Other reviewers have already described the basic plot. So I'll just compare this to the first "Assassin" book ("Prayers for the Assassin" which you really should read to understand this one):

*The positive- Generally better written and plotted. "Prayers" is gory to the point of being ridiculous, dominated by an assassin who is so evil and so invulnerable as to not really pass the straight-face test. "Sins" is a little more toned down and a little less over-the-top.

*The negative- Ferrigno's Bible Belt, though horrifying in its decay, is simply not as interesting or as fun to read about as the Islamic Republic of "Prayers" - perhaps because its not as different from the status quo (basically, just add one part status quo, one part anarchy, and add water).

I finished the prequel, "Prayers for the Assassin," (also reviewed by me last week on Amazon) and immediately started this second installment of what will be three thrillers set around 2040, when North America's split between incursions from Canada, an Aztlan Empire, and between the Islamic Republic over most of what was the Union and the Bible Belt over the South.

Ferrigno's more relaxed this time around in telling the adventures of Rakkim Epps' second mission, into the Belt in search of a secret weapon as as undercover "shadow warrior." Less time's devoted, however, to stalwarts from the first book, such as police chief Colarusso, Rakkim's wife Sarah and her political ties and her research into the causes for the Republic's spying and diplomacy, or the Black Robe minions who terrorize the fundamentalist Muslims. Instead, the mission itself takes up more of the story. You meet his new sidekick, Leo, a likably annoying mental mastermind. You also find Rakkim squaring off against the Colonel, his new nemesis Gravenholtz, the conniving femme fatale Baby, and an ex-English prof, Crews, with his ragtag band of fanatics. Shekels of Tyre, Etch-a-Sketches, snake handling, and the aura of Darwin (a welcome if haunting spirit from the first novel) float over this tale.

I admired the encounter at the Church of the Mists; this provided a nearly mystical pilgrimage that worked well as a counter to the bloody encounters and cruel regimes that lord over a cowed population ground down by corrupt Texas Rangers, press-gangs, foreign exploiters, and enviromentally disastrous corporate entities despoiling what's left of the South's natural resources in an era of the Big Warm and when most of what was the U.S. is backsliding into a Third World economy and class system. I also think that we have not seen the last of the splendidly named Getty Andalou in regards to the political shenanigans that lurk behind the scenes in the Beltway.

You should read "Prayers" first. There's references to angelic flutters, arcane methods of eliminating your enemy, or strawberry shakes, for example, that will not mean as much otherwise. The book reads more rapidly if you already have a grasp of the ideological tensions and the social collapses that have occurred previously in "Prayers." Religious certainties again receive brisk skepticism, but there's also a respect for decency that permeates the decisions made by key characters when under attack, morally as well as physically.

Finally, showing Ferrigno's growing ease with his bitterly infected milieu here. This book reveals maturity, as main characters are tested as to their loyalties. There's an added depth about the sadness and necessity of death, and the price exacted on assassins and hired killers, as well as the fragility of lives lived more morally in this harsh and sinister dystopia. You may not expect a consideration of dignity at the root of this fast-paced thriller, but this enriches this intelligently told narrative. The author writes with a steady focus here. I miss some of the epigrammatic asides of "Prayers," but "Sins" moves with more economy and a narrower scope. Also, the style moves steadily. It's sustained, less edgy if not less cynical in parts. Rakkim appears to be coming to a realization of his limits, and he seems more serious and less flippant three years after his earlier mission.

I liked this novel as much as the first one, but I found the plot of "Sins" easier to follow, with fewer characters, far fewer subplots, and no tangents from the main story. The climactic scenes did occur rather suddenly, but I suppose this fits the genre. (I'd rank this higher than the four stars I gave "Prayers," nevertheless, there is a slight tonal tilt and a hurried summation around the compressed climax. Yet, as I cannot judge the pacing of the end wholly until I read the final part of the trilogy-- I sense the narrative balance may be restored.) Perhaps more will be explained as to the machinations of the Old One vs. the Black Robes vs. the Fedayeen command, not to mention some of the Bible Belt contacts in deep cover, in the last book, so my criticism is on hold here!

