What's WRONG with Brad Thor ?

Brad Thor is a New York Times Best-selling author, TV personality and a former employee of the Homeland Security Department, which was set up soon after the 2001 attacks. His novels have unparalleled action scenes, fast paced plot and exotic locations, and I buy them every time I see them on the stands. So why is it that I'm writing this acerbic post aimed at Brad Thor ? For these reasons :

1. Religion

Working for the Homeland Security Department has apparently desensitized Thor to religious sentiments and instilled a bigot in him. He makes no attempt to veil his contempt for the religion and through his character, reveals the author's true disdain. One thing that makes his books so fun (I've read two of them) is that they almost ALWAYS have some West Asian theme in it, if not in the milieu, in the characters.

But while there is the customary good-Muslim character (at least one) in every novel, Thor simply doesn't know when to bite his tongue. Agreed, he can write historical fiction about the Prophet Muhammad, that's just what Dan Brown did, but the impunity with which he attacks Islam is deplorable. He makes some particularly inflammatory comments about Islam in his 2009 book The Apostle. Even in the author's interview on his publisher's website, he cannot keep his tongue still. While his spin on history won Best Thriller of the Year, something which is flaunted on the front page of his website, it was also banned in Saudi Arabia and elicited threats on his life, causing him to relocate.

2. Female characters

In an interview, Thor said his greatest flaw was that he "grab checks way too quickly." If you ask me, it's that he simply can't stop exalting women. His idea of incorporating "strong female" characters in his prose is to mention cheap myths like "b**s are inversely proportional to intelligence" (yes, he says the bo-word) and counters it with increasingly boring statements like the 'woman is more intelligent than four men put together' and the kind.

Also, it's his habit to make EVERY woman in his novel attractive, strong-willed and that they work in a male-dominated environment. He uses these words all the time. There isn't a single ugly female character. All are attractive. And now, it appears, his upcoming novel, The Athena, is about a females-only spec-ops squad. Some would say his wife is a lucky woman, but I think he is just trying to ingratiate female readers.

Afterword : Just because this is a critical post of Thor doesn't mean I condone the threats on him. His books are generally very much worth your money (though not The Apostle, look out for a review). Glowing testimonies for his writing have come from every quarter including Dan Brown, who called him as "current as tomorrow's headlines".

Links

* Brad Thor.com