The Mahdi

{{Short description|1981 novel by Philip Nicholson, under the pen name A. J. Quinnell}}

{{about|the fiction novel|other uses of the word Mahdi|Mahdi (disambiguation)}}

{{infobox book |

| name = The Mahdi

| title_orig =

| translator =

| image = File:TheMahdi.jpg

| caption = First US edition

| author = Philip Nicholson,
writing as A. J. Quinnell

| cover_artist =

| country = United States

| language = English

| series =

| genre = Thriller

| publisher = Macmillan (UK)
William Morrow & Co (US)

| release_date = 1981 (UK)
1982 (US)

| media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)

| pages = 397 pgs (Hardcover)

| isbn = 0688006469

| oclc = 9736123

| preceded_by =

| followed_by =

}}

The Mahdi is a 1981 thriller novel by Philip Nicholson, writing as A. J. Quinnell.{{cite book|last=Simon|first=Reeva|title=The Middle East in Crime Fiction: Mysteries, Spy Novels and Thrillers from 1916 to the 1980s|year=1989|publisher=Lilian Barber Pr|isbn=0936508205|pages=61, 64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8SkgAQAAIAAJ&q=%22The+Mahdi%22+quinnell}}{{cite news|last=WILLIAMS|first=NICK B|title=Bloody Sunday|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/655661252.html?dids=655661252:655661252&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+27%2C+1981&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Bloody+Sunday&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131143734/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/655661252.html?dids=655661252:655661252&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+27,+1981&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Bloody+Sunday&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|accessdate=4 November 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=Dec 27, 1981}} The book was published in 1981 by Macmillan in the UK then in January 1982 by William Morrow & Co in the US and deals with political power struggles over a presumed Muslim prophet.{{cite book|last=Simon|first=Reeva|title=Spies and Holy Wars: The Middle East in 20th-Century Crime Fiction|year=2010|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0292723009|pages=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XmvSQXVOW_sC&q=%22The+Mahdi%22+&pg=PA47}}{{cite book|last=Labib|first=Tahar|title=Imagining the Arab other|year=2007|publisher=I. B. Tauris|isbn=978-1845113841|pages=261–273|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0GFtAAAAMAAJ&q=%22The+Mahdi%22+quinnell}}

Synopsis

The Mahdi follows several characters as they attempt to find a way to negate the threat of Muslim fundamentalism to the Western World's oil supply. Pritchard, a slick triple agent, has been tapped to help solve the problem. He proposes that they find the Mahdi, a prophet that has been prophesied to follow Muhammad, and attempt to control him, as control over the Mahdi would give them control over the Muslim world.

Reception

Reception to The Mahdi was mixed,{{cite web|title=Review: The Mahdi|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a-j-quinnell/the-mahdi/|publisher=Kirkus Reviews|accessdate=4 November 2012}} with many reviewers criticizing the book's implausibility.{{cite news|last=BROYARD|first=ANATOLE|title=Books of The Times; No Escape|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/30/books/books-of-the-times-no-escape.html|accessdate=4 November 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=January 30, 1982}} The New York Times gave The Mahdi an overall positive review, calling the plot "elegant" while stating that the lack of a defined villain makes it seem as if there were "less at stake here than there ought to be".{{cite news|last=Jakab|first=Elizabeth|title=FOREIGN AFFAIRS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/07/books/foreign-affairs.html|work=New York Times|date=7 February 1982 |accessdate=4 November 2012}}

References

Category:American thriller novels

Category:Macmillan Publishers books

Category:1981 American novels