Ferrigno again makes you cringe and makes you ponder the consequences of strategies already glimpsed, on pp. 68-69, presciently in our current culture's regard for Islamist sympathies. The Old One's long-term plans may already be coming to fruition. Read those pages and you may reconsider very current events!

Freed from the fascinating but admittedly complex setting-up of his near-future realpolitik and its religious tyrannies and social complications that underlay the exposition of the intricate storyline in "Prayers," there's much more room now for action. It's satisfyingly tense, and more militaristic in parts, as you get the sense that Ferrigno's itching to explore the fog of war and larger-scale maneuvers. His battle set between warring factions in a Southern forest makes for exciting reading, and the scene feels real, rooted in his understanding of how men behave under fire and how easily careful strategy gives way to bravado, fear, and greed.

I finished the prequel, "Prayers for the Assassin," (also reviewed by me last week on Amazon) and immediately started this second installment of what will be three thrillers set around 2040, when North America's split between incursions from Canada, an Aztlan Empire, and between the Islamic Republic over most of what was the Union and the Bible Belt over the South.

Ferrigno's more relaxed this time around in telling the adventures of Rakkim Epps' second mission, into the Belt in search of a secret weapon as as undercover "shadow warrior." Less time's devoted, however, to stalwarts from the first book, such as police chief Colarusso, Rakkim's wife Sarah and her political ties and her research into the causes for the Republic's spying and diplomacy, or the Black Robe minions who terrorize the fundamentalist Muslims. Instead, the mission itself takes up more of the story. You meet his new sidekick, Leo, a likably annoying mental mastermind. You also find Rakkim squaring off against the Colonel, his new nemesis Gravenholtz, the conniving femme fatale Baby, and an ex-English prof, Crews, with his ragtag band of fanatics. Shekels of Tyre, Etch-a-Sketches, snake handling, and the aura of Darwin (a welcome if haunting spirit from the first novel) float over this tale.

I admired the encounter at the Church of the Mists; this provided a nearly mystical pilgrimage that worked well as a counter to the bloody encounters and cruel regimes that lord over a cowed population ground down by corrupt Texas Rangers, press-gangs, foreign exploiters, and enviromentally disastrous corporate entities despoiling what's left of the South's natural resources in an era of the Big Warm and when most of what was the U.S. is backsliding into a Third World economy and class system. I also think that we have not seen the last of the splendidly named Getty Andalou in regards to the political shenanigans that lurk behind the scenes in the Beltway.

You should read "Prayers" first. There's references to angelic flutters, arcane methods of eliminating your enemy, or strawberry shakes, for example, that will not mean as much otherwise. The book reads more rapidly if you already have a grasp of the ideological tensions and the social collapses that have occurred previously in "Prayers." Religious certainties again receive brisk skepticism, but there's also a respect for decency that permeates the decisions made by key characters when under attack, morally as well as physically.

Finally, showing Ferrigno's growing ease with his bitterly infected milieu here. This book reveals maturity, as main characters are tested as to their loyalties. There's an added depth about the sadness and necessity of death, and the price exacted on assassins and hired killers, as well as the fragility of lives lived more morally in this harsh and sinister dystopia. You may not expect a consideration of dignity at the root of this fast-paced thriller, but this enriches this intelligently told narrative. The author writes with a steady focus here. I miss some of the epigrammatic asides of "Prayers," but "Sins" moves with more economy and a narrower scope. Also, the style moves steadily. It's sustained, less edgy if not less cynical in parts. Rakkim appears to be coming to a realization of his limits, and he seems more serious and less flippant three years after his earlier mission.

