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Day of Judgment
By 2004, al Qaeda has splintered. One splinter group is determined to continue attacking the U.S. It has begun infiltrating the U.S. with the purpose to take out the Arabic language section of the National Security Agency. This section monitors phone calls between Arab countries and the U.S. to gather intelligence about planned attacks. Plans have been laid to use young Palestinian-American Muslim men involved in a Washington, D.C. area mosque.
In semi-rural Appalachia, southwest Virginia, the Hammoud family, Palestinian refugee Muslims, have lived for twenty-five years. They run a successful auto service business. Their three Palestinian-American children are well integrated into the community and are well liked. That is until the oldest son, Ahmed, is attacked and abused by jealous local hoodlums because he is Arab. The same hoodlums later attack the Hammoud home, but are apprehended.
Frank, a U.S. Marine Corps major, has just assumed command of the U.S. Marine Corps security guards at the National Security Agency. He has become a good friend of Brad, one of the Arabic language specialists in the Arabic language section of the NSA. Together they become embroiled in activities when the attempt to bomb the Arabic language section actually occurs.
Joe, is a brilliant young Muslim-American attorney with the U.S. Attorney General in Washington, D.C. with his career on the way up. Through work, he meets and becomes a friend and roommate with Omar, an equally brilliant young Yemini immigrant. Omar recently received a PhD in Islamic theology. He is a professor at George Washington University and assistant imam at the Islamic Center of Washington. Together they become friends with Frank and Brad and their partners, little knowing what would happen as they become embroiled with attempts to bomb the Arabic language section of the NSA and the Hammoud family.
Ahmed Hammoud and his brother Marwan move to the Washington area to pursue career opportunities not available in southwest Virginia. They soon become involved with the group of young Palestinian-Americans at the mosque and co-opted into the attempt to take down the Arabic language section.
Bombing of a gay bar in Washington provides diversion to infiltration of the National Security Agency but provides clues for local law enforcement investigators and the FBI. Action moves quickly as the FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency investigate and bring some of the perpetrators to justice.
A Muslim funeral and burial in southwest Virginia bring sorrow but and brings out the best in the local community.
International intrigue and action move through Canada, Venezuela, Iran, and Iraq. Travel in the U.S. takes characters not only through southwest Virginia, but also to San Antonio, Texas, and the mountains and desert of New Mexico
Two courtroom scenes in U.S. federal courts. One prosecuted as a hate crime demonstrates the skills of Joe. Other young U.S. attorneys and public defenders are featured as well. A very capable young reporter for the local newspaper is determined to make issues public in a responsible way. Together, they demonstrate that there is justice in America.
In semi-rural Appalachia, southwest Virginia, the Hammoud family, Palestinian refugee Muslims, have lived for twenty-five years. They run a successful auto service business. Their three Palestinian-American children are well integrated into the community and are well liked. That is until the oldest son, Ahmed, is attacked and abused by jealous local hoodlums because he is Arab. The same hoodlums later attack the Hammoud home, but are apprehended.
Frank, a U.S. Marine Corps major, has just assumed command of the U.S. Marine Corps security guards at the National Security Agency. He has become a good friend of Brad, one of the Arabic language specialists in the Arabic language section of the NSA. Together they become embroiled in activities when the attempt to bomb the Arabic language section actually occurs.
Joe, is a brilliant young Muslim-American attorney with the U.S. Attorney General in Washington, D.C. with his career on the way up. Through work, he meets and becomes a friend and roommate with Omar, an equally brilliant young Yemini immigrant. Omar recently received a PhD in Islamic theology. He is a professor at George Washington University and assistant imam at the Islamic Center of Washington. Together they become friends with Frank and Brad and their partners, little knowing what would happen as they become embroiled with attempts to bomb the Arabic language section of the NSA and the Hammoud family.
Ahmed Hammoud and his brother Marwan move to the Washington area to pursue career opportunities not available in southwest Virginia. They soon become involved with the group of young Palestinian-Americans at the mosque and co-opted into the attempt to take down the Arabic language section.
