Men-Art-War

On Earth, the competition of life is never ending. Individuals by themselves are vulnerable; thus nature shapes life, and from this force groups necessarily emerge. Each group develops distinct ways of survival which are constantly tested, growing stronger with endurance or weakening with decay and eventually going extinct. Among the hominids, the Cro-Magnon man has developed many traits for survival but the quintessential ability—the distinctly unique limb of their survival—is imagination, which, when structuralized with symbolism and enacted through idealism, is responsible for the whole of human domination and supremacy.

In Men-Art-War, Kolya, with ten succinct and easily digestible short stores, deals with the faculty of imagination extensively, demonstrating its expression throughout history as well as its corruption in the modern West. We are shown how the acceptance of force—the striving for the feeling of power—as an extension of our inherent nature leads to a more fulfilling, meaningful life not just in a socio-historical sense but to the individual psychology as well; and how the cogs of modernity strive to conquer, subvert and burry this impulse.

Contextually, the themes of this book present modernity, with its assurance of progress through technology, reverence for the illusion of safety and passivity and pity as the impetus of moral action, as a direct affront to the very nature of mankind, instead positing that life should be about transcending difficulties and overcoming adversities, no matter how daunting the task or how easy the alternative, through glorious art and glorious war: “Facilis descensus Averni.” Nietzsche’s Will to Power and Kaczynski’s Power Process are strongly implicated.

Rarely dose a work of contemporary fiction conflate with my personal beliefs as Men-Art-War has, which made reading it a rich, refreshing and fulfilling experience. For those of a dissimilar weltanschauung, much of this book might be difficult, challenging or even offensive, but such reactions to a different point of view are the impetus of intellectual growth and should be sought out rather than avoided if one is honest about such a pursuit. Kolya’s characters also provide many artistic, literary and historical references for one to explore if the wish.

Highly recommended.

Shayne