I liked this novel as much as the first one, but I found the plot of "Sins" easier to follow, with fewer characters, far fewer subplots, and no tangents from the main story. The climactic scenes did occur rather suddenly, but I suppose this fits the genre. (I'd rank this higher than the four stars I gave "Prayers," nevertheless, there is a slight tonal tilt and a hurried summation around the compressed climax. Yet, as I cannot judge the pacing of the end wholly until I read the final part of the trilogy-- I sense the narrative balance may be restored.) Perhaps more will be explained as to the machinations of the Old One vs. the Black Robes vs. the Fedayeen command, not to mention some of the Bible Belt contacts in deep cover, in the last book, so my criticism is on hold here!

Ferrigno again makes you cringe and makes you ponder the consequences of strategies already glimpsed, on pp. 68-69, presciently in our current culture's regard for Islamist sympathies. The Old One's long-term plans may already be coming to fruition. Read those pages and you may reconsider very current events!

Freed from the fascinating but admittedly complex setting-up of his near-future realpolitik and its religious tyrannies and social complications that underlay the exposition of the intricate storyline in "Prayers," there's much more room now for action. It's satisfyingly tense, and more militaristic in parts, as you get the sense that Ferrigno's itching to explore the fog of war and larger-scale maneuvers. His battle set between warring factions in a Southern forest makes for exciting reading, and the scene feels real, rooted in his understanding of how men behave under fire and how easily careful strategy gives way to bravado, fear, and greed.

"Sins of the Assassin" continues the story of Rakkim Epps, a former shadow warrior living in mid-21st century America. Nuclear attacks on several major cities precede a second civil war, and the former country is broken into two major factions, the Islamic Republic and the Bible Belt, being primarily the South.

Rakkim must venture into the South to inflirate the stronghold of the Colonel, who is busy searching for an early superweapon. Accompanying him is Leo, the nerdy 19-year-old with a technologically enhanced brain, able to meld with computers.

In this story, we now see life on the other half. The Bible Belt is a loose assortment of warlords, with a vague capital in Atlanta. Foreign businesses pillage the Belt for its resources and cheap labor. Meanwhile, the residents of the Belt entertain themselves with a Mt. Carmal amusement park, complete with weekly reenactments of the 51st day of the siege. And everyone has guns.

Meanwhile, the Old One, the superwealthy Muslim fanatic continues to pursue Rakkim and his family. It was he who was responsible for the attacks which split America initially.

This book, said to be the second of a trilogy, explains some of the mysteries behind "Prayers," but fails to answer others. Like, how does the Christian-majority America convert to Islam? And how do two nations with near-"Star Trek" levels of technology are unable to build proper roads or cars?

Look forward to the conclusion of the story.

I will be honest here, one of the main reasons I HAD to read this book, was so I could see what the Bible Belt was like in Rakime's world. Ultimately I was thourghly impressed with Ferrigno's vision of the Dystopia America has degraded into. The mythology associated with both sides, the Wild West society of the Belt coupled with the semi civilized, totalitarian East, along with rumors (SPOILER) of a reunification.

Sins of the Assassin is just that, our man Rakime is slipping into an abyss of sin (not the biblical variety, more akin to sanity), in the beginning things with Rakime seem normal, but as we progress, things are not as they seem & ultimately the very reason for his slip is revealed little by little.
Rakime is tasked with venturing into the Belt, something he alone excels at and it is here along with scenes from Seatle we realize that, "literally divided we fall." Each side is in dire straits, and if something drastic is not done then both sides will crumble, differences in ideology or not.
So sit back relax, open your Jihad Cola & watch images in your mind's eye of Branch Davidian theme parks, an American Atlantis, giant carbon skinned soldiers, smoke engulfed cities and the Old Man's next bid for power.

