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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) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Last Jihad (2002). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Dead Heat.
- Books
- 5 known books (5 novels)
- Published
- 5
- First published
- 2002
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
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
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.
If you like The Last Jihad
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