Published: October 20, 2007 12:14 am            

Writing of a Collapse

Matthew Merten's second novel is a story about what the Effingham area might be like after a catastrophic terrorist attack that would make the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, look like a fender-bender.

The Effingham resident and power plant employee said the scenario developed in "Ta Saadum: The Collapse" is just realistic enough to be scary.

"After I wrote the book, I gave a rough draft to an engineer friend of mine and asked him if this (the scenario) could be done in 10 years.

"He said it could be done in five."

Despite the grim nature of the book, Merten said the book is not meant to be read with the idea there's a message. He admitted, however, that a message could be gleaned from the subject matter.

"America, I really like you, but you are vulnerable," Merten said.

Ta Saadum is an Arabic phrase meaning "Collapse From Within."

Merten begins the book by having heroine Stephenie Plasters hiding from roving bands of marauders in a rural area near Effingham about six months after "The Collapse." From there, he works backward to the attack itself and the immediate aftermath.

Merten, who published "More Than a Butler" last year, said the basic premise of the book came from long hours on watch duty during his years as a submariner in the U.S. Navy more than 20 years.

"We'd think about how we could sabotage the sub without anybody knowing about it," he said. "You sit there and do this long enough and it becomes a habit."

Merten, who has lived in Effingham since 2001, said he still thinks about how essential systems can be destroyed.

"I still have that morbid sense of how you can destroy something without someone knowing about it," Merten said.

Merten draws several analogies to present-day terror organizations in his book. The evil "Network" is a take-off on al-Qaida, while Joseph is an Osama bin Laden type who masterminds the terrorist plot with invaluable assistance from his Americanized protege Carl — a Palestinian who is adopted by an American missionary couple.

Heroine Stephenie is named for Merten's daughter. Stephenie's brother in the book is named Morgan, just as the real Stephenie has a brother named Morgan.

Merten also makes liberal use of names common in Effingham, such as Niebrugge, Koester and Doty.

Merten, who works at the Holland Energy plant, said he has contemplated a full-time writing career even though neither of his novels have sold well.

"Wouldn't it be kind of cool to write two or three thousand words every day and have a book done in six months?" he said.

He's talked over the possibility of a sequel with some of his buddies at the Effingham Christian Riters U, a local writing group.

"There's a possibility, but I haven't worked it out."

Bill Grimes can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 132 or bill.grimes@effinghamdailynews.com.