Tag Archives: book review

BOOK REVIEW: How to Slay a Wizard by Owen Benjamin

29 Friday May 2026

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

How to Slay a Wizard by Owen Benjamin

Review by Perrin Lovett

 

Words have meanings. And when their meanings are distorted or subtly channeled, they become spells. Who casts spells? Wizards. They’re real, and they are not limited to the silly variety found in movies like Fantasia. Consider that, just a few years ago, millions and millions of people took a known poison out of fear, all because a wizard in the form of a talking rat on the television told them to. That’s misused authority and appropriated power. It’s a problem that calls out for a solution. Luckily, Owen Benjamin has given us one. 

(© Castalia / Owen Benjamin)

Smith, Benjamin Owen, How to Slay a Wizard, Switzerland: Castalia, 2026 (Kindle Ed.).

Owen Benjamin might be the tallest comedian on earth. And he’s one of the best. Despite being canceled by the usual suspects for speaking truth to wickedness, he continues to use humor as a weapon against evil and as armor for the good and decent. As a former insider and a man blessed with keen discernment, he knows exactly how to call out the movers and shake-downers of Clown World. Find him on UATV. How to Slay a Wizard is available from Amazon.

Within the 185 pages of How to Slay a Wizard, Benjamin packs an abundance of truth. Wizards are ultimately only servants of satan’s lies. But the threat that they represent is immense. Word wizardry convinces otherwise honest, ethical people to do things like modify their DNA based on lies, support wars against people who mean them no harm, live child-free and miserable, limit what they say for fear of offending some nebulous victim or another, and on and on. This is today, just as it has ever been, a legitimate challenge. 

The modern dominance of the wizards started, as Vox Day once suggested, by breaking the Christian prohibition against blasphemy. The people were told that anything was allowable under the guise of free speech and the like. Yet, no sooner had the wizards vanquished the old safeguards than they instituted new rules of their own. Free speech became hate speech, a concept Benjamin deals with decisively in his book. From page 88: “The word ‘hate speech’ is a wizard term. It means speech the wizard hates, because it threatens his position.” 

Benjamin uses famous wizards, like Saul Alinsky, to show precisely how a wizard’s mind works. He points out that, like all evildoers, these shifty spell masters can only invert and mock; they cannot create. As such, and I was surprised to see the connection made, instead of formulating their own new formulas, the modern wizards only stole and perverted the tactics from The Art of War by Sun Tzu. (See page 53.) 

As astounding as much of what Benjamin presents is, it is also very simple, as he explains it. He has quite the gift for communication. And he uses it, on page 178, to expose the “big lie” behind all wizardry: four simple words. And once one sees the lie, how does one then slay the wizard? Benjamin answers that question in only five words on page 129. 

A good book provides needful information and entertainment. How to Slay a Wizard hits that mark and surpasses it. A great book also allows the reader to become involved in some small way, or it recalls some memory the reader might have forgotten. Your reviewer was drawn in, with laughter, several times in this manner. 

Who needs to read Benjamin’s excellent book? You. It will be a special service to younger readers who seek a means to identify the controlling works of the word masters and how to halt their effects. These defensive tactics were once a part of the grammar, logic, and rhetoric study lessons available to Western students. Sadly, those civilized exercises have vanished from what now passes for schools in places like America. But much of the deficit can be filled with just one book, How to Slay a Wizard. As such, I highly recommend it. Buy a copy and read it today. Your reviewer gives great thanks to Mr. Benjamin for his time, talent, and dedication in writing it. 

BOOK REVIEW: The Fate of White America by Constantin von Hoffmeister

22 Friday May 2026

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ Comments Off on BOOK REVIEW: The Fate of White America by Constantin von Hoffmeister

Tags

, , , ,

The Fate of White America by Constantin von Hoffmeister

Review by Perrin Lovett

 

The United States Constitution, as originally ratified by the several American States, expressly stated that the new federal government was ordained and established for the Founding generation and their Posterity. The Founders were exclusively White Europeans, primarily of English descent. The 1828 edition of Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language defines “Posterity” as: “Descendants; children, children’s children, etc. indefinitely; the race that proceeds from a progenitor.” Likewise, “American,” as a title, is defined: “…now applied to the descendants of Europeans born in America.” So it was that the Americans were White Caucasians of European descent, largely of English stock and living in an extension of English culture. Other European races were added to the mix over time, which did complicate cultural matters. Still, until around 1950, White Europeans comprised roughly 90 percent of the U.S. population. Today, however, they account for little over half the population, their total numbers and relative percentage rank are falling, and, as Constantin von Hoffmeister notes, they are in a crisis. Here follows a brief look at Hoffmeister’s new book, The Fate of White America. 

(© Multipolar Press)

von Hoffmeister, Constantin, The Fate of White America, Multipolar Press, 2026 (Kindle Ed.)

Constantin von Hoffmeister is a German gentleman and scholar who studied English Literature and Political Science in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. A multilingual intellectual, he has worked in the United States, India, Uzbekistan, and Russia. The author of Esoteric Trumpism and Multipolarity!, he is also a commentator for Russia Today and the founder and lead editor at Multipolar Press. The Fate of White America is available at Amazon. 

At the outset of this review, I’d like to thank the author for his keen observations and analysis. I am reminded that an outside perspective, the more learned, the better, sometimes offers glimpses of things all around us that we, in our ordinary doings, might miss. Whites have been in the news, of course, and of late. Perhaps one read Alexander Dugin’s epic jeremiad about “Whites,” a tirade that von Hoffmeister defended, correctly, in your reviewer’s estimation. 

So, what is the fate of White America? At present, as von Hoffmeister asserts, White Americans are in a crisis. And that is where The Fate of White America kicks off, addressing the situation in real, historical, and philosophical terms. The book begins with a look at Madison Grant’s 1916 book, The Passing of the Great Race. Grant’s good and not-so-good ideas are presented. Long before the postmodern age of radical demographic change, with many still refusing to acknowledge it is happening or that it is of concern, some were already concerned over 100 years ago. Their unease settled around the replacement of the principles that once guided the native stock of America, those regarding not merely ethnic identity, but also, and especially, see page 6, the “religious, political, and social foundations” of the old America. The interest was real and valid; as Jose Miguel recently noted, “By the 1900 US census no more than thirty-eight percent of the American Empire’s population was of the founding stock.”

Despite the subject matter, von Hoffmeister’s thoughtful work is not a racialist or racist screed, as I suspect some might want to portray it. He covers the differences between various views on race, and does so very well. Traditional non-White Americans, and others, may find something of value in von Hoffmeister’s words. Who will be offended by The Fate of White America? Liberals, of the First Political Theory variety, and globalists. And if they are so offended, then that will be higher praise than anything your reviewer could heap on the worthy author. 

The Fate of White America then backs up and delineates the emergence of White America. The concept of standardized White people, in place of previous national identities, was a kind of compromise for early Americans. While it gave them a sense of collective identity, it came at the expense of losing parts of their various traditions. The author notes a correlation between this process and the Enlightenment ideas that helped turn the British Colonies into American States. 

Chapter 3 deals with the concept of the “melting pot,” which, von Hoffmeister notes on page 20, is relatively new, emerging around 1929. He draws on Wyndham Lewis’s thoughts on racial consciousness and how the changes faced by the Western world upset long-standing customs. To wit, page 23: 

In earlier eras, aristocracies, warrior castes, and cultural elites provided direction to their societies. In the modern age, according to Lewis, such figures drifted towards the margins. Political institutions and moral doctrines stripped them of legitimacy. The law they once embodied collapsed beneath democratic leveling and bureaucratic uniformity. These displaced figures wandered like prophets whose warnings fell upon deaf ears. They perceived the possibility that Western civilization might gradually merge into broader global systems, losing its distinct character in the process. Lewis compared their predicament to the tragic figure of Cassandra from Greek mythology, whose accurate prophecies earned ridicule rather than belief.

