June 27, 2006

What IfÂ…

America fell under the sway of the Islamists?

Jeff Jacoby offers a review of Prayers for the Assassin, one of the best books IÂ’ve read this year.

Life in an Islamist United States would be largely unfree and intolerant, if the experience of countries where radical Muslims have achieved power -- Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, and Afghanistan -- is any guide. But what would that mean in American terms? That's the question a remarkable new novel sets out to answer.

Prayers for the Assassin, Robert Ferrigno's latest thriller, is set 35 years in the future, when most of the United States has been transformed into the Islamic Republic of America. Under the new regime, America is a country in which university professors can lose their jobs for being "insufficiently Islamic," cellphone cameras are illegal, and men can only dream of "loud music, cold beer, and coed beaches." There is still a Super Bowl, but the cheerleaders are all men. Mt. Rushmore still exists, but the presidential faces on it have been blown up.

Some of you may remember my post from earlier this year, in which I was role-playing a candidate for president of the Islamic States of America. It was related to this book – and through your assistance, I won an autographed copy as one of those who successfully beat my computer-run opponents.

I join with Jacoby in urging you to read this book.

Posted by: Greg at 09:12 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Another good "what if" is one that has been around a bit longer - Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," about a near-future United States run by Christian fundamentalists. Religion and government are a nasty combination, no matter what the religion is. I love this kind of speculation. We may disagree about which future is more far-fetched, but it does make for good reading. (Plus Atwood is just an amazing writer in general. She's got another future-dystopia novel (it's actually not her usual subject) called "Oryx and Crake," about the results of genetic engineering run amok, that's quite amazing.)

Posted by: John at Tue Jun 27 09:54:45 2006 (YId1A)

2 I had some problems with The Handmaid's Tale -- not the least of which is that she is not a writer I find engaging for stylistic reasons. Still, it presents an interesting (if far-fetched) point of departure.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Tue Jun 27 10:08:56 2006 (dHQik)

3 I am a huge alt-history fan, so thanks much for this recommendation! I've already nabbed two alt-hist books for summer reading -- Designated Targets the sequel to Weapons of Choice, and The Plot Against America. Now I've got a third...!!

Posted by: Hube at Tue Jun 27 12:55:32 2006 (KoTdh)

4 Consider an older one, if you have never read it - "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K Dick, set in the US in the 1960s after end of WWII - which, of course, the Axis powers won.

Posted by: John at Tue Jun 27 14:47:47 2006 (3xDOR)

5 Have that one, John! Halfway through it as of now. But thanks anyway! :-)

Posted by: Hube at Thu Jun 29 01:11:31 2006 (Y3p6X)

6 Have that one, John! Halfway through it as of now. But thanks anyway! :-)

Posted by: Hube at Thu Jun 29 01:15:33 2006 (Y3p6X)

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