Both Sins of and Prayers for the Assassin are a must-read for all -- esp. all the libs who keep insisting that Islam is a peaceful religion and that we should pull our troops out of Iraq. The first thing that will grab you is the map of the United States -- we're no longer united, and most of the states are now under Muslim rule. Talk about a punch in the gut! Set in the not so distant future, the books take you through a totally plausible scenario (which is why it is so scary and why we, as a nation, should wake up & smell the coffee!) whereby true Muslims (who laugh at the Westerners who keep insisting that terrorists have hijacked a religion of peace) are out to conquer the world -- bit by bit, person by person, country by country. There are heroes and villains aplenty -- and all the heroes aren't Catholic or Jewish and all the villains aren't Muslim. The plots are well developed, as are the characters, and it isn't a leap from today's headlines to see where cloning, eugenics, and political correctness will get us (trust me, it isn't pretty). An excellent read for fun and for thinking, I'm anxiously waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for the third book in the trilogy.

Show me the future.

We ask it all the time, and I don't mean tea leaves and Tarot cards. We check the weather forecast and market trends, maybe glance at horoscopes. Just about everyone gives in to that little tickle of curiosity.

Tell me what's going to happen.

Lucky hunches and divine inspiration aside, nobody can predict the future, but there are some who have a gift for intuiting plausible scenarios. Some of these are writers, and of these, a very few are very good writers. They hear the ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times," and smile. Times get interesting and they start thinking.

What if...?

"Moseby needed to slow down. His haste stirred up a gray confetti of silt, disintegrating paper, and pulverized glass from the neon sign that once flashed OYSTER PO' BOYS, TREAT YO MOUTH."

That's the opening to "Sins of the Assassin," the second novel of a trilogy set forty years in the future. Those who haven't read the first book, "Prayers for the Assassin," can enjoy "Sins" by itself. ("Prayers," too, stands on its own.)

In "Sins," we're underwater with a scavenger who's after a specific Greek bust, a "stone queen" from one of New Orleans' great old houses. She was a "beautiful woman... her expression distant and dreamy, as though she had seen something that no one else had ever seen, and the sight had changed her. The world would never be quite fine enough for the woman now."

Nor for anyone else in this part of the country: Moseby is sifting through the dissolving debris of one of America's great cities, submerged by hurricanes and floods that finished what Katrina started. But Moseby is looking for a Greek bust from the Hellenic period, itself a vanished culture. The queen and her lost-world gaze is for me an Atlantean image, and the gray silt evokes the ashes of Pompeii.

So much of what we've built has sunk into historical background noise over the centuries, yet we're still here, still building. It's the nature of the species to pick up and dust off and move on.

Mr. Ferrigno has posited a world ruptured by terrorism, but he occupies himself as a writer with how people take heart and carry on. Some of his people are exquisitely tough, some are preternaturally evil. He knows what tears people apart and what puts them back together again.

And he can write. One guy's eyes are "the color of mop water," another's "boiled with a twisted intelligence." And my all-time favorite: "Wolf eyes under a full moon. All pupil." Perfect.

Now here's the heart of the book, perhaps of the whole trilogy, in abstract (it gives nothing of the plot away):

"This church... this little church... this is where God goes when he can't bear what's become of the world."

Mr. Ferrigno's presentation of this grave new world is scrupulously fair-minded and balanced, as is his treatment of religious affiliation. "Church" here transcends the Christian connotation; it could be mosque or temple. There's one word for all of them, as he writes elsewhere: sanctuary.

Consider that word for a moment. It's a form of shelter that offers safety and surcease, an inviolable refuge, a home place for the spirit. As Mr. Ferrigno has it -- rightly, I believe -- it's where even the deity might go for a moment's peace. With all the focus on dogma and ritual, on scriptural interpretation and the heavenly rewards of strict orthodoxy, it's hard to remember that the heart of any place of worship is that simple enveloping quiet, where we clear the mind and focus on matters greater than ourselves.

Make no mistake, "Sins of the Assassin" is a page-turner. It takes hold from the first drowned-city scenes and doesn't let go even after you close the book. But there's also intelligence and wit here, depth of feeling and insight into character.

And for this reader, living in these interesting times, there was in its pages a sort of sanctuary.