The reader probably has one or more notions, or examples, of how this process has affected some facet of Western and American life, whether it be Christianity, masculinity, athleticism, or intellectualization. If so, then one will likely wonder, alongside Lewis and von Hoffmeister, if the West can regroup, refocus, and carry on. Therein might lie a large part of the riddle facing White America. 

Moving forwards, von Hoffmeister addresses America’s place in the new multipolar world order. On page 29, he writes: “Multipolarity does not herald the disappearance of the United States from the stage of history. It signals a transformation in scale, ambition, and orientation.” He is correct, though it is likely speculative whether the U.S. will continue to hold its current shape and composition. And that process, regardless of how America approaches it, is happening at this moment. The Fate of White America is a most timely book.

The book carries powerful declarative statements. On page 34, one of them is: “The true threat to mankind lies not in the recognition of racial reality but in the deliberate attempt to ignore it.” The author then proceeds to explain the rights of people, Whites included, and what it does and does not mean for a people asserting their identity. The book does not shy away from attacks on identity. In Chapter 7, “America’s Faustian Spirit,” von Hoffmeister tackles Emmanuel Celler’s lifelong project, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Of that sea change law, on page 46, von Hoffmeister writes and asks: “Over the following decades, the demographic composition of the United States changed at a pace unprecedented in the country’s earlier history. More than sixty years after that legislative turning point, the question arises once again: how do White Americans themselves interpret the identity of the nation?”

Pick a random White American and ask him that. The odds are that, regardless of what is said, a sense of confusion or frustration will be conveyed. And the next chapter, “Decline and Civil War,” delves into those sentiments, as stated upfront, analyzing “the internal fragmentation of the United States through a civilizational framework, drawing on [Oswald] Spengler and [Martin] Heidegger to interpret political conflict as a symptom of deeper cultural exhaustion.” Homage is paid to Julius Evola, among others. If one has not read Evola’s “American ‘Civilization,’” then one should.

The book proceeds with additional introspective treatment, some of it partly metaphorical, and with a presentation both informative and sublimely entertaining. For Americans blessed with Southern character, Chapter 13, “Spengler and the Confederacy,” will be a legitimate treat. 

The final few chapters are a kind of examination of the very current happenings in America. Attention is paid to the examples of Charlie Kirk and MAGA, and von Hoffmeister revisits some of his thoughts from Esoteric Trumpism. Chapter 16, “Cimmerian America,” is a bit of genius, a combined ode to Patrick Buchanan and Conan the Barbarian, confronting “the death of the West as both an ending and a threshold.” (See page 110.) “‘Is this the end?’ The answer comes, low and steady: ‘That depends on whether we still remember how to fight.’” Id. The ending is as poetic as the body of the book is insightful. I leave the final thoughts about who might “mistake motion for mastery” to the reader’s examination. 

If you, dear reader, whether you are White, American, or otherwise, enjoy a challenging ballad to the art of civilization, then do yourself a favor and read The Fate of White America. As with any great book, it will get the gears inside one’s head turning. To the White American reader, know that, though it is conditioned according to God’s designs and graces, fate is still largely in your hands. Constantin von Hoffmeister has given you, us, that is, an excellent summation of where we came from, where we are now, and where we might go tomorrow. 

*As seen originally at Multipolar Press.

BOOK REVIEW: The UFO Deception: An Orthodox Christian Perspective by Father Spyridon Bailey

15 Friday May 2026

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ Comments Off on BOOK REVIEW: The UFO Deception: An Orthodox Christian Perspective by Father Spyridon Bailey

Tags

, , , ,

The UFO Deception: An Orthodox Christian Perspective by Father Spyridon Bailey

Review by Perrin Lovett

 

Unless your reviewer is mistaken, there is an excitement in the popular culture of the West, bordering on hysteria, over the prospect of a coming disclosure about the existence of UFOs and intelligent alien life. Without hesitation, I suggest that if this happens, then Christians will be urged to renounce their faith. If one has questions about the pomp surrounding this phenomenon and what lurks behind it, then one should know that today’s book has all the answers a Christian needs.

Version 1.0.0

(© Fr. Spyridon Bailey)

Bailey, Father Spyridon, The UFO Deception: An Orthodox Christian Perspective, Solihull, UK: FeedARead, 2021 (Kindle Ed.)

Father Spyridon Bailey is a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church in England. In addition to his pastoral duties, he has undertaken a popular public ministry with his YouTube channel and his Simple Path to God Podcast. Blessed with a most sincere and pleasant conversational demeanor and he is also an excellent scholar and writer. He gave a brief interview about his book a few years ago. The UFO Deception is available at Amazon.

I would be remiss not to thank the esteemed Jose Miguel for recommending this excellent book. Thank you, sir!

Six years ago, at the beginning of the great COVID deception, I predicted that the aliens might be next. Perhaps I was careless in joking about the possible spectacle back then. Humor is good medicine, but it may not be the correct response to evil. And the evil is growing, as seen in recent news articles. And it is everywhere. The Daily Mail just ran a report suggesting potential news about UFOs may create uncertainty about Christian beliefs. Just a few days before that, the Miscellany News hosted an op-ed by a Vassarite, no doubt a conscientious young woman, who believes we must try to contact alien beings. Her belief, which is almost religious in nature, is firm despite her concurrent admission that for all the attention paid by SETI and other listening outfits, there is absolutely no evidence these beings exist. 

Father Spyridon mentions such futile listening efforts in The UFO Deception. He also goes into great detail recounting the history of UFO speculation from ancient times until the present. His book is extraordinarily detailed and thoughtfully edited. And he points out, on page 8, that concerning his title matter, “with few exceptions, the Orthodox Christian perspective is missing.” In getting to the unchanging position of the Church about various supernatural or mysterious curiosities and the nature of the deception(s) behind UFOs, he covers many historical, scientific, and cultural bases.

Father Spyridon observes, on page 218, that there is no conflict between true science and true Christian belief. He makes theological and observational points about the theory of evolution, which is always taken as an iron law by its proponents, that are remarkably similar to the mathematical dismissal of Darwinism found in Vox Day’s Probability Zero and The Frozen Gene. The similarity is refreshing, and it goes a long way towards answering my previous question about the compatibility of Day’s work with existing Orthodox doctrine, as outlined in Father Constantine Bufeev’s The Orthodox Doctrine of Creation and Theory of Evolution. 

Also refreshing is Father Spyridon’s repeated and well-documented assertions that the CIA and other government agencies, in the West, and especially in the United States, are and have been involved in long-standing efforts to create and control public perception about UFOs. These asservations dovetail nicely with what has already been exposed about the CIA and other intelligence agencies in books like Gekaufte Journalisten by Udo Ulfotte and The Mighty Wurlitzer by Hugh Wilford. 

Concerning popular culture and how entertainment, particularly science fiction, is used to sway the public, Father Spyridon makes several very interesting points. Chapter Sixteen, “The Spirit of Science Fiction,” is full of gems. One of them, on page 191, one I had never noticed before, is the inverted pentagram behind the robot throne in the 1927 German film Metropolis. Keep that in mind for a moment. He also exposes, as does Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, that so much of science fiction is intentionally dystopian. And so much of it is aimed at children. 