Bombing of a gay bar in Washington provides diversion to infiltration of the National Security Agency but provides clues for local law enforcement investigators and the FBI. Action moves quickly as the FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency investigate and bring some of the perpetrators to justice.
A Muslim funeral and burial in southwest Virginia bring sorrow but and brings out the best in the local community.
International intrigue and action move through Canada, Venezuela, Iran, and Iraq. Travel in the U.S. takes characters not only through southwest Virginia, but also to San Antonio, Texas, and the mountains and desert of New Mexico
Two courtroom scenes in U.S. federal courts. One prosecuted as a hate crime demonstrates the skills of Joe. Other young U.S. attorneys and public defenders are featured as well. A very capable young reporter for the local newspaper is determined to make issues public in a responsible way. Together, they demonstrate that there is justice in America.
682 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 30, 2017
3 people are currently reading
1651 people want to read
About the author
Heath Daniels
6 books42 followersHeathDanielsAuthor@gmail.com
Heath Daniels is semi-retired from a successful academic career as a professor and researcher in international business issues, writing and speaking professionally.
He has lived in many countries and traveled to many other countries world-wide.
These locations exposed him to many cultures and situations in which he developed appreciation, respect, and empathy for all persons everywhere, their cultures and traditions.
His travels have inspired his fiction writing.
As indicated in the Afterword to Three Kisses, at New Year going from 2005 to 2006, thoughts and inspirations came into his mind and would not stop until he sat at the computer and started writing.
Thus started a parallel career of being an academic living and working in various locations and writing action international intrigue novels under a pseudonym.
Now that he has mostly retired from academia, he has continued through four novels with a fifth still developing in his head.
He grew up in a small city that would be considered the heartland of the US. During his academic career in the US, he lived in what would be viewed as a semi-rural area.
While moving around the world, he lived in big cities, small towns, and in between.
Upon semi-retirement. He moved back to his original home town which is now a larger, urban, cosmopolitan city that still has heartland roots.
He continues to travel whenever possible, most recently returning from a four-week visit to southeast Asia.
Almost all locations in his books are places where he has lived or visited for a long enough time to be able to bring them to life through the books.
All characters are fictionalized depictions of actual people with whom he has interacted, not always under pleasant circumstances.
His novels feature current events, adventure, and intrigue that are designed to entertain, as well as inform and foster acceptance, tolerance, and respect.
Many events that were written as fiction actually occurred later, as explained in the afterwords of the books published so far.
He has written four novels.
website - HeathDanielsBooks.com
email - HeathDanielsAuthor@gmail.com
Facebook - Heath Daniels
Instagram - Heath Daniels
Twitter - @HeathDaniels9
Amazon.com/author/heathdaniels
Heath Daniels is semi-retired from a successful academic career as a professor and researcher in international business issues, writing and speaking professionally.
He has lived in many countries and traveled to many other countries world-wide.
These locations exposed him to many cultures and situations in which he developed appreciation, respect, and empathy for all persons everywhere, their cultures and traditions.
His travels have inspired his fiction writing.
As indicated in the Afterword to Three Kisses, at New Year going from 2005 to 2006, thoughts and inspirations came into his mind and would not stop until he sat at the computer and started writing.
Thus started a parallel career of being an academic living and working in various locations and writing action international intrigue novels under a pseudonym.
Now that he has mostly retired from academia, he has continued through four novels with a fifth still developing in his head.
He grew up in a small city that would be considered the heartland of the US. During his academic career in the US, he lived in what would be viewed as a semi-rural area.
While moving around the world, he lived in big cities, small towns, and in between.
Upon semi-retirement. He moved back to his original home town which is now a larger, urban, cosmopolitan city that still has heartland roots.
He continues to travel whenever possible, most recently returning from a four-week visit to southeast Asia.
Almost all locations in his books are places where he has lived or visited for a long enough time to be able to bring them to life through the books.
All characters are fictionalized depictions of actual people with whom he has interacted, not always under pleasant circumstances.
