Frontier Wolf Reviewed/Think Rome A double feature.

"Frontier Wolf" by some lady with a name...

I would make a big apology for my inconsistent posting but the fact is that I plan to post inconsistently, expect it (All revivals loose steam eventually twice born) but not yet, today we’ve got a double feature.

I finished my book yesterday “Frontier Wolf” and even though I’m under the strictest of orders to like it and say not the otherwise. The reality is however (stomachs drop as the verdict is read “stupid parenthetical say it already”) I did like it. In fact I wish it was about 300 pages longer.

For those of you who don’t know Frontier wolf is about a Roman fort in northern Britain. When Rome was young and growing quickly their territory expanded across much Europe and Northern Africa. One people whose mouths refused to bear a Roman bit were the tribes of modern Scotland. When Rome marched into a new area after the army was defeated they allowed them to keep their religion and much of their practices so many people submitted, not happily but what else could they do. In northern Britain the people would have fought to the death to keep their freedom so Rome decided to build a few walls to keep them out and then just hold the line where it was. This story takes place at this frontier only many years after the strength of Rome’s youth had given way to her gluttony and excess.

The book had an unusual feel to it. Normally a story is introduced and the action starts and then shortly after the solution it ends. This story is almost half over before the crisis begins. In a way it’s frustrating because you don’t get to know the characters ‘courage under fire’ as well as in other books like, LotR, or Lone Survivor. But it did give you, in a very deep way, a feel for life on the greatest frontier of its age. It’s really a book about guard duty, and as you might imagine guard duty isn’t always a gore soaked glory fest.

Its main character, Alexios, is a young officer who is pushed up the military ladder too quickly because of some family ties higher up in the Roman government. He gets into some trouble which gets his career put on the shelf, guarding the corner of No and Where. It’s interesting to have book from the perspective of the leader of the Frontier’s men (called wolves for the wolf skins sown over their cloaks) but the sad thing is that you loose some of the flavor of the Wolf experience because your character, as the commander, isn’t ever one of the guys. Also because the action starts so late you only get a little ‘action’.

Over all its worth the reading if you like the subject but something is missing, pulling it short of being truly epic. Because of this it gets (censored by her royal highness) mandibles out of ten , which is being generous.

Think Rome or you’ll be speaking Chinese

Ok, I have this little problem with liberals. I agree with that guy who says its a mental disorder.
Ok when Rome conquered a people they gave them freedom to continue their lives for the most part. The only changes were that now your favorite team was the ‘eagles,’ you paid taxes to the Caesar and if you were naughty you might end up a slave. What was wrong with this system? Rome was stronger because they were smarter and was therefore ‘fitter’ (Think survival of the…)

Those stupid hippies area always saying we should ‘go green’ and use ‘all natural’ stuff. But if we did things all naturally would we be bending over backwards to shell cash out to useless native corporations like Doyon, Nana, and Goldbelt? I think not. The fact is that our culture and society was stronger and more united that theirs and that’s why we took their land and taught them our language. The fact is, and it’s a fact, that they would have done the same thing to Europe if they could have. Don’t believe the Disney presentation of the peace pipe smoking chief who learns from the bear spirit. In and of itself it’s a tragedy to have your people and way of life shattered by another culture but when you step back and think about the good that was done you can’t deny that its better.

Before the pale face came to America the native people didn’t have the two great building blocks of our society, soap and steel. After we took over the native people their population has been given the opportunity to grow and expand beyond their own abilities before contact. Not to mention things like oil heat, light, and transportation. Even more important they have the Gospel now (and all the cults but that’s just part of the deal sadly).

I don’t want people to get the idea that I’m a racist or any other kind of bigot. The point I’m trying to make here is that when we create corporations that are based around a racial identity then we create sepperations between the races. A few years ago a native corp on the kenai gave every native member 50,000 dollars. Where did this money come from you might be wonering? Its our tax dollars wisely invested and then redistributed. It’s a ‘sorry about the gift of soap and steel’ card with two years salary tucked in. I want to know where my 50G’s are! Oh yeah I GET to work for it, not have to. I am allowed the great honor of applying my 1 man hour per hour to the highest bidder and being paid my worthy wage. This kind of ‘help’ is not help it’s like doing your kids homework and chores for them. Think Rome, they should be doing back flips that they are allowed to be first class citizens. Do fancy things like vote and own land and hold jobs and practice their faith openly. Instead they gripe and complain about not getting more.

This liberal mindset of being sorry for being the strongest is what is killing these people. This is why most of the bums you see down town are white guys… wait no they’re not! They are drowning in some liberal’s bleeding heart and it should break yours.

I hate the idea that you have to hire so many black, Hispanic, or native people just because. You want to see some grade a racism just try to apply for a job at a federal post office. You get points for being not white or for being a woman… the noose tightens.

These equality promoting corporations, like labor unions, may have had a constructive purpose in the past but now they’re a thorn and a joke to any one not benefiting from them.

Our country is being slowly choked by people masquerading as Americans but would love little more than to suffocate us as we prostrate our airway into the dark earth. If we don't realize that some times working as a strong society take some short term sacrifice (like hireing people based on their work ethic and not some long forgoten ancestral tragedy) then we are going to be taken by young and ruthless nations who with great patence ease their hand around our necks. Every day Americans who are thinking of today sell their companies for a big cash pay off to a chinese company who is willing to take a little hit now to own the future. They aren't going to have to beach a single boat to turn the US into its slave. If they are the ones selling everything we want then all they have to do to bring us to our knees is say "No" one time. After that we'll be begging in chinese. I guess our only hope is the fact that we produce more wepons that we know what to do with. The problem is that being better buisnessmen is no reason to go to war. Its sad to think that like Rome who started out so strong America will get old and fat someday as well.

"This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper." T.S. Elliot.

Sorry if this didn't make any sense I think it was more for me than you. Oh well, you asked.