Chicago Tribune
Book about war with U.S. touches nerve in Turkey, `Metal Storm′ even read in high places
By Catherine Collins
Special to the Tribune
Published February 20, 2005
The novel, "Metal Storm" or "Metal Firtina," has proved popular even among senior Turkish government officials and has sparked its own war of words between the two countries, striking a nerve at a time when relations are strained over real events.
Plausible or not, the book hits on all the Turkish sensitivities, from the threat of terrorism to the fear of earthquakes. In one scene, a Turkish patriot steals a nuclear weapon from Incirlik Air Base, the installation in southern Turkey where U.S. military aircraft are based and where rumor has it nuclear weapons are stored.
A second U.S. diplomat in Turkey tried to put a slightly more positive spin on the book′s reception, saying: "This is not a phenomenon isolated to Turkey, there is a anti-American sentiment elsewhere, too, largely because of the Iraq war. At least in Turkey you can run into people who completely disagree with our policies, but they offer you a cup of coffee and are willing to sit and chat about it."
The Christian Science Monitor
Sure it′s fiction. But many Turks see fact in anti-US novel.
By Yigal Schleifer | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
ISTANBUL, TURKEY – The year is 2007. After a clash with Turkish forces in northern Iraq, US troops stage a surprise attack. Reeling, Turkey turns to Russia and the European Union, who turn back the American onslaught.
This is the plot of "Metal Storm," one of the fastest- selling books in Turkish history. The book is clearly sold as fiction, but its premise has entered Turkey′s public discourse in a way that sometimes seems to blur the line between fantasy and reality.
Rights on the whole world: TİMAŞ
Rights at Poland: Bellona Pub.