I'm only an occasional reader of fiction, but when I heard that a sequel to the Prayers for the Assassin was out, I wasted no time in procuring a copy which I inhaled the following weekend. This installment was even more gripping and imaginative then Prayers, with a wildly creative but plausible depiction of a top secret incursion into enemy territory (The Bible Belt) to recover some powerful technological juju developed decades ago by the old United States of America.

It truly amazes me how Ferrigno can imagine this dystopia of constantly warring religious fundamentalists while always maintaining an even handed, fair treatment of the underlying creeds. Don't listen to some on this list who are quick to condemn this series as anti-Islamic. In fact, the protagonist and many of the supporting and highly sympathetic characters in this story are faithful Muslims. It is the violent radicals, on both sides, that supply the villains.

My only quibble, and the reason this book got 4 instead of 5 stars, is with the over abundance of gratuitous and explicitly described sex scenes. I thought the first book went a little too far in this department but this one clearly crossed the line. Maybe this will attract certain readers but it is disappointing for me that I can't recommend it more freely to some of my friends, my teenage son, parents, etc.

Still, a terrific book! I can't wait for installment number three.

There is much to love about this latest episode of Robert's speculative musing. As always, Robert creates vivid and distinctive characters and his landscape of religo-tribal chaos in the former United States is thought-provoking and cool. It's not perfect, some of the transitions are hurried and his prose style is chunky, but these are quibbles. Overall, this is a well-told and thrilling adventure. After dreaming up such a grand, expansive landscape, will Robert be able to go back to his smaller adventures? I, for one, sincerely hope not.
Ken Coffman is the author or Hartz String Theory and other novels.

SINS Of The ASSASSIN is the second installment of a planned trilogy (Come on Ferrigno, why are you going to leave us with only three books?) and it's even better than its dazzling predecessor, PRAYERS For The ASSASSIN.

Those of you who aren't familiar with the Assassin saga should understand that by the mid-21st century the world has been turned upside down. Western Europe is an Islamic basket case while America itself has been broken by nuclear attack, civil war and ecological disaster. In addition to the territorial acquisitions of Canada and the encroachment of the ascendent Aztlan Empire of Mexico or breakaway republics like the Mormon Free State and a Cuban dominated Florida, two political configurations now dominate what used to be the United States: the Islamic Republic of America and a loose confederation of the former southern states familiarly called the Bible Belt. Both are second rate powers, one waiting to destroy the other while Russia and China and new economic powerhouses like Brazil, Nigeria and South Africa strip them bare through exploitive trading privileges and concessions.

In this bizarre world of our near future lives Rakkim "Rikki" Epps, a genetically enhanced former "shadow warrior" of the Islamic Republic's elite Fedayeen special forces. Rakkim doesn't have the time or inclination to make sense of the bewildering religious and political forces responsible for the mess in the world...he is too busy fighting them. In PRAYERS we watched Rakkim curtail the maniacal ambitions of the Old One (an ancient Arab billionaire somewhat reminiscent of Hasan-i-Sabah, the 12th century leader of the Ismaili sect of the Assassins), helping to expose him, not Israel, as the one behind the nuclear attacks on Mecca as well as New York and Washington. In this latest installment we see him deep undercover down in the Bible Belt, hoping to infiltrate the army of a Kentucky warlord who is believed to be close to unearthing an old US weapons system, which he plans to sell to the Chinese.

Whereas the original novel showed us the nightmare of the Islamic Republic of America: a place where Disneyland lies in ruins for those to remember the immaturity and wickedness of their forefathers, where Mt. Rushmore has been defaced, where Jews are hunted down, Catholics have been ghettoized and homosexuals hang as putrid ornaments from the Golden Gate Bridge; SINS Of The ASSASSIN gives us a glimpse of a chaotic Bible Belt that seems to have also gone insane. New Orleans has long ago drowned in the perennial hurricanes that lash at the Belt's southern shores. Diseases and plagues infect much of the region. Outside of the capital of Atlanta, central authority is literally a joke, with power being held by warlords, various militias and drug barons. The South has become a place where indentured servitude is common and Waco reenacments draw huge crowds.