His novels feature current events, adventure, and intrigue that are designed to entertain, as well as inform and foster acceptance, tolerance, and respect.
Many events that were written as fiction actually occurred later, as explained in the afterwords of the books published so far.
He has written four novels.
website - HeathDanielsBooks.com
email - HeathDanielsAuthor@gmail.com
Facebook - Heath Daniels
Instagram - Heath Daniels
Twitter - @HeathDaniels9
Amazon.com/author/heathdaniels
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 6, 2020
Day of Judgment is the sequel to "Three Kisses" but you can also read this as a standalone book. There are many points of view with various characters (Americans, Arab Americans, etc) which makes it an interesting read. The book touches on several current topics such as terrorism, racism, politics among others. It is a very long read (600+ pages) but in my opinion it is well worth the time. This book will really get you thinking about our society as a whole. It is very well written and it's clear the author did his research. Another thing I enjoyed were the supporting photos which help you picture the scenes more effectively. Look forward to more from this great author.
January 19, 2020
Thank-you Mr. Daniels & #GoodreadsGiveaways for the opportunity to read and review Day of Judgement.
This was an AWESOME book! Despite the second half dragging a bit (focus seemed to shift from events to too many details on relationships), I couldn't put it down. Had a couple of sleepless nights trying to finish it without interruptions. It's hard to pin this one down without over-simplifying. Centered in Washington D.C. and outlying areas, it introduces a large cast of mid-level government employees. The story unfolds at a steady clip, introducing each individual and weaving them into a story of not only foreign and domestic policy; but, the tension between laws of God and laws of Man. Underlying the whole, isn't just the issue of sexuality and what it means to be gay inside the "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" zone (that would be an over-simplification). This is a book about what it means to be Human; how we 'judge'. Daniel's talent for capturing nuances in language, culture, and dialogue deftly interspersed with photos of real locations made for a captivatingly realistic read.
My only criticism? The first half of the book delivered such a punch, I couldn't put it down. The second half felt a bit anti-climactic and should have been edited down a bit. The focus seemed to shift to mundane personal dialogue and the logistics of who slept where instead of on the court proceedings. There were times, when I felt some characters were give too much attention for the impact they had, such as Brad's mom. Hence, four stars. Still, this was an great read!
This was an AWESOME book! Despite the second half dragging a bit (focus seemed to shift from events to too many details on relationships), I couldn't put it down. Had a couple of sleepless nights trying to finish it without interruptions. It's hard to pin this one down without over-simplifying. Centered in Washington D.C. and outlying areas, it introduces a large cast of mid-level government employees. The story unfolds at a steady clip, introducing each individual and weaving them into a story of not only foreign and domestic policy; but, the tension between laws of God and laws of Man. Underlying the whole, isn't just the issue of sexuality and what it means to be gay inside the "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" zone (that would be an over-simplification). This is a book about what it means to be Human; how we 'judge'. Daniel's talent for capturing nuances in language, culture, and dialogue deftly interspersed with photos of real locations made for a captivatingly realistic read.
My only criticism? The first half of the book delivered such a punch, I couldn't put it down. The second half felt a bit anti-climactic and should have been edited down a bit. The focus seemed to shift to mundane personal dialogue and the logistics of who slept where instead of on the court proceedings. There were times, when I felt some characters were give too much attention for the impact they had, such as Brad's mom. Hence, four stars. Still, this was an great read!
April 14, 2020
5/10/2004, Arlington, VA. al-Aqsa Masjid mosque. Muhammad Faisal Abdulla al-Qhatini (imam) called to speak with Abdulmalik Abu Salim (aka Abou Nidal, Larnaca, Cyprus) about him becoming an imam.
5/26/2004 Elliston, VA. Montgomery County HS. Ahmed Hammoud (18, Arab, son/brother, student) had been accosted by a couple of white racist bullies.
Marwan Hammoud (17, Arab, son/brother, student) & Fatima Hammoud (8, Arab, daughter/sister) took off for their home in Lafayette, VA (Montgomery County, Appalachian Mts.).
