Dr. King's Novels
siren song: har megiddo 2.0
Jamal Shirani stands sweating before a suspicious Heathrow customs officer, having just arrived from a jihadi training camp in Pakistan. John Buchanan “Jo-Buck” Brown bids farewell to friends and family on the eve of his departure for Parris Island and a tour in the war-torn Middle East as a newly minted United States Marine. And, somewhere deep in the subterranean confines of a rat-infested cellar, a kidnapped woman awaits a chance to escape repeated rape by any means possible.
What do these three characters, in far-flung corners of the world, have in common? They're all fascinating players in the intricate, tightly woven plot of author Ian King's superb new global thriller Siren Song.
We've all witnessed the violent results of a terrorist attack in the name of jihadi revenge against the West. But this book offers a wholly new, insightful glimpse into the hearts and minds of the zealots who conspire daily in places far and wide to carry out these willful, deadly assaults in the name of Allah.
The book's characters come vividly to life under the author's skillful hand to trace the often painful beginnings and misguided motivations behind the participants in the long War on Terror. Indeed, the narrative is often driven more by relentless and intense character study than by events.
Jamal survives his encounter with the authorities at the London airport and goes on to cultivate a dangerous cell of bomb-making jihadists of his own. A deeply disillusioned Jo-Buck draws black Xs on a calendar in the desert, counting the days until he goes home. And the unfortunate woman in the dank cellar finally achieves release from her physical confines; but is never completely free of its life-shattering impact.
It’s not a happy story, this fascinating literary mosaic of loosely connected vignettes. But it is an important one that takes the reader on the veritable emotional roller coaster often talked about in other books, but fully realized in this one. Love it or hate it, like a particularly controversial work of art, this well-crafted saga will leave its mark on your consciousness.
One chillingly bold act in particular will sear the date 12/25 in your mind for a long, long time.
One other unique aspect to this remarkable book is an occasional acerbic observation offered up by a disembodied, omnipotent deity, commenting on the relative absurdity of the goings-on far below Him. Some of His comments, while decidedly irreligious, are truly priceless.
Five-plus stars to Siren Song. It stands far above the current gamut of stereotypical Middle Eastern terrorist plot potboilers, and makes for an outstanding summertime -- or anytime -- read.
Don Sloan--Publisher's Daily
What do these three characters, in far-flung corners of the world, have in common? They're all fascinating players in the intricate, tightly woven plot of author Ian King's superb new global thriller Siren Song.
We've all witnessed the violent results of a terrorist attack in the name of jihadi revenge against the West. But this book offers a wholly new, insightful glimpse into the hearts and minds of the zealots who conspire daily in places far and wide to carry out these willful, deadly assaults in the name of Allah.
The book's characters come vividly to life under the author's skillful hand to trace the often painful beginnings and misguided motivations behind the participants in the long War on Terror. Indeed, the narrative is often driven more by relentless and intense character study than by events.
Jamal survives his encounter with the authorities at the London airport and goes on to cultivate a dangerous cell of bomb-making jihadists of his own. A deeply disillusioned Jo-Buck draws black Xs on a calendar in the desert, counting the days until he goes home. And the unfortunate woman in the dank cellar finally achieves release from her physical confines; but is never completely free of its life-shattering impact.
It’s not a happy story, this fascinating literary mosaic of loosely connected vignettes. But it is an important one that takes the reader on the veritable emotional roller coaster often talked about in other books, but fully realized in this one. Love it or hate it, like a particularly controversial work of art, this well-crafted saga will leave its mark on your consciousness.
One chillingly bold act in particular will sear the date 12/25 in your mind for a long, long time.
One other unique aspect to this remarkable book is an occasional acerbic observation offered up by a disembodied, omnipotent deity, commenting on the relative absurdity of the goings-on far below Him. Some of His comments, while decidedly irreligious, are truly priceless.
Five-plus stars to Siren Song. It stands far above the current gamut of stereotypical Middle Eastern terrorist plot potboilers, and makes for an outstanding summertime -- or anytime -- read.
Don Sloan--Publisher's Daily
The Last Eucharist: A True War Story
Thomas is a caustic and cynical double amputee who survives by performing headstands outside the movie theater for tips. Hallucinations interject themselves into his daily trudge through life in Jackrabbit, Arizona. Memories from Vietnam haunt him. Or was it Mexico? Or that day he was playing Cowboys and Indians with Billy Smith? Does it even matter?
