Customer Reviews

Heart of the Assassin: A Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A trilogy is hard. Authors tell us this. Readers know it. That which surprises us, thrills us, or captivates us in part I has grown old by part III. Though imperfect, "Heart" keeps the pages turning and kept me up late to find how this all works out. Lots of characters moderate their craziness in this episode. But crazy is still here. Wait till you visit the Bridge of Skulls.

Ferrigno has created a world that still makes us wonder, what if.

I have been waiting for this book ever since I finished the last two in the trilogy. The character development is first-rate and it results in you cheering for the heroes - even for some of the more unlikely heroes. These books kept me thinking, wondering and frankly, the whole idea is truly scary; however in some ways, they are hopeful as well as thoughtful. The world today is scary, yet the possible world in these books is truly freightening. Anyone who reads this trilogy will re-think some of their fears, prejudices, and even their opinions about the world today. I give the book and the trilogy my absolute recommendation.

Though Robert denies it, this series stands with other immortal works of speculative social analysis and commentary like 1984 and Brave New World. But, first of all, Robert's prose is breezy and fast-paced--a pure pleasure to read. He communicates very effectively.
As always, there is genius in his menagerie of odd and distinct characters; the brave, the smart, the beautiful and the evil. They are all infused with humanity springing from Robert's keen observation of human quirks and foibles.
But the easy-reading and compelling characters are icing on the cake. The real debt the reader owes this series is the prescient realization of a world where the hole in our souls--unfilled by spiritless, dumbed-down education, reality TV and relentless commercialization and marketing--can be filled by the certainty of religion. We have a human need to fill ourselves with something; there is luxury and relief in falling backwards into the comforting arms of fundamentalist religions, including Islam. If you think the fragmentation and overthrow of the United States can't happen here, then you're not paying attention to the current lessons of Iran, Holland and Britain.
In 2000, Robert wanted to write a more significant book--as if it might be the last book he writes; one that would define his literary legacy. It took courage to do this and I applaud that courage. This series should be read and discussed and enjoyed...if you haven't indulged yourself yet, then I urge you to do so. As I said above, these 'Assassin' books are thought-provoking and easy to read. You can't ask more from a novel. Five Stars.

Ken Coffman is the author of Hartz String Theory, Steel Waters and other novels.

Ferrigno maintains the brilliance of this saga right through to the last page. Further, in the way this novel concludes, he has the courage to conclusively wrap up the entire story, leaving no doubt that this is the final chapter of this trilogy, unlike many authors who keep milking the money cow until the udder's dry.

So, further kudos for artistic integrity.

This may well be the darkest entry of an already dark series. We follow Rikki Epps as he continues his quest to bring the evil Old One down. From San Francisco (New Fallujah), where the Golden Gate Bridge has become the ghastly Bridge of Skulls, to New Miami, to Seattle, with mounting tensions arising from neighboring Aztlan (Mexico) to the south... this cast of fascinating characters continues to evolve and develop, and I found it enthralling. The Old One's daughter Baby - last seen in a helicopter flying away from her husband the Colonel - is back, and she's baaaaaad to the bone! She's as interesting and captivating as Rikki himself.

This is a terrific book as a stand-alone, but if you REALLY want to get the full benefit, I'd strongly recommend you read the two preceding novels. Not only will you understand everything going on in this one, but they're terrific reads, too.

A very solid five stars, and both thumbs up.

If you are not familiar with the first two books in Robert Ferrigno's bold, groundbreaking Assassin trilogy, I would suggest that you read PRAYERS FOR THE ASSASSIN and SINS OF THE ASSASSIN before picking up HEART OF THE ASSASSIN. Although this final installment stands incredibly well on its own, you'll want to read the series in order to fully appreciate Ferrigno's achievement, which is to write a no-so-distant future history that is sharply and frighteningly defined while being well-populated by unforgettable characters, likable and otherwise.

What Ferrigno has done is to visualize what is currently known as the United States as it may well exist before the halfway point of the 21st century. The east, west and north coasts are in the thrall of the moderate Islamic Republic, in which Washington, D.C., Detroit, Chicago and New York City (among others) are totally destroyed or abandoned. The southern states have unified under Christian rule as the Bible Belt; radical Islamists control California; and the western states have been seized by the Aztlán Empire, the nation formerly known as Mexico. There is an independent state here and there, but I'm sure you get the idea of what things look like.

