Scimitar's Edge
Scimitar’s Edge
By: Marvin Olasky
ISBN 0-8054-4183-2
Broadman & Holman
Review by: Mike Furches
I recently finished reading Scimitar’s Edge by World Magazine editor Marvin Olasky. This Middle Eastern thriller is written with an insight into Islamic thought and tradition not often tackled by contemporary writers, certainly not writers who are concerned about being Politically Correct. Olasky, takes his hard hitting approach used in World Magazine into a world of political and religious zealotry not many consider when looking at the contemporary world we live in.
I should note that I read this book and saw the movie United Flight 93 during the same time period. It is with the refreshment of memories related to September 11, 2001 from watching the movie that this book caused me to think in ways I hadn’t contemplated, or for that matter, even desired.
The story of Scimitar’s Edge centers around former college roommates Hal Bogikian, and Malcolm Edwards, both who are atheists who despite their disagreements on most every subject, decide to take a transatlantic trip to Turkey alongside Malcolm’s aunt Phoebe du Pont a wealthy Christian widow and her beautiful assistant, Sally Northaway. While on this trip, the four become targets of a terrorists kidnapping. What transpires is a delving into the Islamic terrorists mind and reasoning as presented by author Olasky.
I have to be honest, what transpires is not an enjoyable story. Olasky doesn’t take the typical perspective in Scimitar’s Edge, unfortunately, he takes an all too realistic approach which helps drive home the horror, and conflict that currently exists in our world. As I was reminded while watching United Flight 93, Olasky presents a story where we have no easy answers to the world’s problems. I think that is part of his intent. He could tell a beautiful story, with a wonderful conclusion but that wouldn’t represent the real world we live in or, the realistic difficulty in trying to understand the minds of terrorists.
While there are characters and components of Scimitars Edge that I really liked, I didn’t find this an enjoyable read. Truth be told, I wish there had been more character and story development. I wanted to know more about the mind of the Islamic Terrorists, as well as the conflicts and inner thoughts of the primary characters of the book. If anything I think the book focused on to many sub plots and thus the story itself was not as easy of a read as I would have anticipated or it could have been.
Those things being said, it does not mean I wouldn’t recommend the book. I would strongly recommend it, especially to those who think the solutions to the issues between Islamic thought and the West are easily dealt with. The truth is, there is much disagreement between the religious thoughts, and the history between the two worlds. Scimitar’s Edge does as good a job at presenting that conflict as anything I have read in recent years.
Does Olasky have a hit novel on his hands? The June release of the book will answer that, and while I think the book will do well, I also believe that readers will have some of the same issues I did, not just from a storytelling perspective, but from a thought provoking, confused as ever perspective regarding the political issues that exist.
On a scale of 1 – 10 for a thought provoking story, minus the four primary characters and Turkish Police Officer I’ll give a compelling and interesting 5.
By: Marvin Olasky
ISBN 0-8054-4183-2
Broadman & Holman
Review by: Mike Furches
I recently finished reading Scimitar’s Edge by World Magazine editor Marvin Olasky. This Middle Eastern thriller is written with an insight into Islamic thought and tradition not often tackled by contemporary writers, certainly not writers who are concerned about being Politically Correct. Olasky, takes his hard hitting approach used in World Magazine into a world of political and religious zealotry not many consider when looking at the contemporary world we live in.
I should note that I read this book and saw the movie United Flight 93 during the same time period. It is with the refreshment of memories related to September 11, 2001 from watching the movie that this book caused me to think in ways I hadn’t contemplated, or for that matter, even desired.
The story of Scimitar’s Edge centers around former college roommates Hal Bogikian, and Malcolm Edwards, both who are atheists who despite their disagreements on most every subject, decide to take a transatlantic trip to Turkey alongside Malcolm’s aunt Phoebe du Pont a wealthy Christian widow and her beautiful assistant, Sally Northaway. While on this trip, the four become targets of a terrorists kidnapping. What transpires is a delving into the Islamic terrorists mind and reasoning as presented by author Olasky.
I have to be honest, what transpires is not an enjoyable story. Olasky doesn’t take the typical perspective in Scimitar’s Edge, unfortunately, he takes an all too realistic approach which helps drive home the horror, and conflict that currently exists in our world. As I was reminded while watching United Flight 93, Olasky presents a story where we have no easy answers to the world’s problems. I think that is part of his intent. He could tell a beautiful story, with a wonderful conclusion but that wouldn’t represent the real world we live in or, the realistic difficulty in trying to understand the minds of terrorists.
While there are characters and components of Scimitars Edge that I really liked, I didn’t find this an enjoyable read. Truth be told, I wish there had been more character and story development. I wanted to know more about the mind of the Islamic Terrorists, as well as the conflicts and inner thoughts of the primary characters of the book. If anything I think the book focused on to many sub plots and thus the story itself was not as easy of a read as I would have anticipated or it could have been.
Those things being said, it does not mean I wouldn’t recommend the book. I would strongly recommend it, especially to those who think the solutions to the issues between Islamic thought and the West are easily dealt with. The truth is, there is much disagreement between the religious thoughts, and the history between the two worlds. Scimitar’s Edge does as good a job at presenting that conflict as anything I have read in recent years.
Does Olasky have a hit novel on his hands? The June release of the book will answer that, and while I think the book will do well, I also believe that readers will have some of the same issues I did, not just from a storytelling perspective, but from a thought provoking, confused as ever perspective regarding the political issues that exist.
On a scale of 1 – 10 for a thought provoking story, minus the four primary characters and Turkish Police Officer I’ll give a compelling and interesting 5.
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