The heart of the Orthodox perspective is found in Chapter Seventeen, “The Truth Behind the Deception,” and Chapter Eighteen, Father Spyridon’s Conclusion. Cutting to the chase, the alleged UFOs and aliens are merely demonic manifestations. He notes that while modern people are experiencing historic levels of demonic exertion, they are no longer equipped with the proper Christian knowledge of how to handle it. The fallen angels have updated their appearance and methodology in keeping with modern technological times. But their intentions are the same as ever. Father Spyridon provides a wealth of sources, from the Bible, from the Saints and Patristic Fathers, and from modern thinkers that show the connection between man’s perceived otherworldly visitors and the demonic. Here, I note that when reading a book on Kindle, I usually highlight important portions for later use in reviews; I essentially marked up the entirety of Chapter Seventeen. Ergo, read it all. One part of special interest is on page 212, wherein Father Spyridon discusses Saint Anthony of the Desert and the power that demons have over Christians: they have none whatsoever unless we offer ourselves to them. 

In his conclusion, Father Spyridon summarily addresses the two tandem deceptions at work in the realm of UFO hype and illusion. The first is the demonic, with satan and his followers trying to deceive mankind. The second is the use made of that deceit by governments, including the one in Washington, D.C., using the phenomenon as cover for various military, technological, and social projects. For my part, I suggest there is probably a strong link between the two duplicities. Just as in Metropolis, in keeping with the original plans drafted by Pierre L’Enfant, Washington hosts a gigantic inverted pentagram around the White House. It is almost a certainty that many, if not most, high officials in the U.S. government, and other Western governments, regularly commune with demons or their earthly emissaries. 

Regardless, at the end, on page 221, Father Spyridon firmly and wonderfully states that UFOs cannot harm Christians as long as we maintain fidelity to God. “Satan is a liar and we must reject his deception.” Amen.

If any of the recent predictions come true, if mankind is ushered into a new alien delusion, and if the attendant revelations follow the patterns established by COVID and other hoaxes, then decent people will be very hard-pressed to fear, give in, give up, and conform to the new unreality. Accordingly, if one has questions or concerns about the late UFO hysteria or if one wants to know more about Orthodox Christianity in general, then one must read The UFO Deception. 

BOOK REVIEW: ULTRA HEAVY by Tim Kirby

02 Saturday May 2026

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ Comments Off on BOOK REVIEW: ULTRA HEAVY by Tim Kirby

Tags

, , , , ,

ULTRA HEAVY by Tim Kirby

Review by Perrin Lovett

 

Today, dear readers, we examine something a little different: a Sci-fi novel. Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, your reviewer supposes that he should have been more attuned to the genre, yet that has not exactly been the case. However, the right book can do wonders for anyone, and Ultra Heavy by Tim Kirby is one of the few that caught and held my attention. Here follows a brief overview of this new and very interesting tale of future imperial reach, rebellion, and, yes, even coherent philosophy. 

(© Multipolar Press)

Kirby, Tim, Ultra Heavy: Book 1: Edge of Empire, Multipolar Press, 2026 (Kindle Ed.).

Born in the United States, Tim Kirby lives and works in Russia. Popularly known as the “most Russian American,” he has worked for RT, is a champion of the “American Village” outside of Moscow, regularly makes sense of the collision between postmodern Westernisms and sovereign traditions, and educates interested Westerners about the Russian civilizational state. Find him on Telegram. Ultra Heavy, edited by the esteemed Constantin von Hoffmeister, is available from Amazon.

Set roughly 2,000 years in the future, Ultra Heavy finds a reinvigorated Russian Empire building and maintaining artificially terraformed colonies around the Solar System. An unusual soldier requests a mission from an unusual Tsar, and both have specific goals for the undertaking. Accordingly, an investigatory expedition is launched to Titan, Saturn’s moon, discoveries are made, ideologies are probed, and a battle takes place. For a book styling itself as “Hyper Masculine” and “Turbo Violent,” which is true, it also comes with a fair dose of erudition and contemplation. And, all that aside, it’s a fine story to boot.

Ultra Heavy moves ultra fast. One will note that it is styled as the first in a series; that is excellent because when one is finished with it, and it is a quick read, one will invariably want to see more. It has a distinctive style containing various subparts. Ala Dracula by Bram Stoker, Ultra Heavy proceeds from a partial epistolary format: there is a series of techno updates and notes that move the sequences along while also providing some backdrop and commentary. Immediately, the reader is presented with a certain depth via assorted terms and phenomena placed without explanation. For example, one may wonder what “the Curse” is. But these elements only served to deepen Kirby’s world, eventually being defined or, otherwise, becoming self-explanatory. 

The book is essentially the story of a very old knight, permanently shrouded in custom and honor, who must contend with societal changes and rank, no-gray-about-it evil. He is a bit heavy-handed, though he comes off as stoic, respectable, and even endearing. Not many protagonists are merely known by a number. Kirby’s hero earns a name at the end, and his new moniker is deeply Russo-Slavic, whether considered in literary, cultural, or historical terms. He also gets a girl, as Kirby integrates a rather manly romance within his action thriller. Few books come with their own built-in, appropriate summaries, but Ultra Heavy is one of them: from page 94, it is something “like The Master and Margarita but with a horrific and gory ending.” The ending, should one wonder, is action-packed, unusual, but also happy. Kirby has a style somewhat reminiscent of Bulgakov and Lovecraft, and he honors many of the older, grittier authors of science fiction past. Your reviewer found elements of the classic Western throughout the story, which was a pleasant finding.

There’s a spirit at work in Ultra Heavy, one deeply Russian and laced with the tenets of Orthodox Christianity. This Christianity is muscular; one will enjoy the good priest’s battle cry on page 124. It also dispenses with the inversion that, when confronted with evil, hate is not a Christian value. It is, and on page 113, Kirby reminds readers of Proverbs 8:13: “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” There is another form of correction afoot, one that takes aim at the meaningless and surrender too common in modern science fiction. One may recall that in his interview with Tucker Carlson, Professor Alexander Dugin mentioned that so much of futuristic fiction is dystopian by design. Kirby’s work leans in that direction, though it is exceptional in that chaos and nihilism present as things to be resisted and defeated. 

Kirby also includes a few political truisms, which the reader should find, like the observations of H.L. Mencken, suitable, perhaps alarming, but also amusing. For instance, on page 20, Kirby addresses the perpetual naivety of those who think authority, under any political system, is always the answer: “The populace … are absolutely sure that every wrong can be righted by complaining incoherently to power, but this has never been and never will be the case.” If that were the case, the bereft residents of Titan could amenably appeal to their self-instated tyrant, the villain of the book. He is of the old forked-tongue school, promising nebulous liberty and delivering slavery. Kirby’s hero is no saint, but compared to his wicked adversary, he comes off like a Christian warrior-philosopher dealing with a demon-possessed toddler. Kirby uses his antagonist to paint a novel yet powerful example of blasphemy (see page 129), and he demonstrates the proper response to such distasteful affronting. Behind Icon by Georgia Briggs, Ultra Heavy is the second Orthodox-grounded novel I have read in the past few years that subtly confronts an American champion of transcendental do-as-thou-wiltism. Astute readers will catch that on page 130. There’s a lot to catch in this novel, so perhaps one might want to give it a go, say, this weekend.

If one is looking for a hardcore action novel, tempered by unabashed masculinity, yet presented with thoughtful vigor and even humor, then Ultra Heavy fits the bill. I highly recommend readers, both of science fiction specifically and fiction in general, consider it a most worthy candidate for their immersive enjoyment. And I thank Tim Kirby for writing it.

