Jack Stewart (1)

Trent Lambert was determined to return his fund to profitability after suffering losses as a result of the recession. In a bold move to ensure that the Rupiah is depreciated, he arranges for an attack on an oil tanker near the Malacca Strait. The Rupiah plummets making Mr. Lambert the world's newest billionaire.

The Jemaah Islamiyah, the group responsible for the Bali bombings, had their assets denominated in the Rupiah. As a result, Trent's son is kidnapped. They demand that he appreciate the South East Asian currencies within one week or they will kill his son. In order to pull this off, Trent plans to destroy the U.S. dollar and also make a fortune in the process.

The Caliphate is part high finance thriller and part super spy novel. There is plenty of action to satisfy the fast paced thriller reader. But there is also quite a bit of interesting information about the world's economies. I learned quite a bit from reading this novel, even though, I have to admit that I do not quite understand everything that was presented still. The plot is complex and keeps you on your toes following along.

The supporting characters are rich and very enjoyable. However, I found myself not liking the main character. That is not to say that I did not enjoy the character, just that I found myself not able to cheer for him all the time. He is pompous and very self serving. I thought it refreshing to have a main character with flaws and not the typical all time hero. Trent does redeem himself in the end, and that does provide closure.

I enjoyed this book. It does have a fair amount of action but is not the type of book you fly through in one setting. There is quite a bit of substance to chew through. This is another book that had me going off to Wikipedia in order to look up topics I read about. That is always a good thing in my mind.

About the Author:
The author information at the back of the book was so interesting I thought I would share it with you:

Jack Stewart is a treasure hunter, a mountaineer, and a gun for hire. When not writing his next adventure, this father of twelve spends his days on the beaches of Thailand trading an eight figure fortune and helping orphaned children. Jack is the only South African national ever to win both summer and winter Olympic medals. Jack holds the world record for the time disassemble and reassemble a Kalishnakov. His MBA is from Harvard University and his Doctorate from Oxford. At night he sings Karaoke while sipping very dirty martinis.… (meer)