Synopses & Reviews
Seattle, 2040. The Space Needle lies crumpled. Veiled women hurry through the busy streets. Alcohol is outlawed, replaced by Jihad Cola, and mosques dot the skyline. New York and Washington, D.C., are nuclear wastelands. Phoenix is abandoned, Chicago the site of a civil war battle. At the edges of the empire, Islamic and Christian forces fight for control of a very different United States.
Enormous in scope and brilliantly imagined, Prayers for the Assassin promises to be the powerhouse read of the year. Burning with cinematic violence, fiendish betrayal, and global intrigue, Robert Ferrigno's sensational thriller asks: What would happen to America if the terrorists won?
After simultaneous suitcase-nuke attacks destroy New York, Washington, D.C., and Mecca attacks blamed on Israel a civil war breaks out. An uneasy truce leaves the nation divided between an Islamic republic with its capital in Seattle, and the Christian Bible Belt in the old South. In this frightening future there are still Super Bowls and Academy Awards, but calls to Muslim prayer echo in the streets and terror is everywhere. Freedom is controlled by the state, paranoia rules, and rebels plot to regain free will...
One of the most courageous is the beautiful young historian Sarah Dougan, who uncovers shocking evidence that the nuclear attacks might not have been planned by Israel evidence that, if true, will destabilize the nation. When Sarah suddenly goes missing, the security chief of the Islamic republic calls upon Rakkim Epps, her secret lover and a former elite warrior, to find her no matter what the risk.
But as Rakkim searches for Sarah, he is tracked by Darwin, a brilliant psychopathic killer trained in the same secretive unit as Rakkim. To survive, Rakkim must become Darwin's assassin a most forbidding challenge. A bloody, nerve-racking chase takes them through the looking-glass world of the Islamic States of America, and culminates dramatically as Rakkim and Sarah battle to expose the truth to the entire world.
Can the couple outrun Darwin? Who is really behind the nuke attacks? Will Sarah and Rakkim stay alive long enough to deliver the truth? Does a nation divided have a prayer?
Robert Ferrigno's Prayers for the Assassin shows the novelist at the height of his powers, and delivers a masterful, unforgettable read.
Review
"Prayers for the Assassin weakens its ingenuity with clichéd thriller touches. Still, it has enough novelty to attract attention and enough substance to be genuinely frightening." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Review
"Kirkland writer Robert Ferrigno's new book is a provocative and compelling success....[I]t also becomes a springboard for larger issues: questions of religious freedom, lost faith, and tolerance or the lack thereof." Seattle Times
Review
"Ferrigno's writing has always been sharp....But here he's working at an even higher level, with compelling characters, crisp plotting, and tense action and suspense....It is sharp, fascinating and wildly entertaining, cover to cover. If you read just one book this year, let it be this one." Philadelphia Inquirer
Review
"Prayers for the Assassin is Robert Ferrigno's biggest and boldest novel so far, a white-knuckle thriller that I couldn't put down." T. Jefferson Parker, author of The Fallen
Review
"Ferrigno's greatest accomplishment is his evenhandedness with the religion....While he successfully portrays Islam's obvious need for reform particularly regarding life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, not to mention women's rights he does so reverently." Denver Post
Review
"[A]mbitious, ultimately hollow....[Ferrigno] hasn't lavished sufficient attention on character development. This makes the actors in this overly schematic novel little more than stick figures and robs a potentially illuminating entertainment of deeper resonance." Boston Globe
Review
"[A] bold imaginative leap....By the end, Ferrigno hasn't said nearly as much as he could about the country in which we live or the country it might become. Instead of exploring the dynamics of holy wars and culture wars, Ferrigno reduces such provocative topics to pulp." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Ferrigno deserves props for his imaginative portrayal of a futuristic America....But his new novel lacks his usual edge and his signature dialogue." Booklist
Review
"Prayers for the Assassin is one of those rare books that both educates and entertains. It will make you stop and question everything you take for granted. I literally couldn't put it down." Vince Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Consent to Kill
Synopsis
SEATTLE, 2040. The Space Needle lies crumpled. Veiled women hurry through the busy streets. Alcohol is outlawed, replaced by Jihad Cola, and mosques dot the skyline. New York and Washington, D.C., are nuclear wastelands. Phoenix is abandoned, Chicago the site of a civil war battle. At the edges of the empire, Islamic and Christian forces fight for control of a very different United States.
Enormous in scope and brilliantly imagined, Prayers for the Assassin promises to be the powerhouse read of the year. Burning with cinematic violence, fiendish betrayal, and global intrigue, Robert Ferrigno's sensational thriller asks: What would happen to America if the terrorists won?
After simultaneous suitcase-nuke attacks destroy New York, Washington, D.C., and Mecca -- attacks blamed on Israel -- a civil war breaks out. An uneasy truce leaves the nation divided between an Islamic republic with its capital in Seattle, and the Christian Bible Belt in the old South. In this frightening future there are still Super Bowls and Academy Awards, but calls to Muslim prayer echo in the streets and terror is everywhere. Freedom is controlled by the state, paranoia rules, and rebels plot to regain free will...
One of the most courageous is the beautiful young historian Sarah Dougan, who uncovers shocking evidence that the nuclear attacks might not have been planned by Israel, evidence that, if true, will destabilize the nation. When Sarah suddenly goes missing, the security chief of the Islamic republic calls upon Rakkim Epps, her secret lover and a former elite warrior, to find her -- no matter what the risk.
But as Rakkim searches for Sarah, he is tracked by Darwin, a brilliant psychopathic killer trained in the same secretive unit as Rakkim. To survive, Rakkim must become Darwin's assassin -- a most forbidding challenge. A bloody, nerve-racking chase takes them through the looking-glass world of the Islamic States of America, and culminates dramatically as Rakkim and Sarah battle to expose the truth to the entire world.
Can the couple outrun Darwin? Who is really behind the nuke attacks? Will Sarah and Rakkim stay alive long enough to deliver the truth? Does a nation divided have a prayer?
Robert Ferrigno's Prayers for the Assassin shows the novelist at the height of his powers, and delivers a masterful, unforgettable read.
About the Author
Robert Ferrigno has been a full-time gambler, college student, punk-rock columnist, and bestselling novelist. He is the author of nine novels, including The Wake-Up, Scavenger Hunt, and The Horse Latitudes. He lives in Washington State.