Summertime is Brad Thor time

Prolific writer of Scot Harvath thrillers releases ‘Use of Force.’

The striped towels, deck chairs and palm fronds outside Rockefeller Center lent the Today Show set a distinctive summer vibe as Matt Lauer told viewers, “The Fourth of July weekend’s almost here. That means beaches, barbecues and books.” Thriller writer Brad Thor, a regular guest, brandished a copy of his own latest volume, “Use of Force.”

“Didn’t ‘Foreign Agent’ just come out?” Lauer asked.

“That was last summer’s book,” Thor answered.

“Was it really already last summer?” Lauer said, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

It was. And it’s a safe bet the next novel featuring Navy SEAL turned intelligence operative Scot Harvath will arrive like clockwork next summer. Only once in the past 16 years has he not published a single book.

That was in 2010, when he published two.

“I was glued to my desk and got two books out that year,” Thor said in a recent interview at the Manhattan restaurant Oceana. “I suddenly looked and there was my sweet dog, got older, I was like, ‘Wow, this year took a toll on everybody.’” Yet, from his insatiable fans, “the complaint I’m getting is I don’t write fast enough.”

Thor, 47, has a knack not just for churning out books but for thrusting himself into controversies major and minor. Glenn Beck, a big booster, referred to Thor’s novel “The Last Patriot” as “the Da Vinci Code for Islam.” The plot, which centered on a secret involving the Prophet Muhammad, earned Thor death threats as well as accusations of Islamophobia.

Comments he made last summer about removing Donald Trump, then a candidate, from the presidency if he won the election were interpreted in some corners as advocating harm. He prefaced the remarks as “a hypothetical I am going to ask as a thriller writer,” and denies he meant any form of violence.

He pals around with former Navy SEALs and intelligence operatives, even dedicating “Use of Force” to former CIA operations officer Duane R. Clarridge, who died last year. Clarridge ran secret wars for the CIA in Central America, was indicted on charges of lying to Congress in the Iran-Contra scandal and later pardoned.

According to his publisher, Thor has sold nearly 15 million copies of his books worldwide. That would be an absolutely extraordinary number in literary circles. In the world of mysteries, suspense novels and thrillers it means he still has a bit of work ahead of him to make that leap to the level of ubiquity and universal name recognition (and yes, Thor is his real name) of a Dan Brown or John Grisham.

“Use of Force” debuted at No. 2 on the combined print and e-book New York Times best-seller list, behind Grisham’s “Camino Island” but above the latest James Patterson.