Book Review of "Dies Irea: Day of Wrath" done by Tara Dodrill

Bestselling author Dr. William R. Forstchen has done more than ponder the idea of a terrorism attack by ISIS on American soil, he wrote an ebook about the very real threat to national security in the United States. William Forstchen, who has testified about the power grid and EMP attacks before Congress, published his novella just days before the beheading of James Foley, an American journalist.President Obama recently deemed ISIS as strictly a “JV” threat. The terrorist group has long since passed the varsity level and is preparing to “go pro” in America.

The Muslim terrorist group has proven very adept at utilizing social media to share with the world the depths of their depravity. Texas Governor Rick Perry and the U.S. Border Patrol have warned that border security has allowed not just “unaccompanied children” to come across, but individuals from the Middle East as well. For every person captured by the dedicated men and women attempting to monitor the border, at least one potential terrorist could have simply walked onto American soil and disappeared.

ISIS is the wealthiest and most violent terrorist group on the planet. The militant Islamic group promised to one day come to America and embark a wave of terror that will make Osama bin Laden’s airplane attacks look like child’s play. ISIS has done nothing so far to indicate that the group does not make good on its threats.

Day of Wrath is not only perhaps the best political fiction book I have ever opened, but the most difficult read. Readers will want to hide their eyes behind a blanket to avoid learning what happens next – just like we all did as children when watching a scary movie. What makes Dies Irae: Day of Wrath for more terrifying than the latesthorror flick, is how rapidly the reader realizes that the bloody scenario depicted on the page could become breaking news alerts. The writing is superb. Forstchen used exactly the right amount of detail to make the words leap from the page and paint an image in your mind. Just as photos I saw when searching a Twitter feed for an ISIS image to use in an article about captive Yazidi women are permanently seared in my memory, you will never be able to “un-see” the images you mind will store as you maneuver through the pages of Day of Wrath.

Dr. Forstchen warns readers about what to expect if they choose to venture beyond the foreword. As with Forstchen’s past best sellers, the fiction is based upon facts and steeped in cold, hard reality. When talking with William Forstchen, he had voiced hopes for a relaxing summer after finishing a much awaited sequel to his bestseller, One Second After. But a conversation about current events with friends turned into a prodding to write about the threats posed by ISIS – and to do it quickly.

Day of Wrath was published only in the ebook format for the sake of expediency. The intelligent and kind-hearted professor did not want to dally and have a book designed to serve as a warning lingering on an editor’s desk while the tragic events described in the book come to pass. While speaking with William Forstchen about Day of Wrath, he said it was as emotionally difficult for him to write and it was for me (and surely everyone else who spent $3.99 for the ebook) to read.

What pushed Forstchen onward appears to be a deeply-felt sense of responsibility and duty. “I was afraid that if I did not write this book, and choose the ebook format so it was available quickly, what was intended as a warning, would quite simply, come too late,” the renowned researcher and author said. “I had to take a break when writing Day of Wrath several times, it was a deeply emotional experience for me as well. It was difficult to complete, but was too important of a project not to finish,” Forstchen also said.

Excerpt from Day of Wrath foreward: Several years back, I wrote a novel about the threat to our national infrastructure from an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack. One Second After was published by Tor/Forge, and became a New York Times bestseller. I never anticipated its impact and what some now claim: its leading role in the creation of the so-called “prepper movement.” After that, and far more pleasurable in the writing, was my next work, Pillar to the Sky, a novel about a positive future which we can fashion with a renewed support of our space program. Both books were challenging in different ways, but never hit to such a visceral level as this book now does. Only weeks before this ebook, Day of Wrath, hits publication, the murderous forces of ISIS swept into northern Iraq and unleashed a reign of terror that this historian sees as a campaign that makes Hitler’s and Stalin’s fanatical followers look like amateurs. I am an historian of warfare; I often describe my job as similar to that of an oncologist. I study that which kills and hope that one day humanity will find a cure. When one matures from being a young man to middle aged, and suddenly the scourge of war is no longer something that you will bear personally on the battlefield, but instead will be borne by your children, by young students in your classroom.

Those of us who worked somewhere with a television or were at home when the 9/11 attacks occurred can surely still recall in great detail both what we saw and felt that tragic day. While reading Bill Forstchen’s Day of Wrath, those same visceral reactions occurs – perhaps felt even a bit more intensely. Before 9/11, the idea of a terrorism attack on American soil seemed like crazy talk, we were living blissfully unaware of how our nation could be changed forever in just a few short hours. We were in shock during the morning hours that September day, but now we have a point of reference. We felt the emotional pain of that day collectively as a nation, regardless of how far away we lived form New York, Pennsylvania, or Washington. In Forstchen’s Day of Wrath scenario, the ISIS terrorist successfully inflicts pain a lot closer to home for millions of Americans.

The soft targets the ISIS terrorists choose are schools and highways. A small group of well-armed and well-trained terrorists eager to reach paradise, fan out across the country away from major cities before unleashing their fury. The timed attacks put the entire nation in a panic. Not everyone flies, but nearly all Americans are parents, grandparents, or travel along the roadway everyday for work. Once news of the ISIS attacks begin in Day of Wrath, a sense of paralyzation quickly evolves for all those who are not running in a blind panic to the local school.

The anxiety and excruciating fear parents experience as they rush to their child’s school, hoping their building is not a part of the coordinated attack, nearly rips the heart out of the reader’s chest. When I finished reading page 1,415, I had to walk away, take a couple of deep breaths, and pour a stiff drink before continuing. Part of the response readers will experience is due to William Forstchen’s incredible talent, but knowing that the fictional scenario could easy become a non-fiction after action report is responsible for the rest of the hand trembling as you reach to wipe an eye or to cover your mouth in shock

As a woman who does not watch chick flicks, does not enjoy sappy songs, and has never been prone to shedding tears, except at a funeral where a lip is firmly bitten to try an avoid such a public display – I feel confident in stating that if you can read this book without having a deep emotional reaction, you have no soul.

Get your copy of "The Wrath" here:Day of Wrath (Dies Irae)

Tara Dodrill is a political and environmental writer focusing on both off grid news and politics. Her credits include USA Today, Off The Grid News, Yahoo News, The Inquisitr.com, Prepper and Shooter Mag Creative Director and Preparedness Community Social Media Consultant.

Contact Tara Dodril:

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/Tara_Dodrill

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