DIES IRAE: DAY of WRATH: A Novella by William Forstchen













Published in 2014 by Spectrum Literary Agency

 William R. Fortschen notes in his introduction to Dies Irae: Day of Wrath that he felt compelled to write the story after a long discussion with a couple of friends about ISIS and the porous nature of America's southern border. What he came up with is this novella that is jam-packed full of action and very short on things like character development and a real resolution. But, it was written as a warning more than anything else.

The main characters are Bob Peterson and his wife Kathy who live in Maine. Bob is a middle school teacher. ISIS-backed terrorists have invaded America to launch a series of attacks on schools in smaller towns across the country, including Bob's.

Bob breaks school rules and state laws by carrying a pistol on his person in the school, and on this day that is a good thing...

Fortschen's descriptions of the ensuing death and mayhem are over the top but effective. To be honest, this book reminded me of Stephen King's orgies of blood and chaos in books like The Stand and Cell and I think that Fortschen would welcome the comparison.

Is this book a great book? No. It is over-the-top and alarmist.

That said, it is a compelling read, even though this public school teacher is very much against arming teachers in a school setting.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Dies Arae: Day of Wrath.

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