BOOK REVIEW: The Formation of the Bible: A Defense for the Deuterocanon by Dr. Aaron Walden

23 Thursday Apr 2026

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ Comments Off on BOOK REVIEW: The Formation of the Bible: A Defense for the Deuterocanon by Dr. Aaron Walden

Tags

, , ,

The Formation of the Bible: A Defense for the Deuterocanon by Dr. Aaron Walden

Review by Perrin Lovett

Sixty-six? Or Seventy-three? How many books are in one’s Bible? Why is there a difference? And does it matter? All of these questions and more are resolved in today’s subject book. As He ascended into Heaven, Jesus did not momentarily pause, poke His head through the clouds, hand down a book, and say, “Here’s your Bible.” While divinely inspired, the Christian Scriptures were assembled by men on earth via the great gift of assistance of the Holy Spirit. They have since been read, rearranged, and debated by the Faithful, a process that continues today. Dr. Aaron Walden has given us a guide that, with high authority and handsome presentation, explains that process. 

(© Dr. Aaron Walden and Northwood Biblical Studies)

Walden, Dr. Aaron G., The Formation of the Bible: A Defense for the Deuterocanon, Augusta: Northwood Biblical and Canonical Studies, 2026 (with Robert Bowden as Contributing Editor)(Kindle Ed.)

Dr. Aaron Walden, D.Min., “a biblical scholar, teacher, and Catholic content creator,” is a man of many talents and one holding true fidelity to Jesus Christ and His Church. Walden possesses extreme scholarly prowess concerning scriptural matters. And he has an uncanny way of presenting his research in a manner both informative and easy to read, a phenomenon on display in the subject work of this review. This new book is, to your reviewer’s knowledge, Walden’s first published tome, though it is not the first of his Biblical writings I have had the privilege to read. (I remember Ruth, Dr. Walden!) The Formation of the Bible is available at Amazon. 

Robert Bowman is an excellent editor. And in his introductory remarks, he appropriately sums up the principles that make The Formation of the Bible work: “This book on the formation of the Bible may be read with confidence, as its historical treatment, theological reasoning, and overall framing stand comfortably within the Church’s received understanding of Scripture and the canon.” The book is a survey, not an argument. And while it is geared towards Western Christianity, and proceeds primarily from a Western history, it is an accurate representation of the title matter. Therefore, for those interested in why certain editions of the Bible contain books that others do not, it is an indispensable resource. Bowman also did a fine job of assuring clarity and continuity of thought and organizing the book in a way that is authoritative and relatable. 

Noting the proper placement of the deuterocanonical books into the Bible, in his Preface, Walden is candid about his purpose and intentions: “I wrote this book to serve readers who, like the man I once was, hunger to understand how the Bible came to be yet lacked access to advanced theological libraries or formal academic training. … This book is intended for serious readers of Scripture, both clerical and lay, who seek historical and theological depth presented in plain language.” He then delivers what he promises.

There is a tacit assumption at work that the reader is a pre-existing Christian of some denomination, or is a potential convert actively seeking reference guidance. There is no stern push towards one camp or another. That is refreshing in a Christian world where theological or doctrinal pronouncements are too frequently “my way or the highway.” Walden merely presents what came to be, along with the attendant hows concerning the whats. 

Walden begins with necessary definitions and subtle differentiations. He then proceeds to ground the superseding Christian doctrine on the ancient Hebrew Scriptures as observed before the miraculous fact of Christ’s birth. Next, he walks through the fulfilling words, actions, and ways of Jesus and His Apostles, including the fitting in of the deuterocanon. Then he works into the early patristic life within the Great Church. A key passage comes on page 38, concerning the approach of the early Fathers to the deuterocanonical books:

Their approach to Scripture was profoundly ecclesial. The canon was not a private academic puzzle for individuals to grasp, determine, or interpret on their own. It was a matter of lived faith within the communal life of the Church, expressed primarily in liturgy, catechesis, and the continuity of apostolic tradition. The Fathers read the Scriptures in the Church, through the Church, and for the Church. Their frequent and authoritative use of the deuterocanonical books demonstrates that they did not regard these writings as marginal or secondary, whether in a scholastic or merely devotional sense. Instead, they saw them as integral components of the Christian scriptural inheritance, faithfully continuing the apostolic witness received from the generation before them.

Walden’s book is also a pristine defense, explicating without preaching, of the mandatory importance of participatory life within the Church, Christ’s Bride. He deftly harnesses history, debate, linguistic analysis, and more in his reasoning and exegesis. Moving through the Christian centuries, he notes various paths walked here and there by Believers. A wonderful subsection, “The Harmony of Faith and Reason,” is found in Chapter 8. I say “wonderful” because Walden does a beautiful job of presenting and reconciling the somewhat divergent but necessarily integral conditions of the logical and trusting approaches to Christian faith and involvement. 

“Harmony…” sets the stage for Walden’s treatment of the Reformation, centered on the Continental takes of Luther and Calvin. He does a fantastic job of explaining why certain edits were made to Protestant Bibles, as well as providing the Catholic response of 1546 at the Council of Trent. He also artfully links the adherence to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura with the fragmentation of Protestantism. Walden notes, on page 79: “The irony was profound. In seeking to restore the Bible’s authority, the Reformers removed themselves from the very tradition through which the Bible had been transmitted for centuries.” This is somewhat similar to Leonid Savin’s brief examination of Protestantism in Ordo Pluriversalis (2020), though, whereas Savin expands his review into political and economic matters, Walden limits his analysis to the divergent traditions of the various Scriptural doctrinal principles. 

In his conclusion, Walden speaks, on page 87, to the importance of fidelity to the Scriptures, including the deuterocanonical volumes among them: 

The Church did not create Scripture; she received it. Yet she alone possesses the divine commission to guard and interpret it faithfully. The canon did not emerge from private study. Quite the opposite, it was received through public worship. The Scriptures were recognized as inspired because they were prayed, proclaimed, and lived in the life of the Church. The liturgy itself served as the proving ground of inspiration, as it was the place where the faithful encountered the living Word of God and still do today.

The appended materials are a plethora of guiding summations. In them, among other information, the reader will find easy-to-follow canons of the Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and even Coptic Christian faiths. Appendix G: “Common Objections to the Catholic Canon and Responses” is worth reading in its own right. The book ends as it begins, with a glossary of definitions and a comprehensive list of citations. 

Nothing in Walden’s book is a condemnation of any Christian’s particular route to appreciating the Bible. Rather, it is a synthesis, lovingly exhibited in order to foster better and congenial understanding. One day, by the grace and power of God, all fractured Christian sects will be reunited. But we are under a duty while we wait to live, worship, commune, and fathom as best we are able. Aaron Walden has just helped us out in this paramount endeavor.

The Formation of the Bible is available in paperback and digital formats. It is a needful and wonderful resource that will benefit any and all Christians, along with anyone else who desires more information about the processes that led to the published editions of the Bible today, whether Protestant, Latin Catholic, or Orthodox. I strongly recommend that the reader add it to his library. 

BOOK REVIEW: Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome, Episode II: True Blue by Chris Orcutt

01 Wednesday Apr 2026

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ Comments Off on BOOK REVIEW: Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome, Episode II: True Blue by Chris Orcutt

Tags

, , ,

Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome, Episode II: True Blue by Chris Orcutt

Review by Perrin Lovett

 

Here we go again! Generation X, elders, young folks, it’s once again time to head back to the glory of the 1980s. Here’s another brief look at Chris Orcutt’s unfolding masterpiece, Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome. Specifically, it’s Episode II: True Blue. To butcher some Whitesnake lyrics, “here [we] go again on [our] own.” But, of course, we’re not alone. Far from it. Thanks to Orcutt, we’ve got some hellaciously good company for this particular tour de force down memory lane!

(Cover design by Victoria Heath Silk with image by Hurst Photo & Top Quality Vectors.)

*Orcutt, Chris, Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome, Episode II: True Blue, New York: Have Pen, Will Travel, 2026.