Sally Graham is the daughter of a Baptist minister who sent her to Jackrabbit on a missionary trip. She hasn't had the guts to tell him she's become an atheist, but at least she's finally out of Topeka, Kansas —and out of the reach of his suffocating control.
Their paths cross serendipitously; their lives change irrevocably.
Written with scorching satire that will make you laugh to keep from crying, The Last Eucharist is interwoven with surprising blends of illusion and reality. Out of the waywardness and confusion emerges a sort of coherence that speaks to the enigmatic nature of human existence.
Thomas is a caustic and cynical double amputee who survives by performing headstands outside the movie theater for tips. Hallucinations interject themselves into his daily trudge through life in Jackrabbit, Arizona. Memories from Vietnam haunt him. Or was it Mexico? Or that day he was playing Cowboys and Indians with Billy Smith? Does it even matter?
Sally Graham is the daughter of a Baptist minister who sent her to Jackrabbit on a missionary trip. She hasn't had the guts to tell him she's become an atheist, but at least she's finally out of Topeka, Kansas —and out of the reach of his suffocating control.
Their paths cross serendipitously; their lives change irrevocably.
Written with scorching satire that will make you laugh to keep from crying, The Last Eucharist is interwoven with surprising blends of illusion and reality. Out of the waywardness and confusion emerges a sort of coherence that speaks to the enigmatic nature of human existence.
Leaves in the wind: a novel of the dirty wars
Julia Medrano dared to follow her conscience. Now, no one can pick up her trail. Leaves in the Wind: A Novel of the Dirty Wars is the new novel by Ian T. King that exposes just what transpired when the citizens of a repressive regime stood up for humanity during Latin America's volatile politics of the the 1970s through the 1990s. In countless numbers, activists and others were banished to torture facilities, before ultimately vanishing from all detection.
As Julia's mother Helena and former lover Angelo piece together her sudden disappearance, Leaves in the Wind offers a rare, authentic glimpse into the dark days of the Dirty Wars. A cautionary tale that brings to light savage tactics that are still everyday occurrences around the world, this arresting, historically accurate work is required reading for anyone seeking clarity on the human rights issues that continue to play out on the global stage.
As Julia's mother Helena and former lover Angelo piece together her sudden disappearance, Leaves in the Wind offers a rare, authentic glimpse into the dark days of the Dirty Wars. A cautionary tale that brings to light savage tactics that are still everyday occurrences around the world, this arresting, historically accurate work is required reading for anyone seeking clarity on the human rights issues that continue to play out on the global stage.
Dr. King's Non-fiction Works
The Political Theory of Darwinism: Zoon Politikon and the Evolutionary Case for Social Democracy
This study explores the theoretical impact the evolutionary sciences, in general, and holistic Darwinism in particular, have on any one particular ideology that seeks to ground itself within a scientific view of human nature.
The text demonstrates how several Marxian ideological principals are quite at odds with the view of human nature exposed by holistic Darwinism, broadly conceived. The author tentatively suggests that it is Social Democracy, as opposed to Marxism or liberal-democratic capitalism, which is the most adaptive political ideology in the twenty-first century.
This study explores the theoretical impact the evolutionary sciences, in general, and holistic Darwinism in particular, have on any one particular ideology that seeks to ground itself within a scientific view of human nature.
The text demonstrates how several Marxian ideological principals are quite at odds with the view of human nature exposed by holistic Darwinism, broadly conceived. The author tentatively suggests that it is Social Democracy, as opposed to Marxism or liberal-democratic capitalism, which is the most adaptive political ideology in the twenty-first century.
Dialectical Social Science in the Age of Complexity
This study places dialectical thinking, theory, and method on a solid scientific footing with respect to the contemporary sciences of holistic-relationism; and offers a competing, even superior, philosophy of social science to the mainstream version of positivistic-behaviourism.
It subjects mainstream social science to wholesale reorientation, and in doing so, offers a valid prescription for a post-postivistic, post-behaviouristic social science that is scientifically grounded. It also indicates ways in which a dialectical, holistic-relational social science will help shape a more democratic, humane style of politics and public policy.
This study places dialectical thinking, theory, and method on a solid scientific footing with respect to the contemporary sciences of holistic-relationism; and offers a competing, even superior, philosophy of social science to the mainstream version of positivistic-behaviourism.
It subjects mainstream social science to wholesale reorientation, and in doing so, offers a valid prescription for a post-postivistic, post-behaviouristic social science that is scientifically grounded. It also indicates ways in which a dialectical, holistic-relational social science will help shape a more democratic, humane style of politics and public policy.