11/25/2006, A.W. Todd Centre Russellville, AL. Elsbieta Maryja Stankowski & Patrick Nabil Ferris were married.
6/16/2007, Bezirksrathaus, Plieningen, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Gregory Wayne Hanson & Dieter Fredrik Müller were wed.
9/5/2007, Dr. Omar Abu Deeb (Sunni, George Washington U, Islamic Center P/T asst. imam, Washington, DC, U of Minnesota; PhD Islamic theology) class had gotten out early.
Dr. Omar Abu Deeb & Bradley “Brad” Spencer (25+, U of Minnesota) were having quite the conversation.
3/18/2008, FBI Operations Tech Center; Quantico Marine Corps Base (Potomac River, Washington, DC. Rosie Jordan opened the meeting. Those in attendance are: Colonel Otis Granger, Cranford Brooks, Rhonda Philips, & Lawrence “Larry” Briscoe (30+, CIA Middle Eastern terror groups specialist).
Mama Ayesha’s. Dr. Omar Abu Deeb & Yusef “Joe” Shaito (Muslim, Shiite, attorney, U of Michigan; JD) were enjoying their evening meal.
5/21-27/2008-6/6/2008, Roanoke, VA. Poff Federal Building Federal Courtroom. The case of U.S. vs. Bates, Bates, and Barns.
All rise. The District Court of County is now in session, Judge Martha Bishop (50+) is presiding.
Prosecution: Randy Walker; James Edward, Yusef “Joe” Shaito (U of NC, Dr./Professor Washington U, Lee U, Marcus Porter).
Defense: Kyle Bates (defendant); Kody Bates (defendant); Keith Barnes; Richard “Rich” Harris; Yuhana Khalil.
Both sides called several witnesses (cross exam): Shane Roberts, Mrs. Velma Roberts, Ames Hanford, Dr. Ames Hanford (Arabic interpreter) for Jamal al Khatib (“Abou Nidal”), Wissam Salameh (U.S. citizen, Palestinian), Deputy Sheriff Clayton Evans (Montgomery County), Daniel Cohen (Jewish), Charles Dalton (40+), Yuhana Khalil (Iraqi Christian pro bono lawyer, West Virginia U law school; JD), Francisco “Paco” Mendoza (Frank’s gay lover, Mexican, VA nursing home nurse, BS; nursing), & Major Frank Reynolds (35+, DIA; USMC engineer, Francisco’s gay lover).
After deliberation by the jury the verdict was in.
Ending timeline: 10/12/2008.
A character & other list would have been great.
I do not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing free books from publishers & authors. Therefore, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one.
Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material (bi-sexual, transvestite, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA), incest, pedophile, rape, sodomy, child verbal/mental/physical/sexual abuse, prostitution, human sex slavery, & trafficking, BDSM) which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written International thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & an enormous set of unique characters settings, etc. to keep track of. This could also make another great International thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. Great potential so I will rate it at 4/5 stars.
Thank you for the free author (s); Goodreads; MakingConnections; Making Connections discussion group talk; ITO Press’ MonkeyCMedia; ARR; Author; PDF book.
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
5/26/2004 Elliston, VA. Montgomery County HS. Ahmed Hammoud (18, Arab, son/brother, student) had been accosted by a couple of white racist bullies.
Marwan Hammoud (17, Arab, son/brother, student) & Fatima Hammoud (8, Arab, daughter/sister) took off for their home in Lafayette, VA (Montgomery County, Appalachian Mts.).
11/25/2006, A.W. Todd Centre Russellville, AL. Elsbieta Maryja Stankowski & Patrick Nabil Ferris were married.
6/16/2007, Bezirksrathaus, Plieningen, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Gregory Wayne Hanson & Dieter Fredrik Müller were wed.
9/5/2007, Dr. Omar Abu Deeb (Sunni, George Washington U, Islamic Center P/T asst. imam, Washington, DC, U of Minnesota; PhD Islamic theology) class had gotten out early.
Dr. Omar Abu Deeb & Bradley “Brad” Spencer (25+, U of Minnesota) were having quite the conversation.
