September 11,2001: 3,000 Dead Americans Next Al-Qaeda Attack: 80 Million Dead? Fifth anniversary of 9/11, novel suggests worst is yet to come

Sheldon Filger was living in New York City on September 11, 2001 when Al-Qaeda struck the World Trade Center. His experience led him to research the possibility that the next attack by Osama bin Laden's followers would utilize a nuclear weapon of mass destruction. Based on his research, he wrote "King of Bombs," a terrifying novel about nuclear terrorism.

Many experts believe that the risk of nuclear terrorism is very real, and that Al-Qaeda could build a crude nuclear bomb, comparable in destructive power to the device that levelled Hiroshima, if it were to acquire the essential fissile materials. In Filger's novel, a scenario that is far worse is explored. His plot involves a nexus with Al-Qaeda, countries deeply hostile to the United States such as Iran and North Korea, and the illicit nuclear materials black market. This results in Al-Qaeda attempting to build an exact copy of the most powerful nuclear bomb ever designed and tested, a Soviet relic of the cold war codenamed the "King of Bombs," from which the novel derives its name. Should Al-Qaeda build the weapon, smuggle it into the U.S. and detonate it in a major populated region, potentially tens of millions of Americans would die. The horror of 9/11 would be eclipsed by such a doomsday event.

"King of Bombs" is also highly political, delving into the impact of the war in Iraq in distracting the United States form fully securing the homeland against a future Al-Qaeda attack that could be far more lethal. Sheldon Filger's novel is suspenseful, chilling and disturbing, as it reminds us all that five years after 9/11, America remains vulnerable to forces that are still determined to attack, and acquire far more destructive weapons which they intend to use.