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The Caliphate: A post-apocalyptic suspense novel
What if ISIS controlled America?
Eisa McCarthy lives in Caliphate City under the control of the radical Islamic group, the Ghuraba. Seven years ago General Mohammad bin-Rasulullah defeated the United States in a ruthless betrayal and set up their worldwide Caliphate in the ruins of Washington, D.C. The Ghuraba's supreme holy leader, the Abu al-Ghuraba, claims Eisa's father gave him control of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, a claim bolstered by the smoldering ashes of many cities and her Syrian-born mother's testimony. But after her mother is accused of apostasy, she learns her father may not be the 'martyr' the Ghuraba claim.
Do the Ghuraba really possess the launch codes for the ICBM missiles? Or did her father 'lock them out' as Colonel Everhart, the rebel commander, wants her to tell the world? If she fights, the Ghuraba will kill her little sister, but if she doesn't, eventually the Ghuraba will hack in and nuke them all. All Eisa has are a string of Muslim prayer beads and a pre-Islamic myth her father told her the night he disappeared.
The fate of the world, and her little sister's life, hang in the balance as Eisa sorts through ancient myth, her Muslim faith, and what really happened the night the Ghuraba seized control.
Eisa McCarthy lives in Caliphate City under the control of the radical Islamic group, the Ghuraba. Seven years ago General Mohammad bin-Rasulullah defeated the United States in a ruthless betrayal and set up their worldwide Caliphate in the ruins of Washington, D.C. The Ghuraba's supreme holy leader, the Abu al-Ghuraba, claims Eisa's father gave him control of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, a claim bolstered by the smoldering ashes of many cities and her Syrian-born mother's testimony. But after her mother is accused of apostasy, she learns her father may not be the 'martyr' the Ghuraba claim.
Do the Ghuraba really possess the launch codes for the ICBM missiles? Or did her father 'lock them out' as Colonel Everhart, the rebel commander, wants her to tell the world? If she fights, the Ghuraba will kill her little sister, but if she doesn't, eventually the Ghuraba will hack in and nuke them all. All Eisa has are a string of Muslim prayer beads and a pre-Islamic myth her father told her the night he disappeared.
The fate of the world, and her little sister's life, hang in the balance as Eisa sorts through ancient myth, her Muslim faith, and what really happened the night the Ghuraba seized control.
558 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2016
2 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Anna Erishkigal
115 books197 followersAnna Erishkigal is an attorney who writes fantasy fiction as an alternative to cross-examining her children. She writes under a pen-name so her colleagues don't question whether her legal pleadings are fiction as well. Much of law, it turns out, -is- fantasy fiction. Lawyers just prefer to call it 'zealously representing your client.'
Seeing the dark underbelly of life makes for some interesting fictional characters. The kind you either want to incarcerate, or run home and write about. In fiction, you can fudge facts without worrying too much about the truth. In legal pleadings, if your client lies to you, you look stupid in front of the judge.
At least in fiction, if they become troublesome you can always kill them off.
I moderate two communities, Lovers of Paranormal and also Space Opera Fans. Come and join us! :-)
Seeing the dark underbelly of life makes for some interesting fictional characters. The kind you either want to incarcerate, or run home and write about. In fiction, you can fudge facts without worrying too much about the truth. In legal pleadings, if your client lies to you, you look stupid in front of the judge.
At least in fiction, if they become troublesome you can always kill them off.
I moderate two communities, Lovers of Paranormal and also Space Opera Fans. Come and join us! :-)
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 16, 2017
This is not light reading. This book brings out questions that you never want to answer. Disturbingly accurate in the descriptions of a male dominated ISIS society, the book really sent shivers down my spine. The story of Eisa McCarthy is one of survival. As a woman, and as a Muslim. The protection she wants to offer her younger sister but can not. The heartbreak of being torn from the familiar and thrust into the unknown. The simple pleasures of being a teenager, denied.
When she swears that she will make a widow out of her sister, you can feel her anguish and her determination not to be helpless anymore. I think that scene was one of the most memorable in the book. Reading the book made me glad that this was just a novel, that it was not my reality. Then it struck me, it may not be my reality, but hundreds of women live through such time each day in the world today. That really made me feel so helpless and frustrated.
The writing is phenomenal. The story does not allow you to keep the book down. The characters are so well developed you can imagine meeting them on the street. All I can say is that it took me a while to recover from the book world Anna Erishkigal created.
