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. ( )

The Caliphate, by Jack Stewart, is almost as fantastic as Jack’s bio at the back of the book. Let’s quote here:

“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 to disassemble and reassemble a Kalashnikov. His MBA is from Harvard University and his Doctorate from Oxford. At night he sings Karaoke while sipping very dirty martinis.”

Now, that could turn into a full-length biography I’d LOVE to read!

Back to the book at hand… Trent Lambert is a currency trader and wheeler dealer. His last coup made his Fund hundreds of millions. He’s good at what he does.

He’s not so good at relationships. So when his son is kidnapped to manipulate him into triggering some more fund revaluations, he not only has to figure out how to deal with the bad guys, he’s got to rebuild relationships that he is just now realizing are important.

And the plot keeps growing larger and larger and far more complicated than it first appears. There is so much going on that I’m having trouble keeping track of it all. Reading the book is kind of like drinking a Monster; I feel wired and have difficulty focusing on what I’m reading at that second. But everything comes together in the end…

I love the international flavor of the book. Little anecdotes, like the description of a painting in Prince al-Yazid’s office: “two women, one wore the traditional Muslim dress of niqab and abaya, only her eyes showed, deep thoughtful brown eyes that were interested while demure. The second woman was unveiled, Western, but wearing the large, dark-tinted sunglasses, which were currently in vogue.” Or the antics of Untung the orangutan. Lots of good stuff hidden in all the drama. And great character development… ( )

This is an interesting book but may be better for someone who wants story along with great detail on how things in it work. I had trouble trying to understand how the currencies worked and then trying to get back to the storyline.

This doesn't relate to the story but the actual book. The cover of the book is made of a material like cellophane which wraps around the actual book. While I was reading the book it started to peel off and by the time I finished reading I had to peel the whole thing off cause it was so annoying. ( )

Pretty entertaining, although I was more interested in the stories of the secondary characters rather than the main character, Trent. He just wasn't that likable even though he ended up sacrificing himself to save the day, especially since others died cleaning up his mess as well. I was really intrigued by Minangkabau, the matriarchal form of Islam described in the book, and how it clashed with other forms of Islam practiced in Indonesia. ( )