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The Last Patriot: A Thriller | 
 enlarge | Author: Brad Thor
Publisher: Atria Books
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy Used: $6.75
You Save: $19.25 (74%)
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Rating:  124 reviews
Sales Rank: 694
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 141654383X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781416543831
ASIN: 141654383X
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Brad Thor, master of suspense and New York Times bestselling author of The First Commandment, returns with his highest-voltage thriller to date. In a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-charged tour de force, Navy SEAL turned covert Homeland Security operative Scot Harvath must race to locate an ancient secret that has the power to stop militant Islam dead in its tracks.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, who is 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 cafe, 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 as desperate as the American government is to have the information brought to light, there are powerful forces aligned against it - men who are just as determined that Mohammed's mysterious final revelation continue to remain hidden forever. What Jason Bourne was to the Cold War, Scot Harvath is to the War on Terror. Brad Thor has created "the perfect all-American hero for the post September 11 world" (Nelson DeMille) and will keep readers glued to the pages as he once again takes them across the globe on a heart-pounding chase where the stakes are higher than they have ever been before.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 119 more reviews...
 Extremely entertaining and thought provoking July 1, 2008
Jason Frost (California)
123 out of 133 found this review helpful
I became a fan of Brad Thor after I read 'The First Commandment' and could not wait for his next one. There was a very nice lady at Simon & Schuster who heard my cry and sent me a copy of this one and it did not disappoint!! Of course this one will catch a little flack because it raises some questions about the religion of Islam and questions the validity of Muhammad and the Koran. I loved how Brad interwove history in with the story and about just how long this war with some of the homicidal, radical Muslims has been going on. This is a mystery, suspense, thriller rolled up in one!
I love authors who have that special "it" that make you keep reading and reading and makes you take an extra 5 minutes on your lunch just so you can finish the chapter. The kind of writing that actually makes you tell your wife, "Hold on baby I'll hook you up after I finish this page!" Yeah, this book is THAT good! This will definitely be one of the best political-thrillers you'll read this year and will, if you aren't already, make you a die-hard fan of Mr. Thor!!
I'm not a big non-fiction reader but I love history. So I really appreciate when an author takes history and makes it fun, interesting, and not so freaking boring! I know authors (including this one) take liberties with history and the re-telling of it, but I can live with that because it just makes me go out and see if what they say is true. Did our former Presidents know about the Muslim invasions BEFORE this country was even a country? Did Adams and Jefferson know something and leave us clues to help us? Did our forefathers know how completely stupid, impotent, and P.C. our leaders would be (have) become?
I say YES to all 3 but you'll have to read this book and do your own research to figure that out. Either way 'The Last Patriot' is one heck of a book and a must read for this summer and seasons to come.
The threat of Islam as a well-done thriller July 16, 2008
Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA)
18 out of 22 found this review helpful
Thriller authors generally need a real world enemy to wrap their story around. Few are like Michael Chrichton who invent everything. No, for most thriller authors, it is the threat of the moment that matters. Nazism and Communism have had their day, but today belongs to radical Islam.
Brad Thor has cranked out several very good thrillers, but "The Last Patriot" is one of his best.
Former Navy SEAL, Secret Service agent and Presidential troubleshooter Scot (with one "t") Harvath is in Paris with his girlfriend Tracy Hastings, who is still recovering from injuries received in her job as a Naval demolitions specialist. Scot observes a car being stolen and another car pulling into the vacated parking space. His intuitive sense of action is aroused and he pulls Tracy away from the cafe where they were sitting. Passing a bookstore, a stranger in a hurry bumps into them and starts crossing the street. Scot senses trouble and covers the stanger with his own body as a car bomb goes off.
Borrowing liberally from Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code", Thor plunges Harvath into a labybrinth of clues, assasins, plots and counter-plots as a search for the prophet Mohammed's rumored last revelation which has the potential to change the nature of Islam.
The action never stops. A former CIA assassin, Matthew Dowd, now a dedicated convert to Islam and a stone-cold killer is murdering his way toward the secret. The President's man is looking for the secret. Soon the CIA and FBI are involved. Thomas Jefferson's 1805 war against the Barbary pirates is invoked as other aspects of Jefferson's wide ranging interests and genius. The plot moves from one bit of violence to another, with nary a thoughtful moment in between. In other words, this a perfectly satisfying thriller, an American flag waver.
Thor's characters have a bit of depth. Scot Harvath's exploits just make you want to stand up and cheer (provided you support the United States and its goals). Thor is particularly aggressive in his views of radical Islam and the poltically correct multiculturalists in the United States and elsewhere who are yielding democracy to a theocracy.
As noted, the plot borrows heavily from "The DaVinci Code" with the protagonist having to piece together bits of a puzzle while the bad guys are trying to kill the good guys. From time to time, Thor asks the reader to accept a jump in logic or an implausible happening, such as hairbreadth escapes. But Thor is a strong enough writer to carry the reader over the occasional chasm.
The ending, however, is on the weak side and a real stretch. I don't know if Thor ran out of time or ideas, but the last few pages weren't nearly as satisfying as those that went before.
Still, for thriller fans, "The Last Patriot" is a wonderfully jingoistic, red, white and blue story, filled with All-American heroes and nasty bad guys. Great fun reading!
Jerry
Thor KNOWS how to write a controversial thriller...and this is IT July 2, 2008
Jeff Edwards (Twin Falls, Idaho)
16 out of 21 found this review helpful
The character of Scot Harvath has been one of my recent favorites in the last 3-4 years since discovering Thor's books, and 'The Last Patriot' virtually cements this bold character into (at least MY version) of great leading Action/Adventure Hero's.