3/18/2008, FBI Operations Tech Center; Quantico Marine Corps Base (Potomac River, Washington, DC. Rosie Jordan opened the meeting. Those in attendance are: Colonel Otis Granger, Cranford Brooks, Rhonda Philips, & Lawrence “Larry” Briscoe (30+, CIA Middle Eastern terror groups specialist).
Mama Ayesha’s. Dr. Omar Abu Deeb & Yusef “Joe” Shaito (Muslim, Shiite, attorney, U of Michigan; JD) were enjoying their evening meal.
5/21-27/2008-6/6/2008, Roanoke, VA. Poff Federal Building Federal Courtroom. The case of U.S. vs. Bates, Bates, and Barns.
All rise. The District Court of County is now in session, Judge Martha Bishop (50+) is presiding.
Prosecution: Randy Walker; James Edward, Yusef “Joe” Shaito (U of NC, Dr./Professor Washington U, Lee U, Marcus Porter).
Defense: Kyle Bates (defendant); Kody Bates (defendant); Keith Barnes; Richard “Rich” Harris; Yuhana Khalil.
Both sides called several witnesses (cross exam): Shane Roberts, Mrs. Velma Roberts, Ames Hanford, Dr. Ames Hanford (Arabic interpreter) for Jamal al Khatib (“Abou Nidal”), Wissam Salameh (U.S. citizen, Palestinian), Deputy Sheriff Clayton Evans (Montgomery County), Daniel Cohen (Jewish), Charles Dalton (40+), Yuhana Khalil (Iraqi Christian pro bono lawyer, West Virginia U law school; JD), Francisco “Paco” Mendoza (Frank’s gay lover, Mexican, VA nursing home nurse, BS; nursing), & Major Frank Reynolds (35+, DIA; USMC engineer, Francisco’s gay lover).
After deliberation by the jury the verdict was in.
Ending timeline: 10/12/2008.
A character & other list would have been great.
I do not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing free books from publishers & authors. Therefore, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one.
Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material (bi-sexual, transvestite, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA), incest, pedophile, rape, sodomy, child verbal/mental/physical/sexual abuse, prostitution, human sex slavery, & trafficking, BDSM) which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written International thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & an enormous set of unique characters settings, etc. to keep track of. This could also make another great International thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. Great potential so I will rate it at 4/5 stars.
Thank you for the free author (s); Goodreads; MakingConnections; Making Connections discussion group talk; ITO Press’ MonkeyCMedia; ARR; Author; PDF book.
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
November 21, 2019
This book follows along with the same format of the previous book, Three Kisses, having five pages of characters names listed for the reader, before you even get started on the book! It follows a few main characters, brothers Ahmed and Maiwan; Frank and Brad, a pair of gay men who must hide their true status as one works as a military officer in charge of the security for the NSA site and the other as an Arabic specialist for the NSA – so a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ work situation; Joe and Omar, Joe a Shia Muslim, American born lawyer and Omar who is from Yemen and working in the States as a lecturer of Islamic theology and a part-time Imam. Add in their friends and the cast soon gets even larger.
Ahmed tries to protect his younger brother and sister on the way home from school and something happens when faced against a group of school thugs, which leaves him classing himself as ruined and that his life is over. It makes him an easy target for an Imam who want sot recruit youths to carry out acts of terror in America. Maiwan is struggling with his sexuality and who he is, whilst trying to ignore a lot of what his brother is spouting. Words of hatred, against America, gays and just about anyone, including himself!
The book is very focused on the homosexual viewpoint and storyline, with the majority of the characters and events throughout the book having to do with this topic. A possible attack leaves Frank buffing up security on site, leaving him open to danger and severe injury in his private and social life, as a threat is identified. The Hammond family have to face two sons missing, one possibly to blame for a horrific attack, all after suffering an attack at their home by redneck, A-rab hating individuals.