If necessary, please read my review of Episode I: Bad Boy. Please also read my interview with the author. Orcutt also gives a mean video interview! And if you’re just tuning in, then please buy a copy of both books (Bad Boy is now available, outright, and True Blue is available for pre-order) and fully acquaint yourself with Chris Orcutt, the author some regard (rightly) as the American Tolstoy and whom I’ve previously called “the best American novelist alive today.” I’ve also proclaimed, based on reading Episode I: Bad Boy, that Orcutt has joined the ranks of the greats—Homer, Ovid, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Pushkin, Gogol, Murakami, et al. With True Blue, he does not disappoint. 

Your reviewer herein incorporates all points of the Bad Boy review as if each were restated in full. I will now specifically summarize a few of them, updated for True Blue. Bodaciously… still moves like a roller coaster, although this time, there is a lot of snow, so kindly remember a parka and boots. Avery, the sixteen-year-old protagonist and James Bond fan, now acts out his admiration for Ian Fleming’s star character in gripping fashion. Once again, Orcutt’s writing is flawless. Again, my six-by-nine paperback is a marvel of literary engineering. Yet again, a spiritual or philosophical theory presents itself throughout the pages; Avery, as Orcutt put it in our interview, “is groping for meaning spiritually, kind of trying on different spiritual or philosophical hats.” As Orcutt said, this process was not deliberately inserted into the text. As I said, it is something the reader will discover and process on his own. Orcutt says, correctly, that a story is a story, not an argument. Of course, this particular story, like the better ones, comes with good examples and keen reminders—notes to engage the reader’s spirit and intellect. Avery continues to be a stellar ladies’ man, and his relationships, proceeding at a dizzying pace, add multiple aspects of excitement to the reading experience. That experience is further heightened by Orcutt’s deft usage of various historical elements, added via living incorporation, that take True Blue into territory where most novels simply cannot go. The reference footnotes keep rolling, and Orcutt even has one FOR TOLKIEN! (A big deal for your reviewer.) The exploration of human psychology continues, led valiantly by Avery, the alpha. Through all the new twists and turns, the reader, regardless of age or generation, will continue to feel and recall the attendant emotions and notions of youth. Oh, and the quintessence of our glorious 1980s music also continues! 

Now, without giving too much of the story away, here is a modicum of detail. True Blue presents a series of little reminders about things that have practically vanished from American life. Remember popping the clutch to bypass a dead battery? You will! Well, those over forty or fifty will. Remember high school employment? Avery takes a few interesting jobs, which, in addition to earning him money, further the excellent action and romantic themes of the book. There is a subtle shift, or intensification, in the story, wherein Orcutt expands on the groundwork previously laid out in Bad Boy. The refined, non-dialectical social commentary continues. For instance, Avery’s life and times, his adventures, are set betwixt and between his high school tenure. There is a long, well-woven subplot concerning the highs and lows of American education, particularly how it interferes with life and learning without necessarily adding much substance. In chapter seventeen, around page 313, a capstone is raised, more poignant than anything from, say, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, that highlights the dichotomy. At precisely the right time, Avery kindly states the obvious: “It was amazing how much of school was superfluous.” John Taylor Gatto would have approved. (Note: I’m keeping the citations slightly rough [e.g., “around page…”] just in case any minor formatting adjustment moves anything a page or so.)

True Blue dives deeper into family dynamics, in general, and, especially, those concerning the late modern American period as typified by the 1980s. Several families are portrayed, each with its own flavor and characteristic. Without preaching or even trying to scene set, Orcutt exposes the good, the great, the not-so-good, and, frankly, the awful about how we live(d). Some of the material, all of it strikingly realistic and serious, feels a little dark and disturbing—and some of it is. Therein lies part of its literary beauty, as it accurately showcases the way we were, the way many of us have always been, and the way we still are today. There is no need to consult any edition of the APA’s DSM, but one will ponder why we, any of us, sometimes do the things we do, and how we tolerate our own ways and the ways of others. There is nothing in this thread to salvage, esoterically, per se, but Avery does use some of what he discovers as the impetus to right a few wrongs. (If one hasn’t read Bad Boy yet, just know that one will simply love Avery, a legitimate hero and endearing figure.) 

One of those rightings allows, in my opinion, the best action sequence in the epic so far. I won’t give any of it away. Rather, I ask the reader how far he’d be willing to go to restore the honor of a horribly wronged friend. Avery, one will discover, is willing and able to go into icy hell and back. Previously, Orcutt opined that one of his favorite scenes in Bad Boy was the D.C. hotel pool fight. I concur with him: that scene, a relatively short sequence, was detailed in the extreme and came to life better than most screen performances. The snowy scene I’m thinking about in True Blue is like that, but better, longer, and with far higher stakes. 

In real life, one of the interests we all share involves the advice we give and receive. Avery and company walk through a sea of advice, some good and some terrible. Generation X and subsequent generations have generally lacked good advice and role models. They’re there if one is lucky. Avery lucks out during a scene in chapter nineteen, around page 348, while he’s working one of his unusual jobs. The scene could have come right out of a Robert Ludlum thriller, by the way. After a brief discussion about the Craig household, one of Avery’s older “coworkers” remarks, “It’s terrible what they’ve done to your generation. … You have to figure out all this stuff by yourselves.” In answer, Avery observes, “We might have to fend for ourselves more, but we’ve also got a lot more freedom, so I figure it evens out.” Roundabout, there follows some of the best relationship advice I’ve seen in the whole compendium, fatherly words young men need to hear more often.

One last scene I adored—find it during your reading(!)—saw Avery and a friend enjoying cigars one evening. Specifically, they smoked a few Macanudos. While it was not stated, the preponderance of the leaf suggests the exact models were probably Cafes, then and now ultra-popular smokes. When I read it, I, the man who usually doesn’t annotate fiction, jotted down a quick set of financial speculations: my guess is that back in 1986, the boys would have probably given, at most, two or three dollars for each cigar. Today, the going price is closer to ten to twelve dollars. (Many thanks to our beloved banksters and politi-critters and their mass financialization for the endless inflation!) This particular scene was personal for me because every once in a while, I get to enjoy a cigar or three with a very good friend from high school. Some years ago, he remarked that we should have smoked the occasional cigar while we were in school. It was by then, of course, far too late; however, I heartily agreed with him. So it was that I was very happy to relive the missed experience in fictional form. (To the “cigars are bad,” hand-wringing harpies: put it in your pipes and smoke it.)

If it’s possible, I might like this episode 2% better than the initial installment. And as with Bad Boy, I don’t just recommend True Blue, I’m mandating it. Or, allow me to put it like this: on January 20, 1981, in his inaugural address to the nation, President Reagan said, “We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we’re in a time when there are not heroes, they just don’t know where to look.” If you’re still in doubt as to where to find the living remnant of the American Dream, then all you have to do is look in Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome. 

Fearless — a Book Recommendation

26 Thursday Feb 2026

Posted by in News and Notes

≈ Comments Off on Fearless — a Book Recommendation

Tags

, , ,

I cannot review every book I read, not even some of those I’d like to review. Such is the case with I Wasn’t Afraid of Anything by Martyr Soleimani. This is his early autobiography, truly inspirational, along with a few related matters and his will and testament. Highly recommended.

Soleimani, Martyr General Qasem, I Wasn’t Afraid of Anything, Tehran: International Resistance Publishers, 2022 (English translation by Dr. Abdul Husayn Gonzalez).

Scheduling considered, I may have a little more later on. If the link works, the book may be available HERE.

