Brush up on your Q'uran, you're gonna need it.

Dan Simmons, novelist extraodinaire has eschewed his typical monthly 'Message from Dan' and has instead delivered a fantastic piece of writing for April 06. It's chilling, frightening, and I hope to god in no way prophetic.

In the piece, Dan gets a visit from a stranger with news from the not so distant future:

I tried to relax. “What do you want to talk about?” I said.

“The Century War,” said the Time Traveler.

I blinked and tried to remember some history. “You mean the Hundred Year War? Fifteenth Century? Fourteenth? Sometime around there. Between . . . France and England? Henry V? Kenneth Branagh? Or was it . . .”

“I mean the Century War with Islam,” interrupted the Time Traveler. “Your future. Everyone’s.” He was no longer smiling. Without asking, or offering to pour me any, he stood, refilled his Scotch glass, and sat again. He said, “It was important to me to come back to this time early on in the struggle. Even if only to remind myself of how unspeakably blind you all were.”

“You mean the War on Terrorism,” I said.

“I mean the Long War with Islam,” he said. “The Century War. And it’s not over yet where I come from. Not close to being over.”

It's well worth reading, so I'm going to link to it again. And maybe once more.

He is also the author that has inspired me most, particularly as he seems to get nominated for and win awards for his genre-hopping bibliography. (Check the link here -- especially for the awards -- wow). Horror, sci-fi, fiction, noir, spy thriller -- it's all great stuff. Good jumping off points would be the Hyperion/Endymion series (sci-fi), Carrion Comfort (horror) and The Crook Factory (spy thriller based around Hemmingway)