As HEART OF THE ASSASSIN commences, it is evident to the governments of both the Bible Belt and the Islamic Republic that the divorce of the United States' most populated and powerful sections is not working. Aztlán, hungry for territory and smarting from past defeats, threatens from the South; Canada seeks territory in the North; and Europe and Asia hover like carrion, hoping to pick off what pieces they can. The rumored discovery of a legendary religious and political icon in the radioactive ruins of Washington, D.C. provides the Republic and the Belt with the opportunity to peacefully reunite. Rakkim Epps, a genetically enhanced warrior who figured so prominently in the first two volumes, is dispatched to Washington to reclaim the icon, if in fact it actually exists. He is not unopposed, however. The Old One, an Islamist who has been manipulating some events and taking advantage of others since the early years of the 20th century, wants to reunite America as well, but under fundamentalist Islamist rule.

As HEART OF THE ASSASSIN progresses, the Old One finds that he is at long last nearing the end of his life, even as he plans one last masterful stroke to bring his plans to completion. He is aided by his daughter Baby, whose beauty is matched with a dangerous cunning and political savvy, and the ever-dangerous Lester Gravenholtz, a seemingly indestructible assassin who was almost murdered by Rakkim and who seeks revenge against him. Rakkim finds his considerable skills tested to the limit as he searches for a treasure whose existence may be the only hope for the future of the United States, even as powerful and maniacal forces are set against him, not only from outside the Republic but also from within.

From an unforgettably modified Golden Gate Bridge to the heartbreaking ruins of Washington, D.C. and the 24/7 parties of Miami in Nueva Florida, Ferrigno utilizes action, mystery, grim humor, speculation and violence to tell a story that seems so real you will swear you see your own reflection in the eyes of the individual characters as you read about them. Every time you blink will seem like a waste of time, a distraction from the impulse to read as quickly and thoroughly as you can, in order to devour this nightmarish, provocative and prescient feast for the heart and mind. HEART OF THE ASSASSIN succeeds as a travelogue, entertainment, noir thriller, speculative work, and --- perhaps most of all --- a cautionary tale of events that are unfolding right at this moment. It is a work that 50 years from now will be hailed as a classic, or banned, or, more than likely, both. Read it now while you still can.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

In "Prayers," Ferrigno created a marvelous dystopia, the Islamic Republic. West Coast jihadis met Cascades thugs as Rikki tried to escape Seattle, the capital. The author in this had a marvelous set-piece as Rikki was pursued down backwoods roads. A challenge in any alternative history set in the future is to keep the plot moving while informing the reader of the immense changes that have torn apart mid-21st c. America, split into the Bible Belt vs. Islamic Rep. not to mention Mormons, Cubans in Florida, nuclear contaminated zones, and zombies in what was D.C. The scope of a ruined North America and another Aztlan reconquering the Southwest only added to the intensity, but the focus here remained more on the Islamic regime and the various types of fanaticism or moderation that Americans in most of the former U.S. had adjusted to as the dar-al-Islam shifted from a radioactive Mecca to an unexpected new continent to rule. (I reviewed it and "Sins" last year on Amazon.)

"Sins" kept the trilogy efficiently gathering intensity, as Rikki and his sidekick Leo entered the Bible Belt undercover, and the set-piece of the eerie Church in the Mists still haunts me for its unsettling mysticism amidst redneck mayhem. Ferrigno seemed to ease up the pace of the immense effort of constructing his realms, and the middle volume had more breathing room for political intrigue mixed with even more bloodcurdling action, spiced with sassy dialogue, theological musings, and social satire. Battle scenes rather than hand-to-hand combat entered the scenarios, and both arenas show the author's skill at mingling characters you care about--even the villains-- with true glimpses of cruelty, cynicism, idealism, decay, betrayal, lust, and more betrayal.

"Heart" wraps it up with more of the same elements; short chapters in very cinematic form illustrate a wide range of characters contending for power. It takes time to appreciate these books, and while streamlined in style and very accessibly told, the alternate history that Ferrigno tells demands attention; his speculations are often inserted almost off-handedly into more conventional thriller episodes. This balance of excitement and meditation can prove poignant and poetic as well as bitterly humorous or ethically instructive.

In the final installment, now the Southern borders get more attention, as the Empire of Aztlan now contends against foes last seen in "Sins" from the Bible Belt, as perhaps they can be manipulated into an alliance of "one-god" peoples against the oil-rich polytheists from south of a border creeping ever north. Rikki is back, and so is his rival super-engineered rival Gravenholtz. Baby and the Old One, Sarah, Leo, Spider, and Ibn-Azziz also return to heighten the tension. It's more international chaos as you never know whom to trust or blame for the latest atrocity broadcast in this militarized, policed, censored, surveilled, and patrolled cyber-hell, half-decaying, half-luxurious, depending upon who's doing the funding as armies battle, mosques tower, and churches fill with a curious interpretation of an ecumenical gospel.

