Thoughts on Golden Dawn.

Amazon 2 Star Review

"Painting the American president Barack Obama as the Great Deceiver had been one of Mesbah Yavari's personal favorite campaigns. It wasn't hard to challenge a man whose rhetoric was of hope and peace and change, but whose actions amplified war and dishonesty."

And so the end of time begins...

Michael Shea, nephew to Sean O'Shaughnessy, is a journalist on a mission to bring down his uncle, a vengeful terrorist, member of the IRA, master bomb maker, who cares nothing of which side he represents.

Discovering Sean in conversation with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Talib, over obtaining and using nuclear weapons, Shea is discovered by the SAVAMA, an Iranian version of the FBI. After managing his escape, Shea becomes the obsession of Zhubin, member of the SAVAMA and one who is not to be crossed. In his escape, Shea meets up with Neda, a beautiful young woman who is a member of the Golden Dawn, an off shoot of the Zoroastrians, an ancient religion that dates back over eight thousand years.

It is the Zoroastrians who brought the world the belief of good versus evil, and the two are in constant war on the material plane. They also subscribe to a redeemer who will save mankind. The idea is that the Zoroastrians created the base for Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to grow and it is their contention that when the end time comes, both Jesus, the Judaic redeemer, and the Mahdi (Islamic redeemer) will rule together as one.

What no one understands outside of the Zoroastrians is that the Mahdi, Jesus, and the as-yet-unknown Jewish redeemer are one and the same person. And he is alive, today.

Golden Dawn has/had the potential to be a block-buster, but it falls short. The constant head-hopping drove me nuts, the short chapters while great in some formats, don't work. The writing is choppy and there are far too many loose ends. To top it all off, the work, while extremely interesting, is almost too broken up to read.

If the end times interest you then you may find some enjoyment in the book. I know that if there is a sequel I will read it, not expecting to enjoy it, just for the perspective it offers.

Otherwise, I'm sorry to say, just pass the novel by.

****

I received Golden Dawn as an unedited proof from Amazon and while I'm not yet done with the book it has me thinking some not very good thoughts.

In Golden Dawn, Barack Obama is the great deceiver, the one who promises peace and brings war. Mahmoud Talib, president of Iran, wearer of the signature jacket, is the Mahdi who will rule with Isa (Jesus) over the world when the end comes.

The author is New York Times Best Seller, Thomas Kostigen, but the novel reads like the rantings of an English as a second language student. And if Iran is always screaming about us being the Great Satan, I've got problems with how they treat little boys in Iran. In any case, I will finish the book and do a proper review. Unless the ending is 5 stars, I give this novel a 2.5 for effort.

At best, the novel got me thinking about Zoroastrians, a belief system I hadn't thought of for years. The Zoroastrians are a religious sect that still exist today in India. Their religion (some believe) dates back over eight thousand years and it is from them, Christians, Islamists, etc., incorporate the great war between good and evil and the coming of a messiah to save the world. Zoroastrians believe that the end will come with molten metal and God will rule the Earth after the time of cleansing ends. I say God because Zoroastrians believe there is one God and that He belongs to all religions, manifesting Himself to each individual, religion, etc., in His/Her own way.

In fact, you cannot become a Zoroastrian, you must be born one. It is believed that if you are born into a religion it is to that one you owe allegiance, as it is the one God picked for you. In many ways, Zoroastrians are the ones who brought us equality, believing that all men (and women) are one.

The people who belong to Zoroastrians are Aryans. Which instead of meaning perfect Germanic tribe, just means man of European descent. Some claim the Zoroastrians came from the Arctic and had to migrate lower when the ice age commenced.
 
All that said, most people don't know about the 12th Imam or the Mahdi of Islam. The Mahdi is the Islamist version of Jesus. In fact, in the Koran, as I said before, Jesus and the Mahdi will rule together. (Comparative religion can be a tough/complicated subject.) 

Which leads to me a conversation I had with my son last night.

"Hey, I'm reading this book and it talks about Zoroastrians. Haven't thought of them in years! Do you remember..."

He interrupts, "Did you know that when Pope Benedict XVI's dies, the next pope will be the last? It's all in the papal prophecy."

"We're talking Zoroastrian here. Not Catholicism." As you can see, religion is a hot topic in our family. It is a fascinating subject for study and for conversation.

"Mom. Did you know that there is only one more pope before the end times?"

"Uh, no. Must of missed that one." I started thinking, papal prophecy, Prophecy of the Popes! "Yeah, I remember!" I paused, thinking. It had been a long time, too. "Well, let's hope he lives a charmed life."

The following day:

"Hi, Mom. Thought I'd stop in and say hi."

Eyes squinted, staring hard at the computer, I answer, "Um, yeah."

"Saw the news, huh?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Pope resigned."

"Um, yeah."

"Watcha reading?"

"Prophecy of the Popes."

In my constant search for new material to right about, I often run into things I like to call coincidence. Only, they're not always coincidence. If you remember my blog about quantum mechanics you know that the observer is directly linked to that which is observed and can even change the action/reaction of the observed object. Surely, if that is true about inanimate objects, can the same be said for thoughts?

Me thinks I'm spending too much time in apocalyptic theory. T'would be best to go eat some chocolate chip cookies before I scare myself to death.

(((hugs)))

Louann

---