Robert Ferrigno put much time and research into his books, he also creates complex characters with depth of personality. You care about Rakkim and want to know more about him, how he ticks, how he will end up at the end of it all. You suspect that his wife Sarah is slowly becoming disillusioned with Islam. You wonder if Rakkim's Catholic friend, the Seattle detective Anthony Colarusso will live to retire, or will his refusal to "know his place" or his resistance to his son's conversion eventually cost him his life. You're glad that Jewish Spider's son, the supergenius Leo, has found a girlfriend. Ferrigno's tale isn't only about Islam vs. Christianity, it's just as much about the people coping in such a situation. Both PRAYERS and SINS kept me mesmerized and looking forward to the next installment. I strongly recommend them to anyone interested in alternative history and future shock literature.

I've been a fan of Ferrigno's since first reading The Horse Latitudes, moved by the strength of vivid prose creating harsh, suspenseful realities. With the Assassin Trilogy he has generated a new genre of political futurism. Similar to the way in which William Gibson's provocative cyberspace fiction allows readers to explore the implications of the internet on our perception of the world around us, Ferrigno dares us to imagine the implications of political trends and current events for our future. In doing so with quite accurate historical reference and cultural depictions, he creates a very realistic near future far different from what we would generally expect to unfold. Continuing with his forte of graphic, almost cinematic depiction of events, the novels rapidly unfold in the mind with the realism of the big silver screen, for which this trilogy is surely destined! Don't wait for number three!

This is the second in Ferrigno's trilogy; although he does put in some back story, you will want to start with the first, Prayer for the Assasin. Most of his previous work is set in the present, this is somewhat cross genre, a sci-fi thriller. He has a real capacity for truly evil characters, and his imagined future is not completely improbable, but far from pleasant. Strong stuff, something along the lines of a Don Winslow set in the future. He delivers a lot of action, a lot of evil, and a lot of suspence. If you haven't read him before, enjoy!
BerkBob

Great literature this is not. The story takes 80 pages to get going. The plot leaves you scratching your head afterwards if you think about it too much. The ending is geared too much around setting up the next book. But the fun parts are so much fun that none of this really matters. There's also a short bit of nice sex.

When Ferigno's first "Assassin" novel was published, I gave it 5 Stars in my member review of it right here on Amazon. I thought it was a brilliant novel.

When I saw the sequel was out, I bought it with high hopes, but also a bit of trepidation, because many authors can't really pull sequels off all that well, particularly novels of a dystopian future.

Can you imagine Orwell having tried to write "1986"? Or Huxley attempting "An Even Braver New World"?

I'm happy to say my fears were completely unfounded. This is a totally absorbing read. I will recommend that you read the first novel, "Prayer for the Assassin", before reading this one. Even though, as the reviews have noted, this book absolutely succeeds as a stand-alone story, Ferrigno takes the groundwork so successfully portrayed in "Prayer" and builds upon it, and "Prayer" really sets the frightening overall tone of the dystopia portrayed in this series.

In this novel, we follow Rikki Epps as he once again works to thwart the Old One's attempts to install himself as the ruler of a world caliphate. This is obviously the spine of the series, and it will be very interesting to see how Ferrigno wraps this up in the final installment.

Having established in the first novel the fracturing of the former United States, the first novel explored the resultant Islamic Republic, and this one explored the Bible Belt, the sector of the former US that has remained Christian. There are a couple of other areas Ferrigno has left himself to explore: the Mormon Territories (my guess) and the Nevada Free State (lightly explored in the first book).

The characterizations are vivid and memorable; Rikki Epps continues to develop and fascinate, and new character Leo is a great foil.

Wherever he's going with this, I can hardly wait for the next one.

