Prayers for the Assissin, is a word, chilling. Here's the official summary:

Enormous in scope and vividly imagined, this sensational thriller set in a futuristic America delivers a powerhouse read filled with violence, betrayal, and intrigue.

Not just high-concept, but highly entertaining, Prayers for the Assassin is set thirty-five years from now, after a civil war in which most of the United States has become a moderate Islamic republic and the Bible Belt has broken away to become a Christian nation. This political shift was precipitated by simultaneous suitcase-nuke detonations in New York, Washington, D.C. and Mecca, a sneak attack blamed on Israel, known as the Zionist Betrayal. Within this tense world, the beautiful and intrepid young historian Sarah Dougan uncovers shocking evidence that he Zionist Betrayal was not linked to Israel at all, but was a plot carried out by a messianic a radical Muslim billionaire now poised ot overtake the entire nation.

So there you go. Not exaclty easy to explain. It is certainly not an impossible future, as Ferringo has imagined it:

I certainly hope I'm writing fiction, rather than prophecy, but I think the possibility of such events transpiring only adds to the power of the book. I make it clear in the book that the U.S. was never defeated militarily, but bled white by a conflict without end, weakened internally by dissent, economic malaise, and a consumer culture hostile to people's genuine thirst for meaning in their lives.

This is not far off from what some are predicting for Europe. The West is not replacing itself, and the Muslim hordes could move in and conquer Europe by outbreeding.

From the main villian:

"While the West wallowed in greed and vice and vanity...I prayed. And paid the politicians. When the West banished religion...I prayed. And paid the ex-diplomats and journalists, people for whom everything has a price....The nuclear attack merely toppled a rotten tree."

This is really the mindset we're up against in the Global War On Terror.

In any case, Prayers for the Assassin is an excellent thriller, and the characters are fairly vivid. According to the Amazon page, it is now part one of a trilogy. It makes a very good read, fats paced and chilling. Highly recommended.

Paperback release is October 31.

Posted by Ryan S. on Sunday, August 27, 2006 at 4:55 PM | Permalink |