zimler, also known as the “Albanian” (in the same tradition as Heroes’ “The Haitian” and “The German” and “The Black Guy Who Uses Your Fear To Make Him Strong”). It’s almost a hundred pages in, and it strikes me how well-written, how well-constructed, this book actually is (at least compared to L&J’s efforts). The transition to Zimler’s intro, and the assassination he carries out over the next ten pages, are nearly cinematic in tone. Frankly, it wouldn’t be out of place in a movie (probably not a unique phenomenon in novels nowadays considering this is 2011, but still).
The actual conflict of the book is driven by the government and Zimler’s respective efforts to get to Jordan and obtain the specs. For the former, they issue a congressional order to Jordan to hand in the specs within forty-eight hours. They have also spread a smear campaign against Jordan, accusing him of trying to extort money out of the government in exchange for use of the RTS specs. It’s revealed that the government, and the Corland administration in particular, has been able to establish a media monopoly through the use of digital cable. It’s a believable turn of events and use of the government’s power, but I can understand why many reviewers believe this is a politically-motivated book.
Obviously, Jordan…spends most of his time ducking the congressional order, while gathering some of his old war buddies to establish a new media network called
This overall conflict should make Jordan feel cornered. But that’s not the case; for all of this, he still has some friends in high places, or otherwise AmeriNews wouldn’t even be possible. This is a theme that Parshall touches on…nay, he brings it up again and again, practically preaching it to us via Pastor Campbell, the obligatory clergyman for this series. And there is a sense that much of the conflict is actually out of the protagonist’s hands, particularly once Zimler makes his move for Jordan. The main theme for the novel is one of helplessness, and that we must turn to God in the face of overwhelming circumstances.
Said God brings providence in the form of the so-called “Patriots,” a group of “powerfully connected Christian leaders.” Their main representative is one Patrick McHenry, and it probably says something about the tone of the series, and LaHaye’s views of Christianity in general, that his supporting Christian character of choice is a mysterious, well-connected cipher who can command a small, anonymous crack SWAT team and who is all but kept in shadow during this first novel. It also says something about the creative minds behind this book that all we really know about this character is taken from that blurb in the front cover that I just quoted.
In terms of its Christian themes, it’s probably average—not particularly well-written, but not overbearing either. The sharp exception is the terrible dialogue during the golf scene between Jordan and Pastor Campbell a little over halfway through the book, which basically took me out of the scene. (“If the tower has only one frequency, it doesn’t make much sense to say you don’t like that frequency and you’d rather have multiple options.” “So, what’s the single frequency for God?” […] “The ultimate reason that Jesus came to earth was simple, but pretty mind-blowing…”) Again, my best guess is that this is par for the course as far as Christian novels are concerned, but I had to stop reading about halfway through that scene because I physically couldn’t stand it.
Jordan’s wife, Abigail, was tolerable, but not much more than that. She juggled three hats, one could say: the AmeriNews team lawyer, a mom and wife, and the token born-again Christian who tries to save Jordan’s soul. As the lawyer, she had an excellent scene with one of the FCC chairs (and the typical scene where the woman laments the use of high heels). As the mom, caring and a nice foil to Jordan. As the Christian…I remember scribbling down “Shut up, shut up, shut up…” whenever she started talking about God. (I’m starting to see how fans can actually hate a character…)
You also have the obligatory plot where Jordan is trying to reconnect with his son, Cal. Out of most of the scenes, these were probably the strongest. As a son who has a dad (two, actually, if you count the guy my mom’s with now), I can relate to these scenes. And as a son whose gotten into fights with his parents (albeit the mom more than either of the two dads combined), I can relate to those scenes too. Cal’s presence is meant to establish that Joshua Jordan is human; it accomplishes that, and not much else. However, there is one interesting scene where Cal has to defend his dad’s case.
You’ve probably noticed that I’ve focused on the A-plot—the Zimler plot, the overall political scene, and Jordan’s efforts to protect the defense system. The fact of the matter is that the book focuses on so many of the overt “global” aspects of the potential end times—with an emphasis on the AmeriNews deal and tracking Zimler—that many of the characters feel diluted as a result. The Jordans, Zimler, and Agent Gallagher are all fairly well-developed (and Jessica Tulrude, even with as few scenes as she appeared in, will probably make a decent antagonist for the rest of the series), but the overall narrative is very plot-oriented, and there’s very little time to slow down and get to know all the new guys. We don’t even know that much about Pastor Campbell, which is somewhat egregious considering this is a Christian book series and he ends up tagging along for the last quarter of the book.
This brings me to my final analysis: It’s an average book. There’s nothing that you really take away from it. As a Christian fiction novel, it’s probably decent, but no more than that. As a thriller, again, it’s decent, and only decent. If you don’t believe in the end times or God, it won’t change your mind. If you do believe in the end times or God, you’ll probably like it (and if you’re a Left Behind fan, it’ll definitely be a step up). As the noughties counterpart to the first Left Behind novel, it’s technically constructed better, but its resolution lacks the punch that Nicolae Carpathia’s U.N. scene had. It ends with something that would work in a straightforward action scene or even a movie, but as setup for the sequels in an end times series, it simply fails to lure you in.
Note: The Brewsky is an enthusiastic contributor and movie reviewer. Have you contributed lately? What is God’s plan, how has he reviewed your life? Are you enthusiastic about giving your life over to the Lord?
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