Prayers for the Assassin

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**Prayers for the Assassin**

Author	Robert Ferrigno
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Political, Thriller, Science fiction novel
Publisher	Scribner
Released	February 2006
Media Type	Print (Hardcover)
ISBN	ISBN

Prayers for the Assassin is a political thriller, and a work of speculative fiction, written by American crime writer Robert Ferrigno. The story is set in 2040, after economic strife and a pair of nuclear attacks have led to civil war, causing the United States to split into two hostile and competing nations: one a moderate Islamic republic with its capital in Seattle, the other a breakaway Christian Bible Belt built on the ashes of the former Confederacy and with its capital in Atlanta.

The hardcover edition of Prayers for the Assassin was published in the United States in February 2006 by Scribner.

1 Plot summary
2 Marketing
3 Reviews
4 External links

[edit] Plot summary

The bulk of the plot takes place in the new Islamic Republic, the majority of whose inhabitants have converted to Islam. The nation's culture is a fusion of traditional American and Islamic: the Super Bowl is still played, but the participants break at halftime for afternoon prayers.

As the story opens, the country is facing a crisis, with competing political and religious factions threatening to destroy the fragile peace that exists within the Islamic States of America. At the same time, behind the scenes, a messianic figure known as the Wise Old One contrives to seize power for himself, and fulfill the ancient prophesy of the restoration of the Caliphate.

The story's protagonist is Rakkim Epps, a Fedayeen warrior who is devoted to his cause, even if he has lost his faith. Epps must risk everything to save the life of Sarah Dougan, the young historian he loves.

[edit] Marketing

The Denver Post describes the aggressive marketing campaign behind the book.[1] Publisher Scribner, a CBS Corp. subsidiary, hired interactive design firm Level 10 to promote the book online through three websites.

The article notes: "With Prayers campaign of so-called "viral marketing" to generate buzz, instead of traditional advertising venues, could this be a new world order in the way books are sold?"[2]

Advance copies of the book were sent to webloggers.

[edit] Reviews

"It would be easy for such a novel to veer off into the absurd or the preposterous, or simply degenerate into silliness. Prayers for the Assassin never does. It is sharp, fascinating and wildly entertaining, cover to cover. If you read just one book this year, let it be this one." The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Every once in a while a novel is so dazzling and audacious that it seizes you by the scruff of the neck, making you sit up and take notice. Robert Ferrigno's new political thriller, Prayers for the Assassin is one." Chicago Sun-Times
"Ferrigno can't be bothered to get the basics of nuclear weaponry right, let alone do justice to the implications of his main conceit. He acknowledges as sources six Islamic websites, one book and two articles, and if this was the extent of his research it's hardly surprising that the result is a pile of lamentable clichés and half-imagined characters, strung together in a plot of such hopeless absurdity that it's all but impossible to follow." Guardian Unlimited [3]
"Mr. Ferrigno has given serious thought to his hypothetical scenario [and] these aspects of the book are by far its most involving...While the book's background exerts a grim sci-fi fascination, its central story manages to be surprisingly ordinary...It has enough novelty to attract attention and enough substance to be genuinely frightening." The New York Times
"It's always risky when an established writer jumps the comfort zone, forsaking familiar terrain to try something new. It's a pleasure to report, therefore, that Kirkland writer Robert Ferrigno's new book is a provocative and compelling success." Seattle Times
"Ferrigno's sharply ironic eye for details of life in a Muslim America is often gripping, like the pause before the second half of the Super Bowl because of midday prayers. But long before the end, the what-ifs and that looming ache in the frontal lobes have done their damage." Chicago Tribune
"The local colour is more compelling than either the plot or the characters: there's a guy -- maverick ex-fedayeen -- and a girl -- plucky, and dangerous with a chopstick -- and a sinister old villain with the usual psycho subordinates. Standard fare, but in a curious way the routine American thriller elements lend the freaky landscape a verisimilitude it might not otherwise have had." Macleans