Terrorism is such a fact of modern life that it figures in numerous novels about international relations; its tendency to victimize people who have no idea of what is going on makes it particularly useful as a symbol of the chaotic nature of modern societies, especially modern technology. Salmon Rushdie uses it to trigger the plot of The Satanic Verses (1988; see separate entry); protagonists Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha meet when their Air-India airliner is hijacked and blown up by Sikh terrorists.

Author Rushdie himself became an example of victims of terrorism when the leader of a nation, Iran, that funded terrorists took exception to his satire and issued a death sentence on him, offering to pay money to anyone who killed Rushdie. Writing about terrorists and the cultures that spawn them can be risky business.

An author who has made extensive use of terrorism in...