A major court case is started, almost missing the punishment of those behind a hate crime due to local police thinking it was just teenage high jinks and nothing more. Thankfully, there are others who believe it should be taken much more seriously and brings about lots of firsts in the courts. A full mix of different issues to be chased across the storylines and through the years. First generation American born of immigrants, struggling for work choices, minorities, gay lifestyle and coming out or not in a ‘do not tell’ atmosphere or against religious standards and beliefs. All having their own problems with life.
The place where Ahmed ends up, seems to be a very unrealistic part of the storyline and kind of ruined the believability of certain characters interactions. The court case was the best part for me and made the book. Other parts let me down and this certainly isn’t a quick or easy read! It took me days and days to finally finish this, so definitely not what you could call a thriller. At nearly seven hundred pages, it should take a while, but not as long as it did, nor as painfully. If you want a read about gay main characters and the problems they have in a world of possible terror attacks and Muslim hate crimes, then this would be the book for you.
I have given the author’s books another chance with this one, after having read Three Kisses, which is an action that is mentioned all the more frequently in this book, rather than the book of that title! The unnecessary explanations of telling the reader when someone is talking in Arabic; overly detailed descriptions of new people – a lot of whom seem to have reddish-brown hair – not a very common colouring mix; and just too much unnecessary additions to tell us what the character is thinking, repeatedly. Parts of the book are fine, but there is just too much to detract from it and the length could definitely have been tapered down a lot more. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and will probably not choose another by this author. I prefer a much faster paced read. I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Ahmed tries to protect his younger brother and sister on the way home from school and something happens when faced against a group of school thugs, which leaves him classing himself as ruined and that his life is over. It makes him an easy target for an Imam who want sot recruit youths to carry out acts of terror in America. Maiwan is struggling with his sexuality and who he is, whilst trying to ignore a lot of what his brother is spouting. Words of hatred, against America, gays and just about anyone, including himself!
The book is very focused on the homosexual viewpoint and storyline, with the majority of the characters and events throughout the book having to do with this topic. A possible attack leaves Frank buffing up security on site, leaving him open to danger and severe injury in his private and social life, as a threat is identified. The Hammond family have to face two sons missing, one possibly to blame for a horrific attack, all after suffering an attack at their home by redneck, A-rab hating individuals.
A major court case is started, almost missing the punishment of those behind a hate crime due to local police thinking it was just teenage high jinks and nothing more. Thankfully, there are others who believe it should be taken much more seriously and brings about lots of firsts in the courts. A full mix of different issues to be chased across the storylines and through the years. First generation American born of immigrants, struggling for work choices, minorities, gay lifestyle and coming out or not in a ‘do not tell’ atmosphere or against religious standards and beliefs. All having their own problems with life.
The place where Ahmed ends up, seems to be a very unrealistic part of the storyline and kind of ruined the believability of certain characters interactions. The court case was the best part for me and made the book. Other parts let me down and this certainly isn’t a quick or easy read! It took me days and days to finally finish this, so definitely not what you could call a thriller. At nearly seven hundred pages, it should take a while, but not as long as it did, nor as painfully. If you want a read about gay main characters and the problems they have in a world of possible terror attacks and Muslim hate crimes, then this would be the book for you.
I have given the author’s books another chance with this one, after having read Three Kisses, which is an action that is mentioned all the more frequently in this book, rather than the book of that title! The unnecessary explanations of telling the reader when someone is talking in Arabic; overly detailed descriptions of new people – a lot of whom seem to have reddish-brown hair – not a very common colouring mix; and just too much unnecessary additions to tell us what the character is thinking, repeatedly. Parts of the book are fine, but there is just too much to detract from it and the length could definitely have been tapered down a lot more. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and will probably not choose another by this author. I prefer a much faster paced read. I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
November 19, 2017
‘What’s it like growing up in an Arab community in Dearborn? It’s pretty grim in Lackawanna.’
American born author Heath Daniels now lives around the globe serving as a consultant on international activities. Throughout his life, he has been a keen observer of current events with special interests in culture and language, history, and spirituality. Heath has written and published extensively on professional topics. DAY OF JUDGMENT is his first novel.