When she swears that she will make a widow out of her sister, you can feel her anguish and her determination not to be helpless anymore. I think that scene was one of the most memorable in the book. Reading the book made me glad that this was just a novel, that it was not my reality. Then it struck me, it may not be my reality, but hundreds of women live through such time each day in the world today. That really made me feel so helpless and frustrated.
The writing is phenomenal. The story does not allow you to keep the book down. The characters are so well developed you can imagine meeting them on the street. All I can say is that it took me a while to recover from the book world Anna Erishkigal created.
November 12, 2016
‘The Caliphate’ is wound around the premise that an ISIS-like conquest of the United States has been successful. One might think “Yeah, like that would ever happen,” until Erishkigal constructs her disturbingly plausible backdrop for the novel to follow.
Eisa McCarthy is a faithful Muslim, one who refuses to set aside her humanity in the name of doctrine. We see the story through her eyes as she navigates her difficult path. Burdened by memories of a father now besmirched by propagandized history into the image of a traitor, she finds herself propelled by her circumstances into a fold of resistance marking America’s last efforts at redemption.
The parallels the author draws between the current landscape in Syria and Iraq and a future United States are unsettling, as they portray present-day atrocities with unflinching accuracy. The dominion of evil Eisa opposes is factual, departing only in scope from conditions experienced already inside less fortunate borders. Likewise, the courage of female fighters against a misogynistic foe is drawn from our world and extended into the author’s adroit, fictional presentation.
One is left with the conclusion that, yes, this could happen here. If it does, we will have the same choices Eisa, her compatriots, and fellow victims of dominant, Islamist fundamentalism do: resist for the sake of those who can or will not, or hope for the best at the sparse mercy of conscienceless oppressors.
Overall, a solid work of thriller/suspense and an easy five stars.
Eisa McCarthy is a faithful Muslim, one who refuses to set aside her humanity in the name of doctrine. We see the story through her eyes as she navigates her difficult path. Burdened by memories of a father now besmirched by propagandized history into the image of a traitor, she finds herself propelled by her circumstances into a fold of resistance marking America’s last efforts at redemption.
The parallels the author draws between the current landscape in Syria and Iraq and a future United States are unsettling, as they portray present-day atrocities with unflinching accuracy. The dominion of evil Eisa opposes is factual, departing only in scope from conditions experienced already inside less fortunate borders. Likewise, the courage of female fighters against a misogynistic foe is drawn from our world and extended into the author’s adroit, fictional presentation.
One is left with the conclusion that, yes, this could happen here. If it does, we will have the same choices Eisa, her compatriots, and fellow victims of dominant, Islamist fundamentalism do: resist for the sake of those who can or will not, or hope for the best at the sparse mercy of conscienceless oppressors.
Overall, a solid work of thriller/suspense and an easy five stars.
September 6, 2024
I came in expecting nothing. I left satisfied.
It was a quick read. But it was a tour-de-force which I could not put down for the whole duration of the time that I was reading.
The author spares no punches at the time of unleashing the nightmare fuel. The book often feels bleak, terrifying, and at many points, the struggle taken in by the main character feels impossible. In the end, these kinds of struggles resonate with us, as the main character overcomes and comes out stronger from the challenges she faced during the course of this novel.
Caveat lector!
P.S.: Don't confuse this book with Caliphate by Tom Kratman (which is a book that infuriates the so-called "tolerant people", but that's a story for another day). This is a completely different enchilada.
It was a quick read. But it was a tour-de-force which I could not put down for the whole duration of the time that I was reading.
The author spares no punches at the time of unleashing the nightmare fuel. The book often feels bleak, terrifying, and at many points, the struggle taken in by the main character feels impossible. In the end, these kinds of struggles resonate with us, as the main character overcomes and comes out stronger from the challenges she faced during the course of this novel.
Caveat lector!
P.S.: Don't confuse this book with Caliphate by Tom Kratman (which is a book that infuriates the so-called "tolerant people", but that's a story for another day). This is a completely different enchilada.
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August 23, 2021Love and sensitivity
Astounding read, thankyou. I was so intrigued with the plot and the characters that I could not put the book down until the last page had been turned.
Astounding read, thankyou. I was so intrigued with the plot and the characters that I could not put the book down until the last page had been turned.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews