The Iron Dream

The Iron Dream: WTH am I reading? A simulation of a fascist novel? Why is it so fun? It has this

kind of feel. The protagonist is so into his shit. And, of course, the setting is built in such a way that he's completely right, so, in-context, it tells the righteous tale of a man fighting evil for the future of humanity. It's only as soon as you think of what it's an allegory for in Real Life that it all breaks down. Three universes this reminds me of:

• Three Hundred
• The Lord Of The Rings, where racial purity is a big frickin' deal.
• Warhammer 40 K.

The world of the pure and just is under siege, evil foreign elements spread an indolent corruption and decay within, and only righteous fury, fanatical devotion, and a pure-bred hero can bring salvation to the masses. TO DEAAAATH! TO DEEEEAAAAATH!

Not surprise with those series: 300 is pretty much a right-wing fantasy while 40K mock is universe where facism is right(that mean, a crapsack universe without peer) also it mocks tolkien copycat who let their right wing split in them every time.

Beg your pardon?

The "hero" reminds me of a Conan parody.

I dunno, Conan never cared about race all that much, or did he?

Robert E. Howard was pretty big on race, as well as his hard-on for civilization vs. barbarianism. Basically, while there were white barbarians and black barbarians, white barbarians could adopt and conceive their own civilizations, while black barbarians were the basest of savages. Asian barbarian types had weird, sadistic rights that no clean white barbarian would adopt. And so on.

Oh, so a parody of the franchise, not the character. I mean, Conan is a pretty cool guy, as far as archaic heroes goes. He wouldn't be out of place in the Iliad.

Howard never really got into Asiatic barbarians unless you mean the Picts and they were more a knock on First Nations. Sort of. Once you take a serious look at them Howards views on race are a bit more complex than they appear at first view but that's something that maybe deserves it's own thread.

edited 3rd Dec '15 5:54:53 PM by tricksterson

My favorite parts are the framing chapters at the beginning and the end: the writer's biography, and the alternate-history explanation. The actual story drags a bit, and could have done with some tightening. But it does have that 1950s "The Mutants Are Coming!" feel.