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thriller
Series · political thriller
The Last Jihad
The Last Jihad series by Joel C. Rosenberg has 5 known books (5 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with The Last Jihad (2002). Dead Heat is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.
- Books
- 5 known books (5 novels)
- Published
- 5
- First published
- 2002
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Thriller
Start here: The Last Jihad (2002)
— then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Last Jihad
The Last Jihad (December 2002, 352 pages) launches the series just over a year after September 11, opening with an assassination attempt on the U.S. President during a Colorado ski trip and a hijacked jet racing toward the White House, pulling Wall Street strategist Jon Bennett into the White House's inner circle. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Jihad - Book 2:
The Last Days
The Last Days (October 2003, 384 pages) followed less than a year later, moving Jon Bennett through the death of Yasser Arafat and the leadership vacuum that follows in Palestine, with CIA analyst Erin McCoy becoming central to the series from here. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Days - Book 3:
The Ezekiel Option
The Ezekiel Option (June 2005, 413 pages) -- the longest book in the series so far -- follows a Russian-Iranian-Libyan alliance forming against Israel that Rosenberg frames against the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39; it won the Christian fiction industry's Gold Medallion Book Award. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ezekiel Option - Book 4:
The Copper Scroll
The Copper Scroll (January 2006, 376 pages) came out roughly six months after The Ezekiel Option, following the hunt for a set of ancient scrolls hidden beneath Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Copper Scroll - Book 5:
Dead Heat
Dead Heat closes the series at 350 pages, published 1 September 2008, more than two years after The Copper Scroll -- the longest gap between any two Last Jihad novels. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead Heat
Key facts about The Last Jihad series
The Last Jihad series has 5 books on our list. Since all 5 are out now, you can read the whole list today.
Start with The Last Jihad, since it opens the publication order in 2002. The Last Days is book 2, from 2003. The Ezekiel Option is book 3, from 2005.
The Copper Scroll is book 4, from 2006. Dead Heat is book 5, from 2008.
Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions.
Dead Heat is the latest book with a full release date, out on 1 September 2008. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.
The books came out between 2002 and 2008, while their length runs from 350 to 413 pages. That is a run of 6 years.
Joel C. Rosenberg has 18 books on our list. Additionally, they write The Twelfth Imam, J.B. Collins and Marcus Ryker. We shelve the books under political thriller.
About The Last Jihad
Joel C. Rosenberg's debut series follows Jon Bennett, a young Wall Street oil-and-gas strategist pulled into the White House's inner circle as the Middle East slides toward all-out war. Published just over a year after the September 11 attacks, The Last Jihad opens with an assassination attempt on the U.S. President during a Colorado ski trip and a hijacked jet racing toward the White House -- and from there the series spends five books moving Bennett through escalating crises: the death of Yasser Arafat and a leadership vacuum in Palestine, a Russian-Iranian-Libyan alliance forming against Israel that Rosenberg frames against the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39, the hunt for a set of ancient scrolls hidden beneath Jerusalem's Temple Mount, and a knife-edge pursuit of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
Rosenberg, an evangelical Christian speechwriter-turned-novelist with a longstanding interest in Middle East policy and Bible prophecy, built the series around a distinctive claim to relevance: several of its plot points (an American-led war in Iraq, a Palestinian leadership crisis following Arafat's death, escalating Iran-Israel tensions) appeared to anticipate real headlines in the months and years after each book's publication, a coincidence that became part of his own marketing and public reputation as an author. The books combine geopolitical thriller mechanics -- oil markets, back-channel diplomacy, military strikes -- with an explicitly Christian and pro-Israel worldview, and The Ezekiel Option won the Christian fiction industry's Gold Medallion Book Award.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in The Last Jihad series?
Five: The Last Jihad (2002), The Last Days (2003), The Ezekiel Option (2005), The Copper Scroll (2006), and Dead Heat (2008).
Who is the main character?
Jon Bennett, a Wall Street oil-and-gas strategist drawn into the White House's response to a series of escalating Middle East crises; CIA analyst Erin McCoy becomes a central co-lead from the second book on.
Is this a Christian fiction series?
Yes -- Rosenberg writes from an explicitly evangelical, pro-Israel perspective, and the series draws directly on biblical prophecy, especially Ezekiel 38-39, as plot material. The Ezekiel Option won the Christian publishing industry's Gold Medallion Book Award.
Do I need to read this before Rosenberg's later series?
No -- The Twelfth Imam/David Shirazi series, the J.B. Collins series, and the Marcus Ryker series are all separate, unconnected casts and storylines. The Last Jihad is simply Rosenberg's first series, published first.
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