Behold an Ashen Horse

 Author's Summary

Five U.S. cities are destroyed by Islamic terrorists using nuclear devices. MG George Alexander, Secretary of Homeland Security, becomes president, forms an interim government, pulls the nation together, and then confronts the Islamic whirlwind sweeping across the globe.

MWSA Review

MWSA 2008 Gold Medal for Fiction, Thriller

An OUTSTANDING sequel to his first thriller! Author Lee Boyland left his readers hanging at the end of The Rings of Allah.  Five nuclear devices were placed in the United States, but would the US be able to react in time?

Behold, An Ashen Horse picks up the story right where RINGS left off.  The US, mired in liberal politics, bureaucracy, and political correctness, doesn't react, and the resulting "Day of Islam" costs the lives of millions of Americans.  The entire government is wiped out in the blink of an eye, except retired Air Force General George Alexander, who is serving as the Secretary of Homeland Security.  Alexander becomes President, establishes a government, and sets forth to find and punish those responsible.  The release of nuclear weapons is authorized, and President Alexander vows that this time there will be no "unfinished business."

This book has plenty of technological details, but the author does a great job of keeping things moving and not letting technology bog down the story; the descriptions are simple but accurate.  Boyland also does a great job of developing his characters, and you can't help but fall in love with President Alexander as he pulls out all the stops and runs roughshod over the liberal bureaucrats who try to stop him from saving the United States and taking vengeance on those who attacked her. 

If you ever felt that the US needs to step up and act like the superpower she is, THIS is the book for you! 

Reviewed by: Rob Ballister (2008)