BOOK REVIEW: Veriphysics: The Treatise by Vox Day

20 Friday Feb 2026

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ Comments Off on BOOK REVIEW: Veriphysics: The Treatise by Vox Day

Tags

, , , ,

Veriphysics: The Treatise: The Failure of the Enlightened Mind and the Path Toward Truth by Vox Day

Review by Perrin Lovett

 

If traditional Western Civilization were an airplane, then the philosophy of the Enlightenment was the set of new-fangled engines installed under the wings. The engines failed and, predictably, the plane crashed. Luckily, there are survivors. It is up to them, as soon as they recover, to rebuild and relaunch the craft and its mission. They’ve just received blueprints and schematics courtesy of Vox Day and Veriphysics: The Treatise: The Failure of the Enlightened Mind and the Path Toward Truth. Here follows a quick glance at Day’s proposed path forward.

(Castalia House 2026. That guy looks familiar.)

Day, Vox, Veriphysics: The Treatise: The Failure of the Enlightened Mind and the Path Toward Truth, Switzerland: Castalia House, 2026.

Vox Day is the genius behind the Darwin-crushing concept of MITTENS, the full taxonomy of the socio-sexual hierarchy, SJWs Always Lie, Corporate Cancer, Probability Zero, and a host of other useful projects and publications. Your reviewer has read Day with great appreciation since 2001, and his earliest days as a columnist at World Net Daily. A Top 40 recording artist, he slings some mean beats and lyrics. Veriphysics is available from Amazon. 

A funny thing happened on the way to the philosophy. A few years ago, I was involved with a minor project with a then-functioning Moscow-based educational think tank. My proposal was understandably placed on the back burner pending the debut of a major project, an introduction to philosophy geared towards high school and college students. While I waited, I inspected some of the incoming major project material, finding it slightly out of place. Rather than beginning with classical philosophy, say, with Plato or Aristotle, the wisdom of the Russian Church, or any other ancient source, the focus jumped straight to the Enlightenment. And the material was sourced from a U.S. Ivy League university. I found this odd for several reasons, not least among them the copious availability of knowledge at MSU, RSUH, and other local institutions. Something felt off. I will not say it felt like an attempted inversive encroachment, but…

Anyway, for whatever reason, the fledgling think tank ceased primary operations. My contribution was published elsewhere. And the philosophical direction and defense of Mother Russia continues, in no small part due to the efforts of men like Alexander Dugin.

Dugin’s Fourth Political Theory is a framework for reclaiming tradition. See Dugin, Alexander, The Fourth Political Theory, London: Arktos, 2012/2018. In 2024, I wrote: “Dugin’s Fourth Theory may be summarized as a rebellion against Liberalism, its “enlightened” modernity, and the underlying anti-human satanism at its heart.”

One of the criticisms of Dugin’s theory is that it lacks exactitude. However, rather than being a precise “how to” set of directives, it is a potentially universal approach wherein the exact applications are left open for each society, nation, or civilizational state. See my essay at the last link, above, for a glimpse of how Dugin the philosopher is also Dugin the doer, rebuilding a critical component of Russian society, the traditional Russian way. Russia’s ancestral trajectory was broken by decades of communism, followed by a single decade of hard, heavy liberalism. This century, Russians are forging ahead while also rekindling tradition, with Dasein in one hand and Oreshnik in the other. Much or most of the wider world is, to one degree or another, following their path.

But what of the West and its potential? The heirs of the Greco-Roman legacy have endured many centuries of relentless liberalism. As Day previously noted, this is observably worse than communism. As Dugin has said, Westerners are the original victims of liberal modernity. How, then, will Westerners begin to shake off the Enlightenment and relaunch their civilizational aircraft? The process, which cannot begin a day too soon, will take time and great effort. Luckily, Day’s Veriphysics provides an accessible, actionable framework for understanding what went wrong and how to remediate it. 

As a treatise, Veriphysics is a short book, 86 pages long, but it is packed from beginning to end with gems. In fact, in its totality, it is essentially a large diamond. Herein, as if with a jeweler’s loop, I merely examine a few facets. I’m also going to try an experiment towards the end. 

The Enlightenment has failed. Day notes, on page 4:

One by one, the foundational concepts that shaped the modern world have been tested against reality over time and found wanting. The social contract, the invisible hand, the marketplace of ideas, the arc of progress, democracy, the separation of powers, freedom of speech, and the rights of Man: each of these ideas have been weighed in the balance of recent centuries and discovered to be, at best, a partial truth elevated far beyond its proper domain, and at worst, a deceptive illusion that fueled three centuries of unnecessary human suffering.

Veriphysics breaks the illusion and its five main premises, from page 8: “…autonomous reason, sovereign individuality, mechanical nature, the fact-value distinction, and inevitable progress…” Here I note that, like Dugin, Day correctly identifies individuality as a duplicitous issue, rather than a concrete value. While the individual, created in God’s Image, has his definite worth, he is not severed from the whole as the Enlightenment proposed. The realization of this atomization of man was a shock for your formerly libertarian reviewer, a shock I trust is shared by many.

Part One is a recitation of the failures of various Enlightenment planks: representative democracy, the inversion of natural rights to make J.B. Bury blush, assorted economic disasters, the corruption of science, and more. Day explains the general pattern of observable failure: “[L]ogic first, then mathematics, then empirical evidence—and still the orthodoxy persists, sustained by institutional inertia and the career interests of its beneficiaries.” Page 32. Day’s new philosophy aims to reverse and undo these failings by allowing the bold to preserve tradition while conforming that tradition in a way that meets modern needs. 

Day defines the doctrine on page 58:

[U]nlike classical philosophy, … Scholasticism, … and Enlightenment philosophy, … veriphysics is focused solely on truth, or veritas. Every aspect of veriphysics is meant to explore and expand the concept of truth to the greatest extent possible, through every path that is capable to leading to some aspect of the singular, core, and underlying Truth. The objective of veriphysical philosophy is veriscendance … veritas and ascendance.

Two areas where Day goes into detail are the capture of our traditional institutions and the baleful curse of usury. I have lumped these two together for a reason. And in getting to the institutions, Day examines how classical philosophy failed to adequately counter the Enlightenment’s rise, a matter partly of the dialectical versus the rhetorical. He notes that understanding the previous weaknesses is necessary for reversing the damage those weaknesses allowed. Day lists five mandatory factors for defeating the Enlightenment’s grip on mind and society, culminating with the rebuilding of what was lost. Part of this process involves the ancient Christian concept of participation—the melding together of knowledge, human and divine. See page 62.

The university is an example of a stolen institution. “The very idea of a university, a community of scholars devoted to preserving, transmitting, and extending knowledge, was a medieval Christian innovation. The Enlightenment did not create these institutions; it invaded them, subverted them, and eventually seized them.” Page 48. Furthermore, the Enlightenment, while removing academic value from the formerly functioning universities, increasingly ransoms the lives of students via usurious debt, a double evil. Student loans in places like the United States are a severe problem for the young, yet they are only one piece of the collapsing debt puzzle. 

The Enlightenment dispelled and reversed millennia of prohibition against interest on loans. This was a direct contradiction of the commands and wisdom of Almighty God, Jesus Christ, the Christian tradition, the Hebrew tradition, the Islamic tradition, the traditions of other religions, and the traditions of all civilizations, great and small, that survived the lethal temptation of usury. “The Enlightenment promised liberation; the usury that funded it delivered a new form of bondage.” Page 25. 

And in a nation like the United States, it’s really a matter of super-usury; not only does the required extra money for the interest not exist in reality, but the underlying money loaned out is also a fraudulent, non-existent fiction. “Money itself is debt—a liability of the central bank, created through lending, destroyed through repayment. An economy that repaid its debts would be an economy without money. The system requires perpetual expansion of debt to function; deleveraging is not an option but a crisis.” Id. 