As Heath shares in notes at book’s end, ‘Many of the events that were fictional when I wrote them, originating only from inspirations, have come to pass recently. Maybe not in the exact form as in this book, but close. These include a gay bar bombing, the successes and plights of Arab Americans in the U.S., evolving issues of gay and lesbian rights, unfortunate increase in hate crimes and violence against minorities in the U.S., infiltration of the U.S. by Islamic terrorists, and weakness of school administrators, to mention a few.’
Heath has written a very powerful book and has created a format for presenting his précis about three individual but interlocking stories. He offers three Prologues that establish three parallel tales of anti-Arab stigmata in the United States. He dates each Prologue with a different date in May of 2004 and the reasons for his varying dates gradually become apparent as this disturbing but informative book unfolds
For example, in the third Prologue that introduces the Hammoud family he includes conversation about one aspect of anti-Arabic beliefs – ‘Gay bastards ruined me. Americans hate gays; hear about it all the time. I want to kill every gay guy I find. Now I know why al Qaeda attacked to punish the U.S. because it has so many gays. Even Christian preachers, the ones right here in Virginia, Falwell and Robertson, said nine-eleven attacks are God’s punishment for not stamping out gays. Maybe al Qaeda’s not so bad after all.’ That is an example of how Heath bores to the core of the messages he weaves.
The stories are accompanied by photographs that lend a harsh reality to the content of the tales. The synopsis provided by the author ties all the aspects of this long novel together very well. ‘The Hammoud family, Palestinian-Americans, has worked and lived comfortably in the semi-rural, semi-isolated Appalachian area of southwest Virginia for years until a violent attack against Arabs disrupts their American-dream life. Frank and Brad each live and work in a “don’t ask, don’t tell” environment until violence by disaffected Arabs sends them seeking answers. Arab-American professionals, Joe and Omar, are committed to seeking justice. Joe, a brilliant young attorney seeks justice in the courtroom and starts the process of becoming an expert on hate crimes. At the same time, his very good friend Omar, an equally brilliant Islamic theologian, seeks justice within the spiritual realms of Allah. Filled with international terrorism at the hands of those whose Muslim and Islamic fronts hide their true desire to gain wealth and power, Day of Judgment reveals the harsh reality of what it means to live as an Arab in America when the scales of justice are so often stacked against you.’
Heath Daniels supports his depth of background studies around the world and his penetrating view of the philosophical differences between Arab nations and ‘American’ beliefs and the result is a compelling and utterly disturbing mirror held up to reality. Powerful in content and brilliant in execution, this is a book that must become a film – and a book that deserves a wide readership. Highly Recommended
American born author Heath Daniels now lives around the globe serving as a consultant on international activities. Throughout his life, he has been a keen observer of current events with special interests in culture and language, history, and spirituality. Heath has written and published extensively on professional topics. DAY OF JUDGMENT is his first novel.
As Heath shares in notes at book’s end, ‘Many of the events that were fictional when I wrote them, originating only from inspirations, have come to pass recently. Maybe not in the exact form as in this book, but close. These include a gay bar bombing, the successes and plights of Arab Americans in the U.S., evolving issues of gay and lesbian rights, unfortunate increase in hate crimes and violence against minorities in the U.S., infiltration of the U.S. by Islamic terrorists, and weakness of school administrators, to mention a few.’
Heath has written a very powerful book and has created a format for presenting his précis about three individual but interlocking stories. He offers three Prologues that establish three parallel tales of anti-Arab stigmata in the United States. He dates each Prologue with a different date in May of 2004 and the reasons for his varying dates gradually become apparent as this disturbing but informative book unfolds
For example, in the third Prologue that introduces the Hammoud family he includes conversation about one aspect of anti-Arabic beliefs – ‘Gay bastards ruined me. Americans hate gays; hear about it all the time. I want to kill every gay guy I find. Now I know why al Qaeda attacked to punish the U.S. because it has so many gays. Even Christian preachers, the ones right here in Virginia, Falwell and Robertson, said nine-eleven attacks are God’s punishment for not stamping out gays. Maybe al Qaeda’s not so bad after all.’ That is an example of how Heath bores to the core of the messages he weaves.
