Hassan Riaz
Books
ISLAMIC STATES OF AMERICA
Jamal Stone is a man of the Caliphate. He is living an uneasy existence in the West State when he receives a video of his now ten-year-old son, Khalil, who has been missing since the age of three. Jamal is relieved to learn his son is alive, but distraught by the circumstance of the video—his son is being groomed by East State insurgents as an adolescent suicide bomber. Jamal must leave his settled life in the West State and travel three thousand miles treacherous to the East State—Washington D.C.—to rescue his son from violent death. An unflinching novel about the War on Terror, Islamic States of America is first and foremost a tender story about a father looking for his lost son.
“An extraordinary thriller of America under a caliphate, alive with jolting detail.” — Booklife (Editor’s Pick)
“Gripping... Riaz’s dystopian setting is richly conceived...A provocative story as dramatically thrilling as it is thoughtful.” — Kirkus Reviews
A decade has passed since the U.S. lost the War on Terror, the Caliphate rules America, and U.S. insurgents are the terrorists...
About the author
Hassan Riaz is the 2nd generation Pakastani son of a family of surgeons and doctors. He is a general doctor who works at his own practice also owned by his semi-retired father in Los Angeles. At 43, he is a practicing Muslim and a devoted doctor, writing during early mornings and late at night. He wrote his debut novel after seven years of publishing short stories in various literary reviews. This book took a year and a half to write and he has planned out his second novel which will be a medical thriller. He is a meticulous researcher and very much a deep thinker.
I firmly believe that ISLAMIC STATES OF AMERICA captures the moment and strongly expresses the zeitgeist of the times. The main character of Jamal Stone, is a moral man in an insane world of violence, repression and war. Both sides are the same and the point of the book is that. I read the book in one sitting. It’s a page turner, has a tight and meticulously plotted narrative. It’s like a Greek Classic- like the Iliad and the Odyssey, this story is about a man on a treacherous journey trying to find his son. His trials and tribulations are hellish but his resolve and love of his son propel him no matter what. I have been haunted by the book since I read it. I think all readers, especially be entranced by it. We are so excited to represent Hassan Riaz and see this is the beginning of his global bestselling career! What a great movie this will make!