Inside the Revolution by Joel C. Rosenberg

I've read a few of Rosenberg's thrillers in the past, but this is the first non-fiction book I've picked up by him. By the way, I did a wiki search and verified that Joel C. and Joel are different authors - the latter wrote some really fun novels based on Dungeons and Dragons back in the late 70s and 80s, called the Guardians of the Flame series. Different fellow, now unfortunately deceased.

Rosenberg seems to enjoy alliteration, as his subtitle reads "How the followers of Jihad, Jefferson and Jesus are battling..." and his major section divisions within the book are the Revolutionaries, the Reformers and the Revivalists. There's also the Resisters, the Reticent and the Rank-and-File.

 Some parts of the book were an interesting trip down memory lane for me, as I was in college, with an Iranian roommate (wonder what became of my friend Muhammed Husseini?), when the Iranian revolutionaries stormed the U.S. Embassy and took our folks hostage for 400 days. It seems as if the media only broadcast a small portion of what was going on, and/or I might have merely been oblivious to the big picture back in my school daze.

The book has become a bit dated at this point, as it was written in 2009, before the fall of Ghaddafi in Libya and the civil war in Syria began, but his description of those regimes seems fairly accurate, depicting those leaders as being the type who play the Islamists against the West, depending on which they feel is a bigger threat to their regime at any given point. In a 2009 interview with Lt. Gen. William Boykin, Boykin states that he thinks the Iranian regime could have a nuclear bomb in three years - so far that hasn't materialized...that we know of.

Something interesting that Rosenberg says about Islam:

"As you study the Qur'an, you will find that Islam is a works-based religion. Therefore, Radicals - and all religious Muslims who take the Qur'an seriously - constantly have to be thinking about a "51 percetn solution." They must constantly strive to do more good works that bad, lest they be dammed for all eternity. The problem is that the Qur'an does not provide a way for Muslims to assess how they are doing throughout their lives. There are no quarterly report cards."

So, when the Radicals claim that the only "true assurance or secure promise of eternal salvation is to be a martyr - and ideally a suicide bomber" there must be a certain temptation for some Muslims to accept the sure thing.

And yes, the rumor is confirmed in this book. The U.S. did, indeed support the mujahadeen in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion.

"In July (1979), President Carter authorized a half million dollars in covert financial aid to the Islamic rebels known as the mujahadeen..."

Of course, aid continued under the Reagan administration until the Soviets were forced to withdraw from Afghanistan, but it all started with Carter. LOL.

Just as a reminder of what life was like under the Taliban in Afghanistan, before the Coalition invaded to drive them out and destroy Al Qaeda,

"Children were beaten by their fathers  and psychologically abused. Their schools were shut down. Their toys were taken from them. Movies were forbidden. Television was forbidden. Radio was forbidden, except for a station that continuously taught from the Qur'an. Games were forbidden. Kite flying was forbidden. Concerts were forbidden. Playin music in public was forbidden. New Year's celebrations were forbidden. Christmas decorations were forbidden. Christianity was most certainly forbidden. Museums were closed. Zoos were closed. Dissenters were jailed. Others were murdered. Apostates were executed."

If you're interested in getting a good deep background on what has been happening for the last few decades in the Middle East, this is a great book to read. There are some especially interesting things going on with the underground spread of Christianity that I hadn't heard about at all before this. As a soothsayer, Rosenberg hasn't quite got it down, but he certainly has done his legwork on this one.

The Silver Stone by Joel Rosenberg

Review written December, 1999

Here's another one where far too much time had passed since I read the first book in this series. I think the third one is actually out in the bookstores, so the fault is strictly my own. However, I was lost through much of the book, because I couldn't for the life of me recall "what had gone before."
 
Nevertheless, I've always enjoyed Rosenberg's style, and this book was no exception. I started reading his stuff back when he first published his Guardians of the Flame stuff, and have eagerly devoured anything he's published. I'd suggest, however, that you read the first book in the series, The Fire Duke, before starting on this one.
 
Again (I guess), we follow the adventures of Ian Silverstein, aka Silver Stone as he is drawn into the mythical world of Tyr na nog, where Norse mythology plays a very important part in the tale. Odin tricks Ian and his companions into undertaking a quest, which is not exactly what it seems to be. He's supposed to deliver a message to the Sons of Tyr asking them to back off from the precipice of war upon which they're poised.
However, some of the Sons think that Ian is the Promised Warrior, who will lead them to victory and dominion over the entire land. Others don't believe he's the promised one, and most of Ian's challenges on his quest revolve around this conflict.
 
Actually, the whole story is a little shallow, but it kept me entertained for a few hours. Ian's companions are all somewhat one-dimensional, in my opinion, just a great bunch of guys and gals - doing the right thing whatever the odds.

Short Takes

(8/17/08) Reading Rosenberg's Dead Heat, scary stuff.

(8/22/08) Finished reading Rolling Thunder by Varley. The whole darned thing, while a fun read, turns out to be a shaggy dog. Reader challenge - read the whole thing and tell me how many Heinlein titles you find in the text. The three in the final sentence of the novel are freebies, they don't count.

(8/22/08) Began reading a new Walter Jon Williams novel, Implied Spaces, that's mildly entertaining. Looking at the front pages, I realize I haven't kept up on his recent stuff very well. I have everything he wrote up till his last six novels. Gotta get hoppin'.

Short Takes

4/3/07 Finished reading a couple of Joel C. Rosenberg novels, somewhat along the lines of current events in the Middle East, with a slant reminiscent of the Left Behind series. Wasn't what I was expecting, and the action stuff was pretty unrealistic - the hero and heroine end up nearly dying of gunshot wounds in every book - I'm thinkin' they're not likely to recover from multiple wounds as quickly as the books would have it...anyway.

Reading a strange fantasy detective novel right now that's part of a series, the Inspector Chen stuff  - Chinese mythology linked.

4/6/07 Read a book, My Year inside Radical Islam,  by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, which was a little anticlimactic, but interesting.

4/7/07 Finished Snake Agent, the Inspector Chen novel, by Liz Williams, last night. A bit surreal, but amusing and clever. Finished Sword Maker, by Roberson, this morning. A good re-read, as expected.

Abuse of Power by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg

I wonder if Nancy Taylor is related to Joel, the author the Guardians of the Flame series? No matter.

For some reason, this novel turned into a real page-turner for me. Began reading it about 8:30 at night, and didn't close the book until I finished it around 11:30. The first 4/5 of the book was fast-paced, well-written and kept getting me more and more angry at the villains of the piece. The last 1/5 of the book, however, Rosenberg must have run out of inspiration and decided to just wrap things up quickly, so I was rather disappointed in the way things all turned out.

One flaw in the novel for me was the underlying assumption that there's an epidemic of corruption in police forces around the U.S. Of course, since the whole plot of the novel hinges on what happens to Officer Rachel Simmons when she violates the code of silence that police officers maintain, I can understand why the premise is here, but...

The plot, in brief: Rachel contaminates evidence in an armed robbery investigation, panics and another officer covers for her. That officer uses the incident to blackmail her into attending a Tailhook-style beach party, where he and other officers drug her into unconsciousness and abuse her sexually. Shortly after that, she witnesses that officer using an innocent bystander as a human shield in a gun battle and decides to blow the whistle. The officers in the squadroom retaliate against her, and things just keep getting worse from there.

I won't give you any more details and spoil the story for you. I enjoyed it, and will probably pick up some more of Rosenberg's books to fill those lonely hours when I can't find a good sf novel.

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