Iron Gates exemplifies the unsavory qualities of human nature to the extreme - sadism, arrogance and unadulterated cruelty. Our destruction of the environment as well as the ecosystem and its inhabitants has gone unchecked since the inception of early man. This has hastened at a rapid rate following the industrial revolution. Whereas animal life exists in relative harmony with its environment, human existence has wreaked havoc on such organic equilibrium. It is my understanding that a complete and ubiquitous extirpation of homosapien consciousness is practically unattainable through means such as forced sterilization and voluntary extinction.
Perhaps encouragement, if not outright exacerbation of the traits outline in iron gates would be ultimately beneficial for the planet as a whole. While seemingly counter intuitive, themes within the book suggest an internal cannibalization within the organization. When all lands are conquered and geopolitical supremacy has been attained, all that will be left will be a game of inflicted violence among those remaining, finalizing in termination of human life and a restoration of universal order as it once existed.
Further, the setting of Iron Gates takes place within a society devoid of modern technology (this is a result of contemporary machinery being destroyed, or its workings otherwise being no longer understood). As described by ted kaczynski in “On Industrial Society and Its Future” the comforts and amenities offered by modern society do not ameliorate many of the maladies that exist within the modern psyche.
One can draw a parallel between the lifestyle of man within the hunter gather period and that described in the novel (as described by the previous reviewer). While short and undeniably brutal, an uncanny zest and appreciation for life exists within the organization (albeit in a most perverse manner). An atavistic element exists in the characters and hearkens back to the ways of yore in which sex and violence reigned supreme.
Iron Gates is an intriguing read, especially so when viewed from the lens of anti technology ideology and pro human extinction. I suspect proliferation of the text will only continue within the coming years.
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