My review/endorsement of The Jihad's Messiah by Nick Daniels.

About the book:

In a future when world power has shifted to the Middle East, and the Arab nations have signed a seven-year peace treaty with Israel, a radical Iraqi leader—known as Al-Mahdi, “the Awaited One”—rises to power promising to convert the world to Islam. 

Major General Farid Zadeh is Al-Mahdi’s most loyal follower and the next in line to become the Full Army General of Iraq—until he is falsely accused of being an Israeli spy.

Determined to vindicate himself, Farid flies to Jerusalem to spy on the Israeli military. But before he can return home with the intelligence, the peace treaty is broken and war breaks out between the Arabs and Israel. Now he must run for his life, as both armies consider him their enemy and want him dead.

Help—and perhaps redemption—come from unlikely sources: a stunning Jewish woman and a Christian prisoner. When his faith and his loyalties are tested, Farid must decide which side to take….

His decision could alter the course of Man’s final war.

About the author:

Nick was born in the late 1970s, in a bustling city in South America. He wrote his first short story in third grade about a explorer lost in the Amazon jungle, then discovered Jules Verne during sixth grade and was hooked into fiction for life.

He spent the next few years reading literature classics (mostly Dostoievsky) and contemporary Latin American writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortazar, and Mario Vargas Llosa, plus every book in the library that piqued his interest.

At age fifteen, he decided to write a novel about a woman who loses the ability to love. It remains (thankfully) unpublished.

After graduating from journalism school, Nick moved to the United States to continue his education and write about science and faith issues. He worked as a science writer for several years until he gradually found his way back into fiction. He is the author of the historical mystery The Gentlemen’s Conspiracy.

Nick now lives on an island in the pacific, in what can be described as a writer’s paradise.

Visit his website at NickDanielsBooks.com.

My review:


The Jihad's Messiah reminded me of a Dekker novel I'd read (Blink) in regards to action and pacing, but with an end times twist. This story was easy to follow and at the same time very detailed and intelligently written. Daniels is a gifted writer with an ability to make the reader empathize with anyone...even a radical follower of Islam. I could tell he did a lot of research, too, because the setting felt like the Middle East and the politics felt contemporary even though it was set in the future. 

I love how the author puts you in this main character's mind (first person point of view - present tense) and shows how the examples of others living out their faith can lead to a change of heart. The other characters were written from a third person point of view, but I had no trouble following it. The heart of this story is not about theology or even prophecy fulfilled, per se, but it's about love in action. The author did a great job showing how that over time makes a difference to people who are seeking the truth.

This novel had everything I love in a book. It's engaging, full of action, deals with faith-related issues, and even has a touch of romance. I had a hard time putting The Jihad's Messiah down and would highly recommended to people who love to read stories that contain elements of Middle Eastern culture, Biblical prophecy, and illustrates the practices of various faiths. I hope there is another book coming after this one because I feel like the characters became my friends and I already miss them.


The Jihad's Messiah is published by Risen books and is releasing in Sept 2011. A copy of this book (in galley form) was provided to me by the author for the purpose of reviewing and possibly endorsing the book. As you can see from the review above...I loved it!

Here is the video trailer for the book!