D.C. must be entered, as there's what may or may not be a splinter of the True Cross with miraculous powers within. It may be a McGuffin or a Maltese Falcon, or it may be real, but who else but Rikki Epps, with help from certain friends, to find out? That's about all I can entice you with; the rest of the story awaits your enjoyment.

I will miss this sprawling panorama of despair and dreams, for Ferrigno loves his Pandemonium, and even gains kudos for the insertion on p. 121 of the election of our first "multiracial" President, named "after a grandson of the Prophet," and our current Crusade, as part of the convincing backstory that shows how not violent jihad alone, but gradual conversion by celebrities, a disgust with decayed Christianity and secular capitalism, globalization and our current economic downturn all could be logically seen, in deadly hindsight, as leading to a possible future not so improbable after all.

That Ferrigno uses so much intelligence, research, imagination, and enthusiasm to tell his story proves not only a page-turner (and care is needed as so much is embedded within the dialogue and narration that refers back to "Sins" and "Prayers") but a meditation on our own folly and one radical way that emerges for some to offer us, lost and losing hope, a way for a salvation unseen by the Founding Fathers to whose dirty-bombed capital Rikki returns for a gripping and thoughtfully presented encounter with the end of one American dream and perhaps the attempt to rebuild a more perfect nation after all its divisibility.

Don't try to overanalyze. I looked forward to this third book in the series, read it in a couple of days, and enjoyed it a lot. The background premise of Islam taking over the United States remains engaging. This book has the added attraction that Baby, the best character in the series by far, gets plenty of face time. She wiggles her perfect little toes in just about every third scene, and she continues her wonderful way of using the men around her for her own purposes. Many thanks to the author for a series that raises important issues, but does it as background for splendid entertainment.

When I I first saw the starting book of this trilogy, Prayers, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. Now, its several years later, I've read all three books, and I must say that this is a pretty decent ending to a very engaging and interesting story. There are however, a few things I noticed in the book that I would like to point out (WARNING: for anyone who hasn't read the book(s), here be spoilers):

1. The whole neo-Aztec pantheon that Ferrigno has created for his Aztlan characters. I admit that I am not entirely familiar with the ideology behind Aztlan, but I doubt that it goes so far as to embrace the deities of pre-Columbian Mexico as Argusto (Arbusto?) and his cohorts did in this book; in addition, in the first book, there is a reference to the Southwest and southern California being culturally part of the "Mexican Empire", and since every description of these regions in the other books mentions the inhabitants as largely Catholic, I find it hard to believe they would accept this type of pantheism.

2. When Rakkim, Sarah and Michael are in the House of Martyrs; the description of the museum and the DC Quran is almost word for word the same as the one in the first book. I don't know whether the author included this deliberately or by mistake, but I felt the need to point it out.

3. General Kidd's son Amir was called the Lion of Boulder in the second book; in the third he is called the Lion of Durango (??)

4. On pg. 121, when the three scholars are reciting sections from Sarah's book, I noticed that the text from that was mixed with a ninth-grade history paper mentioned as being read by the Old One in the second book in the trilogy. Also, In the first book, Jill Stanton is mentioned as having married Assam Rachman; in the third, it is Mukumbe Otan (??)

5. On pg. 136, Sarah mentions how Redbeard noticed a Coke from his stash was missing; in the first book, Rakkim surprised him by grabbing one out of the waterfall; a small thing, but i wanted to mention it.

6. On pg. 247, its described how Lincoln's statue from the Memorial was moved to Atlanta by the Belt; in the first book, it was actually Jefferson; plus I can't really see the Belt picking Lincoln to be a national icon.

7. Either Ferrigno wanted to show how out-of-touch the Republic President was, or he did not have the history quite right, but Ben Franklin was the one who coined the "hang together or hang separately" quote, not Lincoln.

8. For the same reason in #6, I don't see how the Belt would pick Lincoln to be their icon for Mt. Rushmore.

Other than these nitpicky details, i found this book, and the trilogy overall, to be quite enjoyable, and i would definitely recommend the series to anyone looking for a good thriller.

Fantastic 3 book series. The characters are very interesting and the action is interesting the politics believable, and the world building is fun. The characters are all American types even if they hail from other countries. The bible belt is very cool and if you extrapolate Americana it is right on point. The story is very likable and not a chore to pick up the book and start reading.

It went particularly well with Kindle II which I read on the plane in my home at my pool, and didn't need to leave my whispernet to get the next book in the series. Fun, read it and enjoy.

I actually started reading the trilogy with the second book: Sins of the Assassin. After finishing i couldn't wait for the final book. In my opinion the book is enjoyable, a page turner, and includes a complete ending to the trilogy, however it's not as engaging and engrossing as the book before it. There are a few parts in it that really draw out some emotion, but I didn't feel as absorbed into the story as in the second.