My WND Technocracy column this week is about the uproar over President Obama presuming to order American citizens (or American corporations) to provid...
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"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
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Jeff Cooper
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The temptation to uncritically label every one of Jerry Ahern's books with five stars is definitely within me. Mr. Ahern's many fiction series (including this one, "Track," "The Takers," and his "Defender" books) had a profound influence on me as a ...moreThe temptation to uncritically label every one of Jerry Ahern's books with five stars is definitely within me. Mr. Ahern's many fiction series (including this one, "Track," "The Takers," and his "Defender" books) had a profound influence on me as a writer. Jerry combines a very vivid imagination (and a willingness to leave the real world for science fiction and even fantasy settings) with solid firearms knowledge, a flair for adventure, and fast-paced action scenes. There are times when "The Survivalist," in particular, feels and reads like a soap opera, but that is part of the series' charm. Without that human element you'd be reading page after page of shooting people in the face... which, come to think of it, fairly aptly describes my own Executioner novels.
I have read what must be every novel Jerry Ahern has written, from these to his one-off books (such as "The Freeman" and "The Golden Shield of IBF"). I wrote him fan mail many years ago, in the dark ages when people still used dot-matrix printers. He wrote back, and we have corresponded infrequently over the years since. I even owe Jerry for discovering the work of Ayn Rand, for it was the fact that his protagonist in "The Survivalist" series was reading "Atlas Shrugged" that prompted me to pick up the old copy a friend had given me years previously. (I've always believed that Jerry named his protagonist in "The Survivalist" after Rand's in "The Fountainhead.")
No, Mr. Ahern's action novels aren't high literature, but neither is the genre meant to be. These are some of the most entertaining books I've ever read in the action-and-adventure category. They're not quite pure escapism, for Ahern brings realistic elements of firearms, preparedness, and even politics to what he writes. They do, however, comfort the reader in the same way entirely escapist fiction does. When you reach the end of each series, you are genuinely disappointed to see them end. I can think of no better tribute to an author or his work than to wish for both to soldier on in perpetuity.(less)
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"When it comes to open flame, you're never as 'far enough back' as you think you are."
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Phil Elmore
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This is not a good book.
Shelley's novel deserves to be lauded for the themes, for the ideas, she dared to examine -- concepts that were truly groundbreaking and breathtaking at the time they were offered. She should not, however, be congratulated fo...moreThis is not a good book.
Shelley's novel deserves to be lauded for the themes, for the ideas, she dared to examine -- concepts that were truly groundbreaking and breathtaking at the time they were offered. She should not, however, be congratulated for her prose, for the fact is that this book is poorly written, poorly constructed, and bizarrely paced. It rambles and stumbles along much like the better-known movie incarnations of Shelley's 'monster.' It bores. It confuses. It lulls the reader to sleep.
I'm quite certain many readers attempt to plow through "The Modern Prometheus" believing that they must simply be stupid. Having been told how brilliant is this literary classic, they are not prepared to read its pages and think, as I did, "Wait... this isn't very good." It can't be that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a dull, muddled mess; it must be that the reader lacks the capacity to appreciate the novel for the masterpiece that it is.
Well, no. It isn't you. You're not stupid. This is not a good book -- not in subsequent revisions, nor when it was originally published.(less)
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All novels are equal, but some are more equal than others. "Animal Farm" is one of those beautiful books that distills an important concept -- in this case, the phenomenon, faults, and dangers of Communism -- in such a beautifully visible, perfectly...moreAll novels are equal, but some are more equal than others. "Animal Farm" is one of those beautiful books that distills an important concept -- in this case, the phenomenon, faults, and dangers of Communism -- in such a beautifully visible, perfectly crafted series of metaphors that the power of its message transcends the component parts of its prose. I read "Animal Farm" almost as an afterthought in 1984, after reading and enjoying a commemorative edition of "Orwell's other book." While "1984" is an extrapolation from the warnings of "Animal Farm," the latter stands on its own as allegorical declaration of war on a socioeconomic system responsible for mass murder across the world.
No person capable of understanding WHY "Animal Farm" is brilliant ought to be able to take seriously any collectivist governmental power scheme. One sees Snowballs and Goldsteins under ever rock and behind every tree after finishing this novel... and then one realizes how these scapegoats are manufactured by the Powers that Are. It's as if our political masters have never read either book -- because they don't try to hide the obvious parallels. They don't even pay lip-service to denials of those similarities... because they don't care. They know that you know, and they are not impressed, for they carry the whips in their trotters.
One does not really "enjoy" a book like "Animal Farm." To read it is to be made uncomfortable... because it describes only too clearly what goes on around us every day. We may move our mouths to the tune of living in a "free society," but we don't. Orwell understood why we didn't, why we wouldn't, why we don't, and why we won't.(less)
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There is a 1972 movie version of "Slaughterhouse Five" that is surprisingly appropriate. You would think -- given Vonnegut's often disjointed style and the sometimes very strange material of a book that, apart from all the time-traveling and space a...moreThere is a 1972 movie version of "Slaughterhouse Five" that is surprisingly appropriate. You would think -- given Vonnegut's often disjointed style and the sometimes very strange material of a book that, apart from all the time-traveling and space alien visiting and space-zoo-dwelling porn-star sex-having-with, is ultimately about the fire-bombing of Dresden -- no director could do it justice. Even the attempt should have produced a film absurdity. The fact that George Roy Hill's film is watchable must say something about Vonnegut's book, but I'll admit I'm not entirely certain what that something is.