Controversy is nothing new to Brad Thor by any means...however, with that said, I believe he is courting a whole new set of problems, or seriously potential problems with the storyline here. Religion in general is a very touchy subject, but as we have seen over the last decade or so, even fictionalizing specific events in Muslim History can be viewed as MAJOR Blasphemy--the kind that involves life-threatening retaliation. Don't believe me? Anybody remember Salmon Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses'? 'Nuff said. I heard an interview done with Thor on Glenn Beck and I'm not the only one concerned here. I honestly feel that if somewhere, sometime soon if I read about Brad Thor being the target of Terrorists, well, let's just say it won't surprise me (read the book and you'll understand).
The book, though is a hum-dinger of a story. Easily Thor's best-to-date. Like other reviewers, I like when events in history are tied in with current storylines, and I REALLY like it when its done right...and I am happy to say Thor really nails it with this latest installment. Action on top of intrigue firmly attached to a healthy dose of adrenaline mixed with a Titanic-sized load of action and you have an idea of how well constructed 'The Last Patriot' truly is. I have enjoyed these books a lot since I first began them, but this one seriously places the bar at a level that is amazingly high compared to the previous Tales of Scot Harvath--and THEY were great, if that tells you anything.
One thing I enjoy in particular about Harvath is that no matter how death-defying his exploits end up being, I always find myself thinking that were I under similar circumstances, and I had Scot's talent, what Thor describes is pretty much dead-on with how I feel I would act and say--or at least what I'd like to THINK I would act and feel if our roles were reversed--which I am glad they aren't.
For those who are fans of how Cussler takes historical events and weaves a seamless tale of adventure into a modern tale of action, you honestly owe it to yourself to give Brad Thor a try--and while you don't HAVE to start at the beginning to appreciate each book, I personally feel that by starting with 'The Lions of Lucerne' you will get a much better appreciation not only for the character of Scot Harvath, but you will get a ringside seat to Thor's growing talent for storytelling that just gets better with each book...no REALLY.
Kudos to Thor for not just a good addition to this series, but EASILY the best to date by a country mile...and that's saying a LOT.
Another Winner From Brad Thor! July 17, 2008
Melvin Hunt (Cleveland,, Texas United States)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
In the Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat in Mecca Mohammed shares with his devout followers a final revelation. Days afterward he is assassinated.
Thomas Jefferson,U.S. Misister to France is charged with making peace with the Muslim pirates of the Barbary Coast.
Scot Harvath has left the clandestine life. In Paris Harvath saves the intended of a car bomb,Professor Anthony Nichols. Because of his life saving act Harvath becomes party to cracking the true secrets of the Koran. There is proof that the final writings of Mohammed have not been brought to light. If this evidence can be obtained militant Islam can be defeated. But there are powerful forces aligned to stop this search.
Muslim groups have the services of Matthew Dodd who has become a Muslim going by the name pf Majd al-Din. He was a former CIA assassin who was
one of the deadliest. He staged his death and dissapeared. He is now the
enforcement arm of the militant Muslims. Harvath and Nichols are following evidence that could lead them to the needed information that
they are seeking. On every corner they have to do battle with Matthew Dodd. This book is action packed throughout. I found it especially
interesting to learn Thomas Jefferson's history with the Muslims. This is
another page turning book from Brad Thor.
Quick and Enjoyable Read that Refuses to Shy Away from the Truth July 5, 2008
Mark Griffin (Chicago, Illinois)
9 out of 14 found this review helpful
Simply put. THE LAST PATRIOT was a really good thriller. Brad Thor wrote a compelling read that followed the conventions of a solid post 9/11 novel, but he also effectively weaved an interesting historical backdrop into the story unlike anything he has done in his previous novels. Indeed, he did such a good job that it was often difficult to tell where fact diverged into fiction and vice versa.
But the real reason for this review is to comment on Thor's perspective on Islam, both moderate and radical. In my opinion, he is one of only a few fiction writers bold enough to highlight the very real threat that radical Islam presents to Western thought and ideals in general and American interests in particular. As he notes, in an American age where many would rather be politically correct than speak the truth, radical Islam, or Islamism, has found fertile soil in which to plant its roots.
Having just graduated from a Chicago law school, I am all too familiar with the commandment, "Thou shalt not offend at any cost." Ladies and gentlemen, I submit to you, that is absolutely absurd. Capitulation, acquiescence, and compromise will earn America exactly what they earned other countries throughout history: death, suffering, and destruction. Let us be more like Churchill and less like Chamberlain. When one faces an enemy that believes women and children are targets as equal to armed soldiers, those presenting that threat must be exposed and confronted. Si vis pacem para bellum.
It is refreshing to read an author that recognizes the true danger that America faces in this day and age of militant Islam and that is willing to unashamedly put that belief into his writing. Also, it doesn't seem that Thor is trying to be controversial just for the sake of controversy. What he says of radical Islam is a hard truth, and one we will all have to face eventually, whether it is on our terms or theirs. In a year when our presidential election may very well be decided by the PR and spin skills of campaign directors instead of the wisdom of a candidate's platform, at least those who read THE LAST PATRIOT will be reminded of what the real issues are the face our country.
Oh, and the shout-out to James Rollins and his Sigma Force novels was splendid, especially as it came out of nowhere.
Happy reading everyone!
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