Review of Khanjar

[Precious Amarachi Nzeakor]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Khanjar" by Bob O'Brien.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Nasir Shehadah is an engineer from Palestine who sets out for Columbia University in the United States of America for a remarkable cause. Faced with the daunting task of providing clean water to millions of people who are fast becoming a minority in their land, he must disguise his genuine interest from the western world until he has enough support. As a man of intelligence and wit, he devises a plan from the mid-eastern world of Palestine to travel and fight for a better cause, not with bombs, bullets, or guns, but by educating the right people on the plight of a helpless nation. Although he knows that he is fighting on the losing side, he will preserve himself on this journey of liberation. How far will Nasir go to achieve his goal? Will he sacrifice himself in a foreign land as the ultimate demonstration of loyalty and patriotism to his country?

Khanjar by Bob O'Brien is a mixture of love, betrayal, patriotism, greed, and much more. With all his dexterity, the author is able to weave most human relationships into a few characters. The book started at a high pace, with eventful happenings at every turn of the way; at no point was I bored for lack of action or imagination. The description of the main character was so varied. Constantly swaying between protagonist and antagonist, the reader will be left wondering whether to label him as a protagonist or antagonist at various points.

The other characters were also invested in the story, and although there were a lot of them, they all had a proper introduction and were appropriately developed. The book also did justice to the treatment of countries regarded as minorities in the modern world, the politics of more dominant world nations, and the arrant negligence towards the plight of people of color. All of these points are almost unrivaled in terms of delivery.

I had so much fun reading this book that I almost don't have any negative comments about the writing or delivery, except that it was noticeable how the paragraph division was poorly done, as some paragraphs were too short and could have been merged to form more extensive chapters.

Overall, I would rate the book 5 out of 5 stars, as the editing was exceptionally well done with no apparent errors. The book was worth every minute spent reading, and the negatives were not enough to deduct even half a star. I recommend the book to fans of sci-fi, action, and war-related writings.

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Khanjar
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[Amy Luman]

You never hear of someone from the Middle East who comes to America with a hidden agenda who is not a terrorist. Nasir is certainly in the minority. I think this is a book that I would like to read.

[Monale Bariyima Ueh]

I like the themes of patriotism and helping others. The world we live in today is very self centered. People tend to focus on what will be beneficial to themselves. It is refreshing to see a character seeking the good for others even at a great price for himself.

[G D H]

I am suddenly reminded of Minerva University and the good it does in helping young people do more for their countries of origin than the governments of those countries ever did for them. “Khanjar” is a curiously titled book, and its author does not appear to be Palestinian, at least, judging from his name—or pen name as the case may be. I wonder if Nasir is actually in the category of beloved antagonists, for if so, then “antihero” is the term.”

[Shedrack A]

This seems like a book that has a lot going on, keeping the readers engrossed. I do wonder if Nasir succeeds in his goals.

[Umesh Bhatt]

This one seems to be an interesting book with a interesting theme where the main character has gone to a foreign country to raise help for his countrymen.
Thanks for a nice review.