The second novel in a planned trilogy, "Sins of the Assasin" picks up three years after the end of the previous novel, "Prayers for the Assasin". That novel painted a future in which a civil war has torn the USA apart in the Isalmic Republic of the North and the "Bible Belt" of the South. Rakkim Epps, a former special forces "Shadow Warrior" for the Islamic Republic and hero of the first novel, is living in hiding with his wife, Sarah, and their son. The Old One, a brilliant, ruthless billionaire with aims on establishing a worldwide claiphate and who almost took over the Republic, has escaped after his part in the events that led to teh Civil War are exposed. On a cruise ship in the Pacific he plots to take over both the Islamic Republic and the Bible Belt, again trying to use a reunited Islamic America to establish a global caliphate. And in the Bible Belt, a charismatic leader known as "the Colonel" has stumbled upon a secret from the old USA which could upset the fragile peace between the two American nations and plunge the world into chaos.

Ferrigno's first novel in this series was fantastic, painting his shattered Islamic Republic of America is small strokes, with the glimpses of the changes forming a larger picture. One of the most interesting parts of the novel was the idea of the "Bible Belt", the loose union of states that pretty much comprise the old Confederate States. They are only mentioned and not visited in the first book, which focused on the theocratic Islamic Republic that was trying to balance religian and Sharia law with some freedom for it's citizens. Here, the Bible Belt. their culture, their govenrnment, their religion and their people are all thrust to the forefront, and with those same small touches, Ferrigno paints a portrait of a ruined American south, ruined by global warming, corrupption, religious fervor and international meddling.

Rakkim is sent into the Belt on a top-secret mission to stop the Colonel from discovering A secret weapon of some kind that the old USA hid at the bottom of an old mine. He takes with him a 19-year old genius who can analyze and nuetralize the weapon. His journey takes him from Texas to Georgia and Ferrigno presents us with a polar opposite of the Islamic Republic. In the Belt, law & order hardly exist at all, as local warlords intimidate the weak national government. It's basically what would have happened if the South had won the first Civil War, really, with a distrust of centralized power and a fierce Christianity rule. It's as frightening a place as the Islamic Republic, but for different reasons, and Rakkim and Leo have expectations shattered and form strange alliances as they move towards their target, while the Old One continues his plan.

The central story here is Rakkim's. He is different than in the first book, and still haunted by the climax of that novel. He is at turns incredibly kind and ruthlessly brutal, and this dichatomy is being to wear at his soul. Rakkim is struggling with his faith, and the strange things he sees along his journey make that struggle harder.

Leo, the 19 year old genius, is also well realized. He starts off as a know-it-all brat, but as he sees the world as it really is, he adapts and finds courage in himself. He's sort of a foil for Rakkim, and as he and Rakkim find the worst in humanity in the Belt, they also find the best.

There are some big twsist in this story which I will not give away. Events occur back home in Seattle, the Capital of the Islamic Republic, that will bring about tremendous change to whoever can manipulate the events. Suffice it to say, I can't wait for the next novel in the series, as a epic ending is the offering.

Following the nuclear suitcase bombs in 2015 that devastated Mecca, New York City and Washington D.C., Americans lost their fortitude; most assume Israel caused the pandemic destruction leading to many people converting to Islam in most of the states except the Deep South that remained fundamentalist Christian. The forty-eight states split into two nations, the Islamic Republic and the Bible Belt; both are led by fanatics.

By 2043, the two theocracies remain hostile towards each other. In that environs, Bible belt leader the rabid Colonel wants to gain control of a weapon of mass destruction that he will probably use to bring hell to the Islamic Republic. Assassin Rakkim Epps is to prevent him from obtaining the weapon using whatever means he must including killing the Colonel.

The second Assassin tale (see PRAYERS OF THE ASSASSIN) is an action-packed exciting adrenalin post apocalypse thriller as H. Raps Brown's muse "violence is as American as cherry pie" is the theme of SINS OF THE ASSASSIN. Those fans who appreciate mano vs. mano exponential blood counts will enjoy Robert Ferrigno's explosive futuristic saga. Those readers who prefer more exploration into two extreme theocracies whose loathing for one another make the Middle East look like a friendly book club choir will need to turn elsewhere.