The stories are accompanied by photographs that lend a harsh reality to the content of the tales. The synopsis provided by the author ties all the aspects of this long novel together very well. ‘The Hammoud family, Palestinian-Americans, has worked and lived comfortably in the semi-rural, semi-isolated Appalachian area of southwest Virginia for years until a violent attack against Arabs disrupts their American-dream life. Frank and Brad each live and work in a “don’t ask, don’t tell” environment until violence by disaffected Arabs sends them seeking answers. Arab-American professionals, Joe and Omar, are committed to seeking justice. Joe, a brilliant young attorney seeks justice in the courtroom and starts the process of becoming an expert on hate crimes. At the same time, his very good friend Omar, an equally brilliant Islamic theologian, seeks justice within the spiritual realms of Allah. Filled with international terrorism at the hands of those whose Muslim and Islamic fronts hide their true desire to gain wealth and power, Day of Judgment reveals the harsh reality of what it means to live as an Arab in America when the scales of justice are so often stacked against you.’
Heath Daniels supports his depth of background studies around the world and his penetrating view of the philosophical differences between Arab nations and ‘American’ beliefs and the result is a compelling and utterly disturbing mirror held up to reality. Powerful in content and brilliant in execution, this is a book that must become a film – and a book that deserves a wide readership. Highly Recommended
December 8, 2017
This book could have been so much better. I love the idea of the story; however the writing of it wasn’t so great.
The characters were flat and rather stereotypical which bothered me a little too often. I know it’s good to have descriptions of characters so you can get a bit of a feel for them – but there were far too many descriptions that were not really needed and left little for the reader’s imagination.
I skipped parts because they were repetitive, having previously read them earlier on in the book.
Pretty negative review, I’m sorry. Like I mentioned, it could have been better – the plot was there. Unfortunately, it’s not one I would recommend.
The characters were flat and rather stereotypical which bothered me a little too often. I know it’s good to have descriptions of characters so you can get a bit of a feel for them – but there were far too many descriptions that were not really needed and left little for the reader’s imagination.
I skipped parts because they were repetitive, having previously read them earlier on in the book.
Pretty negative review, I’m sorry. Like I mentioned, it could have been better – the plot was there. Unfortunately, it’s not one I would recommend.
December 8, 2017
Interesting characters
While I think this book has extremely powerful and current themes, and I have read the book the precedes it (Three Kisses), I had a great deal of time getting through this tome. I thought I knew Daniels' writing style but this book felt different and I was disturbed with the pacing.
I enjoyed parts but I was also hit over the head, so to speak, with the blatant stereotypes.
While I think others who have read his other book will want to read this one too, I would advise to be prepared for some repetition.
While I think this book has extremely powerful and current themes, and I have read the book the precedes it (Three Kisses), I had a great deal of time getting through this tome. I thought I knew Daniels' writing style but this book felt different and I was disturbed with the pacing.
I enjoyed parts but I was also hit over the head, so to speak, with the blatant stereotypes.
While I think others who have read his other book will want to read this one too, I would advise to be prepared for some repetition.
December 11, 2017
This Author is new to me and I am going to keep my eye on them. Granted this book was very long in chapters but it was a good read. I enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to read a very dark book.
Day of Judgement, granted this book has a lot of chapters but it's still a good read and I enjoyed this book a lot. The Author pulled me right in from the cover right to the end of the book.
Day of Judgement, granted this book has a lot of chapters but it's still a good read and I enjoyed this book a lot. The Author pulled me right in from the cover right to the end of the book.
February 19, 2022
Day of Judgment is a very "thick" book with 600+ pages and it does not disappoint. The storylines developed in the novel are very much on the forefront in today's society: sexuality, hate crimes, extremism in the US. It is well-written and well researched and kept my interest throughout the entire read. At times I would need to put the book down, because it is so lengthy, but never once felt the storyline was stretched out. A good read! Highly recommend!
March 10, 2021
DNF. Complete review will be on Reader's View soon
May 29, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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