Mario Szichman

216 páginas

The plot of The Empty Region takes the reader from the military camps of holy warriors in Pakistan, to the security corridors of the CIA and the FBI. It’s a fascinating puzzle inhabited by historical characters, including Osama bin Laden and George W. Bush, as well as officials aware of the tragedy´s secrets.

Szichman leads us along the terminals where the air pirates of al-Qaida consummated their tragic ritual, makes us travel on the airplanes, turned into guided missiles, and recreates the 102 minutes when the burning towers of the World Trade Center became hell on earth. Although violence and destruction are the background of the novel, is the common citizen who is brought to the story´s foreground. Infused with glimpses of humor and irony, The Empty Region is also a love story, and a song of life, populated by unforgettable characters. “Szichman […] Has the accuracy of an entomologist, shows rhetorical display, scary emotion, poignant suspense. The narrative interest consists in the vertigo of the events and in the performances of their main character´s.”

Fernando Rodríguez Lafuente (Cultural Suplement. ABC of Madrid)