01-28-2012, 07:48 PM | #1 |
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"The United Kingdom of Islam" by M.L. Stewart
Hello again Mobilereaders,
In the year 2020 a devastating terrorist attack takes place in the city of London. An attack, planned for many years, which acts as the catalyst for an elaborate plot by Islamic supremacists to overthrow the government and monarchy alike. The Radical Islamic Party seizes control of England and immediately introduces Sharia law, with horrific consequences. Meanwhile, in the North, an army of former hooligans refuse to surrender their values to the extremists, let alone their country. They fight tooth and nail for their beliefs, eventually leading to the North-South divide becoming a grim reality, the frontline. As the extremists push further north, Emily Piper, a young woman who grew up knowing only the deprivation and oppression of the wasteland known as the Northern Territory, decides the time has come for change. But as she plans to gather an army, strong enough to retake England, she doesn't realise the years of hunger have created an enemy much more terrifying than the extremists. A novel of 147,000 words. Approximately 420 printed pages. $3.99 The first 5-star review: 25 Jan, 2012. Stephen Leather wrote: Hard-hitting story, written with flair. ML Stewart caused a bit of a stir with his eBook bestseller The Facebook Killer so I was interested in seeing this latest book. I was especially interested because for years I've been playing around with plots set in a UK under Sharia law. I was looking at a murder investigation with a Christian inspector shadowed by a Muslim sergeant and looking at how crimes might be investigated differently from the way they are now. All I have is notes and I doubt the book will ever be written. MLS has taken a different route with his novel and it's a cracker, though not for the faint-hearted. What I noticed immediately is the way the writing flows. Most self-published eBooks read like they've been written by amateurs but MLS writes like a pro. His descriptions of a UK under Muslim control are clever - I loved the idea of the London Eye being used as a rotating gallows for instance. It's very much an alternative reality type of story, and you have to suspend quite a lot of belief as you read it, but that doesn't take away from the story in the least. It's quite violent and so won't please everybody but I enjoyed it. M.L. Stewart is the author of the Amazon UK and Apple iBook #1 bestselling "Facebook Killer" series. http://www.amazon.co.uk/United-Kingd...7578337&sr=1-1 https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/126652 |
01-29-2012, 04:17 AM | #2 |
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This sounds really interesting. I've been working on something similar myself for a while now which is destined never to be finished but I will certainly check this out whenever I've cleared my eBook backlog!
Anything to do with future political issues, apocalypse, all of these complex things interests me. This sounds right up my street |
01-29-2012, 07:19 AM | #3 |
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Have you sought the advice of Muslims to ensure that your understanding of Sharia law is correct? I can see the potential for causing serious offence by misrepresentation of Sharia law, if not.
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01-29-2012, 07:21 AM | #4 |
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Sounds interesting and the few pages of the sample that I read were good, so I bought it. Hve some karma for making it available on Smashwords and not an Amazon exclusive.
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01-30-2012, 02:24 AM | #5 |
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01-30-2012, 06:31 AM | #6 |
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Last edited by carpetmojo; 01-30-2012 at 06:35 AM. |
01-30-2012, 06:48 AM | #7 | |
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Quote:
I've not noted your inquiring of other authors whether their understanding of the subject matter of a novel has been verified by seeking advice of experts in the area. In fact, I've not noted any MR member asking a similar question of authors. Is giving offence a special concern when it comes to Muslims? (It's not that I disagree with the idea that authors should be knowledgeable about the subject areas in which they write and their descriptions should be accurate; rather, I wonder why the question is asked about Sharia law but not about books focused on child abuse, church exorcisms, police procedures, space travel, etc.) |
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01-30-2012, 06:49 AM | #8 |
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sounds good, i like current/near future scenarios like this. i'm broke right this second but i'll pick it up at some point.
kudos for the sizeable sample, it gives a nice feel for the book. |
01-31-2012, 07:01 PM | #9 | |
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Quote:
The novel is a work of fiction. In real life, Sharia law comes in many forms and, being set in the near future, I have portrayed a strict form of that law, yet it maintains many principles currently implemented today, throughout the world. The book is by no means "anti-muslim", it could quite as easily have been written about nationalist, white supremacists and the effect they would have on a country. Rhadin, your comment is very interesting, and also something touched upon in the book. Regards, ML Stewart Last edited by M.L.Stewart; 02-01-2012 at 03:12 AM. |
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01-31-2012, 07:57 PM | #10 | |
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I finished the book this afternoon and enjoyed it very much.
A fun blend of realism and far out sci-fi/fantasy. There was one brief part that tweaked me personally on a level of faith and made my "Blasphemy Buzzer"TM wail for a minute. Spoiler:
But after the initial shock and disgust you scored several points with that scene. Quote:
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02-01-2012, 02:57 AM | #11 | |
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02-01-2012, 03:15 AM | #12 | |
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02-01-2012, 05:52 AM | #13 |
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Well, I bought the book and started reading it. It started out well, but as I got further into the book, I became less enthralled with it. Then I got to the city of Carlisle and those affected with Kuru -- the Reapers or Lecters (presumably after Hannibal Lecter) -- made their appearance. After reading a bit of that, I quit the book. Not my cup of tea.
But one thing I did note is that the book has grammar/spelling errors, mainly misuse of homonyms. Also, is "Higgans" British slang? I couldn't figure out why those on the battlefront were called Higgans or what Higgans really means. |
02-01-2012, 07:22 AM | #14 |
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02-02-2012, 11:01 AM | #15 | |
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I read the 10% free sample then immediately bought the book there and then on my Sony eReader, not something I do very often. Andrew |
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