There's no question that Vonnegut leans left, and on its surface this book is a lot of hand-wringing about how awful and pointless is the tragedy of war. There are arbitrary atrocities enough to go around, but there are really only three kinds of people in Vonnegut's universe. There are hapless, often disconnected odd-balls just trying to get by (Billy Pilgrim foremost among them), there are crazy people (such as Billy's wife, or the deranged soldier who, in Billy's vision or experience of the future, is destined to assassinate him), and there are murderous, cowardly jingoists who dare to believe war is sometimes necessary. These last are destined to be hoisted on the petards of their own triple-edged trench knives.
The rest is a lot of poetic set dressing, and in this Vonnegut succeeds. I am as quick to perceive insult to my worldview as any reader, and I find the book enjoyable despite Vonnegut's biases. It may not be as deep a novel as Vonnegut or his devotees believe it to be, but it is worthwhile nonetheless.(less)
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Here comes a candle to light you to bed. Here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Here comes a novel to change, for the rest of your life, how you think of governmental power.
I read "1984" IN 1984. At the time I had no idea just how powerful wou...moreHere comes a candle to light you to bed. Here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Here comes a novel to change, for the rest of your life, how you think of governmental power.
I read "1984" IN 1984. At the time I had no idea just how powerful would become Orwell's writing in my life. I doubt you could argue that any other book has been more influential in American politics and government. The looming visage of Big Brother intimidates us all... and it should, because we all live with, walk under, and sleep in bed next to an all-powerful government whose reach is arguably greater (and considerably more insidious) than the technotalitarian dystopia of Eric Blair's book.
People in modern society use terms from 1984 every day. Hell, there's an insipid 'reality' television show named "Big Brother." The language, the themes, and the warnings of this novel are so interwoven in popular culture that it would be impossible to eradicate them... yet far too few people, especially younger people, have *read* 1984 or understand the implications of the society it depicts.
Orwell's horrible future is melodramatic, yes. Governments today boil their frogs considerably more slowly and with greater finesse, couching always their machinations as what is best for everyone. They understand, as Eric "George Orwell" Blair did, that "everyone" seldom includes the individual. When that individual is subordinated to the all-powerful state, we are collectively diminished even as we are individually damned.(less)
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I bought "City Infernal" used through one of Amazon's shops after the ad in the back of another horror novel caught my eye. I was intrigued by the idea of Hell as a city of horrors and curious as to how Lee would envision it. I enjoyed the same idea ...moreI bought "City Infernal" used through one of Amazon's shops after the ad in the back of another horror novel caught my eye. I was intrigued by the idea of Hell as a city of horrors and curious as to how Lee would envision it. I enjoyed the same idea in the novelization of the film "Constantine" and was looking for more.
Lee surprised me with a remarkably entertaining and frequently fresh look at an old subject -- what would Hell be like? He creates a mythos around his Mephistopolis, the City of Hell, that I found compelling and absorbing. At times unpleasant and sometimes so hyperbolic that it borders on the ridiculous (though never quite getting there), the horrific City of Hell is something I envision in almost cartoon terms. I could see an animated movie of this emerge quite easily, but not a live action film. This is a version of the Hell that should remain entirely in the realm of fantasy; it is most enjoyable on those terms.
When I put the book down after finishing it (it was hard to put it down before then), I immediately wanted more and went looking for the sequel. That book was "Infernal Angel."(less)
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After enjoying City Infernal, I eagerly awaited the arrival of Infernal Angel. I couldn't put the first book down and wanted more of the same. I ordered it despite some of the negative reviews here calling it a "poor rewrite" of the first. I don't th...moreAfter enjoying City Infernal, I eagerly awaited the arrival of Infernal Angel. I couldn't put the first book down and wanted more of the same. I ordered it despite some of the negative reviews here calling it a "poor rewrite" of the first. I don't think that's accurate at all.
While there certainly are elements of the first book in the second, including some overlap concerning the descriptions of Hell, this one is a more complex narrative with multiple new characters and a storyline that takes a different approach. Gone are most of the protagonists from the first book, leaving us with Cassie and a new cast of characters (including a human whose journey to Hell intersects, but never quite interacts with, Cassie's own).
I considered giving this book one fewer star than I did City Infernal, but the fact is that I was easily as entertained by this second book as the first -- and very curious as to whether Lee intends to make a trilogy of the series (as he once said he might). Given the very... final... tone of this book's end, I don't know if there's anywhere to go with it, but I would gladly pay for a third outing with Cassie and Mr. Lee.(less)
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