The postmodern monetary system is about as simple as it is evil. The money masters geometrically increase the money supply and, accordingly, its burden on the people, while sucking all true wealth and real value into their own pockets. It’s not a system of robbing Peter to pay Paul; it is a scheme of murdering Peter to pay Judas. How can this be fixed? The notion of the sabbatical and the jubilee comes to mind. But how to get there from the ruins of the Enlightenment? As noted above, understanding precedes correction. To that end, Day offers a starting point, a mechanism for evaluating the ideas, fantasies, and deceptions of the liberal disorder: the Triad of Truth. 

“Veriscendancy offers a genuine criterion: the Triad of Truth, the Triveritas. A claim merits assent—may be accepted as probably true—when and only when it satisfies three conditions: logical validity, mathematical coherence, and empirical anchoring.” Page 70. He also lists a few examples of the Triveritas in action. For my experiment, I thought to apply it, in a quick sketch, to usury. 

The premise of usury, as currently practiced in the U.S., is that paying monopoly rent to the Epstein Class for limitless debt-based fake money is beneficial for societal prosperity and harmony. The logic behind it is a stretch, but let’s give them that one out of kindness. The mathematical analysis, however, fails. Michael Hudson, Steve Keen, David Graeber, and others have described in extraordinary detail how the multiplication of money through debts quickly outpaces a society’s ability to repay the debts. The compounding effect is too great to be sustainable. Hammurabi knew this, as did anyone else who ever ran the numbers. The empirical anchor is likewise broken free from the economic ship. Forget the financial damage done; the hyper-financialization is having dysgenic and dyscivilizational effects. Because they can’t afford families, people are no longer having children. The nation subjected to unfettered usury literally flirts with extinction. Thus, the usury premise fails the Triad of Truth.

Day’s conclusion is optimistic. “The ascent is possible. The tools are available. The opportunity is open. All that is required is the will to climb.” Page 85. And he’s correct. Veriphysics provides an inspirational, well-reasoned, and superbly functional framework for starting the ascent. Buy it, read it, and commence your part in forging truth from knowledge. Western Civilization depends on you.

*Many thanks to Vox Day for writing Veriphysics and for graciously allowing me to use the foregoing quotes and cover image.

BOOK REVIEW: The Frozen Gene: The End of Human Evolution by Vox Day

11 Wednesday Feb 2026

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

The Frozen Gene: The End of Human Evolution by Vox Day

Review by Perrin Lovett

 

While the term is usually associated with having a high IQ, with perhaps little popular thought given to substantial achievement, a genius is a person who innovatively solves novel problems for the betterment of society. See chapter seven, “Identifying the Genius,” Charlton, Bruce, and Dutton, Edward, The Genius Famine, London: University of Buckingham Press, 2016. Vox Day is a genius. There, now it’s in print—all protestations, Day’s included, notwithstanding. 

Day’s ability to identify and solve problems, especially those overlooked by experts for generations, is on full display in The Frozen Gene. In his new book, Day builds on the mathematical attainment of Probability Zero and breaks new ground. Part of his latest success is the refutation of Motoo Kimura’s neutral theory of molecular evolution. But there is much more, some of it possibly holding profound consequences for mankind. Here follows a cursory look at a few facets from Day’s second major work in demolishing the dogma and quasi-theology of evolution and human genetics.

(The Frozen Gene, Castalia House, 2026.*)

Day, Vox, The Frozen Gene: The End of Human Evolution, Switzerland: Castalia House, 2026 (Kindle edition). 

Vox Day is one of the few defenders of Western Civilization who, while others whined and complained, did something to preserve our heritage. Rather, he’s done many things, including writing and editing a slew of books (SJWs Always Lie, Corporate Cancer, A Throne of Bones, Probability Zero, etc.). Your reviewer has read Day with great appreciation since 2001, and his earliest days as a columnist at World Net Daily. He assembled the comprehensive taxonomy of the socio-sexual hierarchy (alpha, sigma, gamma, et al). He is the author of MITTENS, the Mathematical Impossibility of The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, an empirical demolition of Darwin’s theory of evolution and a core concept in Probability Zero and The Frozen Gene. A Top 40 recording artist, he slings some mean beats and lyrics. The Frozen Gene is available from Amazon. 

Like Probability Zero, The Frozen Gene is partly written in the language of mathematics. However, as I told someone, somewhere, the written explanations accompanying the many formulas make for easy reading, even for those not possessed of a “math” brain. An open mind will go far in understanding what might otherwise be intimidating. As for help understanding or reacquainting with various mathematical symbols, please start here. The Frozen Gene is in part an explication of a series of scientific papers published on Zenodo by Day and his valiant assistant, the esteemed Claude Athos. An illustrative preview paper, Generational Extension and the Selective Turnover Coefficient Across Historical Epochs (Day and Athos, 2025), is found here. And by explication, I mean the kind of linguistic elucidation that not only reinforces and clarifies, but also adds a degree of relatability. And even fun. Accordingly, such calculus as “d = T × [∫μ(x) × l(x) × v(x)dx/∫l(x) × v(x)dx]” appears alongside analogies to crowded bar rooms, full parking lots, an Italian tale genetically reminiscent of Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death, and the science fiction classic Blade Runner. Day even separates the relative importance of the latter fiction by book and movie. A kind genius.

The Frozen Gene kicks off with a Foreword by Steve Keen, one of the foremost economists of our time, perhaps of all time, and a man familiar with mathematics and the correction of misrepresentations. On page 11, he writes:

If the human genome is indeed frozen, as this book asserts, then this is not merely a scholastic debate, but one with profound consequences for the future of the human race, and of the knowledge we have accumulated in the last quarter millennium. To survive the other threats that humanity faces, from global warming to nuclear annihilation, and yet succumb to evolutionary extinction, would be the worst of Pyrrhic victories.

His acknowledgement and supposition look towards the surprising findings of the book and, in particular, the “scarier” questions raised in chapter fourteen. Scary or not, Day’s ultimate conclusion is straightforward: “We are now living in a frozen gene pool.” Page 16. 

The sample formula, above, is for “d,” the Selective Turnover Coefficient, the rate at which gene pools turn over based on various components, as explained in chapter four. The rate depends on a number of factors, some of them morbid, like infant deaths, that modern life has largely cured. The curing, in and of itself, is a good thing for humanity. But it has radically slowed the rate of genetic transition. Our Neolithic ancestors had a d value of approximately .53. The rate has slowed over time (Medieval d = .44), especially since the industrial revolution; the current estimated d = .015. This 35-fold reduction in turnover speed means that the current rate is too slow for any positive mutation to occur: “Six hundred and thirty thousand years. For a single beneficial mutation to spread through the modern human population.” Page 159. What does that mean for standard Darwinian evolution? “[T]he evolutionary consequence is that natural selection has been deprived of its raw material.” Page 161. 

The consequences for mankind of this freezing are startling. “Beneficial mutations cannot spread because there is no selective mortality to favor their carriers. But for the same reason, deleterious mutations cannot be purged.” Id. 

Day goes on to dismiss concepts like genetic drift, neutral theory, and parallel fixation. In doing so, he shows the “spectacular” failure of Kimura’s theory. He also points out additional Darwinian ridiculousness. For example, if biological imaginings were real, then we should witness the birth of a new, different species every eleven days. Page 286. That, as one might guess, even without a formula, is impossible. 

