PRAYERS FOR THE ASSASSIN by Robert Ferrigno November 2, 2006
From Bookmarks Magazine
"Prayers" marks a departure for Ferrigno, whose previous books focused on life in contemporary Southern California. In Ferrigno's neo-Orwellian world, Mount Rushmore has disappeared, LAX has become Bin Laden International, and midday prayers interrupt the Super Bowl. Critics expressed different ideas about the plot, using words such as "preposterous," "credible," and even "ordinary" to describe it. There's no doubt, however, that Ferrigno raises important questions about religious freedom while handling the subject of Islamic faith with great insight and evenhandedness. If the plot sometimes overwhelms character development, he still allows his creations to air their own opinions without moralizing. In sum: a fast-paced thriller with timely appeal.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
This review summarized this story quite well without giving anything away. I found it a little hard to buy into most Americans converting to Islam when Israeli forces supposedly wipe out NYC and DC with nuclear bombs. But you can set that aside and just read the book for the story, which I really enjoyed. It's a futuristic, intriguing thriller set in the year 2040. The hero, Rakkim, is a ex-Fedayeen soldier who sets out to rescue his girlfriend from unknown dangers. Soon we realize who the danger is, and you meet Darwin, the assassin. (What kind of a name is Darwin for a villain? One character says it's appropriate because of that other great 20th century villain named Darwin.) Anyway, Darwin is one great villain, as evil as they come, a psycopath and ego-maniac, but still a great villain. I enjoyed the book and found it hard to put down. It was interesting to read on Amazon that the book's sales were greatly influenced by bloggers: political, military, religious, no mention of book bloggers. The author also posted notes on Amazon and, now I find that this is part of a trilogy. I enjoyed reading his comments and may make time to read other Ferrigno books. An extra bonus for this book was that I found it at B & N for $3.00. I bought it because of the great map showing the new configuaration of the former United States. Most of the county is called the Islamic Republic, while the Southeast is the Bible Belt. So the book has it all, a great map, intrigue, conspiracy, violence, suspense, and romance. What more could you ask for?
Rating: 4.25
"Prayers" marks a departure for Ferrigno, whose previous books focused on life in contemporary Southern California. In Ferrigno's neo-Orwellian world, Mount Rushmore has disappeared, LAX has become Bin Laden International, and midday prayers interrupt the Super Bowl. Critics expressed different ideas about the plot, using words such as "preposterous," "credible," and even "ordinary" to describe it. There's no doubt, however, that Ferrigno raises important questions about religious freedom while handling the subject of Islamic faith with great insight and evenhandedness. If the plot sometimes overwhelms character development, he still allows his creations to air their own opinions without moralizing. In sum: a fast-paced thriller with timely appeal.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
This review summarized this story quite well without giving anything away. I found it a little hard to buy into most Americans converting to Islam when Israeli forces supposedly wipe out NYC and DC with nuclear bombs. But you can set that aside and just read the book for the story, which I really enjoyed. It's a futuristic, intriguing thriller set in the year 2040. The hero, Rakkim, is a ex-Fedayeen soldier who sets out to rescue his girlfriend from unknown dangers. Soon we realize who the danger is, and you meet Darwin, the assassin. (What kind of a name is Darwin for a villain? One character says it's appropriate because of that other great 20th century villain named Darwin.) Anyway, Darwin is one great villain, as evil as they come, a psycopath and ego-maniac, but still a great villain. I enjoyed the book and found it hard to put down. It was interesting to read on Amazon that the book's sales were greatly influenced by bloggers: political, military, religious, no mention of book bloggers. The author also posted notes on Amazon and, now I find that this is part of a trilogy. I enjoyed reading his comments and may make time to read other Ferrigno books. An extra bonus for this book was that I found it at B & N for $3.00. I bought it because of the great map showing the new configuaration of the former United States. Most of the county is called the Islamic Republic, while the Southeast is the Bible Belt. So the book has it all, a great map, intrigue, conspiracy, violence, suspense, and romance. What more could you ask for?
Rating: 4.25
5 Comments:
Joy said...
Wow! You are cruising through the alphabet!!! Glad to see you are reading some books that you enjoy. That's always a good thing. :)
booklogged said...
With that high of a rating, I better add this one to my list. Oh, my heck! This is a good review - you sold me on the book. May I borrow it someday?
Anonymous said...
May I BORROW it? Hey cheapie, it's now out in paperback and worth every penny. trust me, i wrote it.Robert Ferrignowww.prayersfortheassassin.com
Framed said...
Joy, good to hear from you again. I'm spending way too much time reading, but I am enjoying it a lot.Book, sure you can borrow, but apparently the author would prefer tht you buy your own. Anonymous, maybe if you can find yourself at the next Great Salt Lake Book Festival, we'll all buy your books and get your autograph.Thanks for visiting. I'm looking forward to the next two books.
Anonymous said...
I hope you realize I was kidding. Doubt I'll be at the Book Festival, I'm holed up with an April 1st 2007 deadline to deliver the manuscript for the next one. I do appreciate your interest in my work.bestRobert
Joy said...
Wow! You are cruising through the alphabet!!! Glad to see you are reading some books that you enjoy. That's always a good thing. :)
booklogged said...
With that high of a rating, I better add this one to my list. Oh, my heck! This is a good review - you sold me on the book. May I borrow it someday?
Anonymous said...
May I BORROW it? Hey cheapie, it's now out in paperback and worth every penny. trust me, i wrote it.Robert Ferrignowww.prayersfortheassassin.com
Framed said...
Joy, good to hear from you again. I'm spending way too much time reading, but I am enjoying it a lot.Book, sure you can borrow, but apparently the author would prefer tht you buy your own. Anonymous, maybe if you can find yourself at the next Great Salt Lake Book Festival, we'll all buy your books and get your autograph.Thanks for visiting. I'm looking forward to the next two books.
Anonymous said...
I hope you realize I was kidding. Doubt I'll be at the Book Festival, I'm holed up with an April 1st 2007 deadline to deliver the manuscript for the next one. I do appreciate your interest in my work.bestRobert
posted by Framed @ 10:40 AM
1 Comments:
you're right, i forgot to thank book bloggers, who were very supportive. my apologies. you might have mentioned that it's just come out in a mass-market paperback edition from Pocket Books and includes two teaser chapters from the next installment.
best
Robert
Post a Comment
<< Home