The Iron Web
Posted: December 15th, 2009 by Militant Libertarian
The Iron Web by Larken Rose
I have a couple of things to confess before I get into this book: I am a fan of Larken Rose’s political writing and this book pisses me off.
For the first part, I believe Rose to be one of the foremost writers of anarchistic political thought today. He has a way of concisely, deliberately, and succinctly explaining facets of free range thought. He does it without flowery language nor does he do it by resorting to collegiate-level writing that few enjoy or understand.
For the second bit, the fact that he can do that and write a really great novel pisses me off. Why? Because I’ve tried to write fiction. Many times. It’s a lot harder than you’d think. Larken makes it look easy. Bastard.
That should tell you where I’m going with this review. The Iron Web is likely the best modern book I’ve read since John Ross’ Unintended Consequences. The two books have a somewhat similar trail, being about the police state and emerging freedom, but they have two very different ways of expressing the idea.
The story that The Iron Web revolves around is relatively simple. A group of anarchists live in the woods of Northern Arizona. The government, of course, calls them terrorists. Soon enough, the standard Waco/Ruby Ridge scenario begins.
The story mostly revolves around three major characters:
- Jessica, a well-to-do 19-year-old innocent,
- Jason, a rookie BATFE agent, and
- Betsy, personal secretary to a Senator who is the President-elect.
The story unfolds both in the woods of Arizona and in the office of a United States Senator. The two worlds are very different, the goings-on are related, but the perspectives are mostly at odds.
The Iron Web is an excellent read and well worth the time. It will enlighten and entertain any libertarian, anarchist, or Glenn Beck wannabe. Neo-cons probably won’t like it and Obamabots will hate it.
I highly recommend this book, which you can get from the author at this link.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0
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and Fire!
Very good book! The characters deal with stuff that’s caused my mind to do back flips for decades. Where does a freedom loving citizen draw the line? Larkin would be the guy to pull the stealth prez bit. That would be so cool; everything would be coming up roses and we’d have a real constitutional America.
Perhaps, though I’m not sure that could be pulled off at all, realistically. By the time these personalities get to the point where the PTB would let them be President, they’re so corrupted and compromised it’d be impossible for them to pull a switch without opening themselves up for immediate repercussions.
On the other side, the other story, for me, was the more important one. The one where the freedom-lovers merely held out until they’d won. The trick, I think, is to make the iron fist so costly that its fingers lose interest in being curled into a fist. You can only recruit so many federal agents, after all. If joining up means significantly shortening your life span, people begin to think twice eventually. That was the final note in Ross’ Unintended Consequences.
THE BOOK WAS GREAT I SHUR WISH IT COULD HAPPEN FOR REAL..I HAVE BEEN A FOLLOW HIS WORK FOR AT LEST 7 YEARS THANK YOU LARKEN FOR GIVING ME SOME HOPE IN THIS PLAY PEN WE CALL THE U.S. I LOVE THE SPEACH AT THE END I HAVE LISTEN TO IT OVER AND OVER AGAN IT IS SO TRUE. MY GOD BLESS YOU LARKEN…
The Iron Web is superbly written, which comes as no surprise.
Larken, you are a hero. I have been recommending The Iron Web to everyone I’ve come across who seems even remotely
inclined to be FREE TO BE.
Live long & prosper