Harriet Klausner

Seldom does an eagerly anticipated sequel meet the hype. Even less frequently does it exceed the original, especially when the latter received numerous awards and hit all of the bestseller lists. Such an anomaly is Robert Ferrigno's Sins of the Assassins, the second volume in the Assassin Trilogy.

Epic in scope, cinematic in its plotting, startling in its violence and ultimately realistic despite its futuristic setting, Sins features the return of Rakkim Epps in a post-nuclear U.S. In Prayers for the Assassin, Epps uncovered the true backdrop behind a so-called "Zionist" attack on Washington, New York and Mecca. The attacks triggered a second U.S. Civil War that eventually split the country into a moderate Islamic Republic and a Christian-oriented Bible Belt. With help from his long-time friend Sarah, Epps exposed "the Old One" as the instigator of the nuclear attacks. The Old One, bent on establishing a global Islamic empire with North America as its cornerstone, was stopped dead in his tracks by Epps and Sarah but escape to live another day.

In "Sins", another, darker day has arrived. The United States is more fragmented than ever as the Christian Bible Belt is racked by warring factions; the Islamic Republic has become increasingly radicalized as Sharia law spreads; and the Aztlan Empire (Mexico) and Canada are encroaching on the old southern and northern borders.

Worse, word of a legendary super-weapon buried in a remote mountain area -- a highly-classified DoD project in the old U.S. regime -- threatens to unravel the fragile truce that exists between the Islamic Republic and the Bible Belt. Epps is tagged for a secret mission by the president of the moderate Islamic Republic to retrieve the weapon. Any hope for a "re-United States" hangs in the balance as a variety of international players -- including China, the modern global superpower -- race to control the weapon.

Epps is one of the Islamic Republic's elite "shadow warriors," a tiny cadre of special operatives groomed for commando activity behind enemy lines and genetically enhanced for night vision, fighting skills and agility. Compounding Epps' troubles, however, he's ordered to bring Leo -- an unathletic, unworldly nineteen year-old scientific genius -- with him on his nerve-wracking mission into the Bible Belt. Leo's job will be to quickly interpret the weapon's technology and to perform other classified tasks to which even Epps is not privy.

Along the way, Epps grapples with his own religious beliefs. As the violence escalates, he becomes convinced that somehow, some way, the spirit of Darwin -- the ultimate assassin controlled by the Old One -- has entered his being. Epps struggles to maintain control over his own schizophrenic existence as he and Leo weave their way through the Bible Belt's fragmented territories of religious cults, militias and corrupt officials.

As Rakkim and Leo wend their way to the mountain and the weapon within, they face not only the combined forces of the Old One, but a formidable militia led by "the Colonel", a military legend in the Bible Belt. Foremost among the Colonel's troops is Gravenholtz, a mechanically enhanced super-soldier capable of unbelievable savagery.

If Hollywood hasn't optioned the Assassin series, it's high time some Porsche-driving, mousse-laden genius arranged a meeting with Ferrigno's representatives.

The only downside of the book? You'll need the literary equivalent of methadone to overcome withdrawal once the story ends. And you'll be marking the calendar for the final chapter of the triad.

First I will say this is not my usual genre. But it totally sucked me in. This was a hard one to put down and I enjoyed it. I don't know how he does it - Ferrigno is able to weave an amazing futuristic tale of Muslims and Christians and remains neutral and somehow nonjudgmental. Respectful of the reader's intelligence. Even the difficult parts were entertaining. If you haven't read it yet, don't miss the first one. Looking forward to #3!

A great follow up to the first book. This, the second of three, keeps you turning pages with the continuing story of Rikki and friends fighting for the good in a future America you never anticipated. Travel to the Bible Belt, find secret weapons, fight science-enhanced soldiers, discuss religion and politics. One of the best thrillers in years. I can't wait for the final chapter. A smart, wry commentary on all of the foolishness of the present day.