In chapter thirteen, Day goes deeper into the ramifications of “d” as applied to human society. What is theoretically supposed to represent complete generational genetic turnover is confounded by the fact that human generations overlap, sometimes by factors of four (i.e., four generations in a family alive at the same time). It was also in chapter thirteen that Day relayed a humorous (or sad) tale of ironic rejection. Day and his AI wingman, Claude Athos, submitted several of the aforementioned papers to various scientific journals. One of the rejection letters chastised Day for not respecting the vaunted credentials of other scientists, many of them surely sinecure automatons, while simultaneously rejecting poor Claude for being an automaton. In other contexts, one assumes these gatekeepers are the same sort who laud technological developments like AI, but who evidently do not like their positive real-world usage. But who, really, knows about such people?

That anecdote leads to chapter fourteen and some remarkable speculation about where humans are heading in the future. Stuck without new positive development, but also unable to purge detrimental traits, “[t]he frozen gene pool is not merely frozen. It may be failing.” Page 379. If so, then we may be entering into, or we may already be centuries into, a period of genetic degradation. High-minded (and illogical) biologists and their globalist allies promised us a shiny future with man as a kind of god. We may, in fact, be destined for something that looks more like the movie Idiocracy. “The failing gene hypothesis is not reassuring.” Page 388 (the “actuary in Davos” story). But it is just that, a hypothesis, speculation, not an iron law of destiny. 

All of Day’s findings and conjectures will give the thinking some things to consider. They will give the innumerate more to fret over. As for the implications of gene failure, your reviewer has, of course, little in the way of concrete solutions. Pick one’s recourse, if one will: the apophatic faith all is in God’s hands, the dialectic equivalent, or a combined mixture. In any event, and by any approach, it is better to know where we stand at present. Thanks to Day’s calculations, we do. Genius begets a little comfort. 

As with Probability Zero, your reviewer highly recommends The Frozen Gene. Rarely will one come across a duo of texts that correct such a terrible deception. Day’s work, while it is mathematical in nature, should be of the utmost interest to Christians and other believers seeking to refute the anti-God and anti-man propositions of (post)modernity. As Day states, on page 437: “For more than a century, the theory of evolution by natural selection has been wielded as a weapon against religious belief, against the idea that humans are special, against any notion that our existence has meaning or purpose beyond the blind churning of differential reproduction.” Day has given us copious ammunition with which to return fire. 

Accordingly, and as a side note, I suggest an inspection of sorts for those whose Russian skills exceed my “street signs and menus” level. How might Day’s books bolster the existing Christian efforts to counter Darwinism? Specifically, how could a proper mathematical refutation build upon the work of, say, Bufeev, Fr. Constantine, The Orthodox Doctrine of Creation and Theory of Evolution, Moscow: Russian Education Center of Saint Basil the Great, 2014 (English translation slowly forthcoming)? If our genes are frozen, then our options are not.

*Many thanks to Vox Day for writing The Frozen Gene and for graciously allowing me to use the foregoing quotes and cover image.

BOOK REVIEW: Probability Zero: The Mathematical Impossibility of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection by Vox Day

19 Monday Jan 2026

Posted by in Other Columns

≈ Comments Off on BOOK REVIEW: Probability Zero: The Mathematical Impossibility of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection by Vox Day

Tags

, , , , ,

Probability Zero: The Mathematical Impossibility of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection by Vox Day

Review by Perrin Lovett

By meticulously researching, calculating, and writing Probability Zero, Vox Day has driven a stake through the vampire heart of evolution by natural selection, the last lingering, and possibly the most destructive concept of the failed Enlightenment. Here follows a brief overview of this new and fascinating scientific tour de force.

(Probability Zero, Castalia House, 2026.*)

*Day, Vox, Probability Zero: The Mathematical Impossibility of Evolution by Natural Selection, Switzerland: Castalia House, 2026 (Kindle edition). 

Vox Day is one of the few defenders of Western Civilization who, while others whined and complained, did something to preserve our heritage. Rather, he’s done many things, including writing and editing a slew of books (SJWs Always Lie, Corporate Cancer, A Throne of Bones, etc.). Your reviewer has read Day, with great appreciation, since 2001 and his earliest days as a columnist at World Net Daily. He assembled the comprehensive taxonomy of the socio-sexual hierarchy (alpha, sigma, gamma, et al). He is the author of MITTENS, the Mathematical Impossibility of The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, an empirical demolition of Darwin’s theory of evolution and a core concept in Probability Zero. A Top 40 recording artist, he slings some mean beats and lyrics. Probability Zero is available from Amazon. 

If the universe has a language, then its name is probably “math.” Heat rises unless it’s confined to a weightless vacuum. Men act rationally until they don’t. But two plus two always equals four. Math is beautiful and unforgiving. It is the driving force behind Probability Zero. The attendant mathematics absolutely obliterates the random propositions of evolution by natural selection. Professor Frank Tipler (Ph.D., Tulane) notes, on page 6, “Probability Zero represents the most rigorous mathematical challenge to Neo-Darwinian theory ever published.” It is certainly that, though it is, amazingly, more.

If it ever occurred to me, then it occurred rather loosely that evolution is or was just another plank in the misleading, inverted structure of the Enlightenment. Day’s Introduction is a fast summary of the failings of the Enlightenment, a series of supposedly glorious and progressive theories that, when applied in reality, deliver only ruination. The ultimate aim of the Enlightenment, akin to what Professor Alexander Dugin calls the first political theory, (macro) Liberalism, is to whittle away every facet of society, reducing everything down to the individual. Once separated from all that once defined his existence, the individual is then deprived of himself. The role of Darwinian evolution is to subtly deny the hand of God and, thereby, the existence of God. The Almighty is replaced with a shroud of smoke, high and scientific-sounding, but bereft of any substantiation—love and awe superseded by hollow falsehood.

While his argument touches briefly on religion (Christian, Islamic, etc.), Day maintains focus on the theories, words, and examples posited by evolutionists and faux light bringers themselves. He explains the pattern by which all of these dark fairy tales have been exposed over time, coming to rest upon Darwin’s theory, deeming it perhaps the most important of all similar concepts. Applying the pattern, again via a mathematical approach, Day systematically dismantles Darwin. And rather than taking it easy, Day builds a series of “Steel Men” arguments, allowing the broadest discretion in favor of the evolutionists, to make his demolition unassailable. A mathematical dissent against random evolution has existed since at least 1966, although until recently, it lacked the necessary observational proofs. Day completes the puzzle. 

He begins with basic definitions and proceeds to explore and counter each and every proposition the selectionists have come up with (parallel fixation, etc.). Using the pre-existing argument that humans and chimpanzees had, at one time, a common ancestor, and using all available parameters, Day asks, on page 23, “…given the total number of generations available and the observed rates at which mutations spread throughout populations, is there enough time for 20 million mutations to have reached fixation in the human lineage?” The answer is a resounding “no.” Evolutionary biologists should have reached the same conclusion, except that, as Day notes, they evidently do not understand basic math and statistical analysis. And as the biologists put it, they don’t even use experimental data in their experiments; scientists do not practice science. 

If they did, then they would find, in accordance with MITTENS, that the number of (human from chimps) generations, divided by the required number of generations per mutation, reveals a total number of fixed mutations several orders of magnitude insufficient to support their theory. Kindly running the math for the biologists, Day discovered that the odds against evolution by natural selection are ten raised to the (negative) one hundred seventy-second-millionth power. That staggering number, a statistical absolute zero, is what Day terms a “Darwillion,” a factor 1.72 million times larger than the already astronomical Googol. A common ancestor being thus explained by natural selection is, as Day puts it, page 103, “beyond impossible.”

Day goes much further, proving, among many other things, that in addition to being impossible, at least one of the biologist’s pet conceptions, “drift,” is self-disproving; drift, rather than beneficially mutating a species, would, if true, exterminate the species. (Failure to math might have dire consequences!)

Day then proposes the theory of Intelligent Genetic Manipulation (IGM) (Dr. Tipler labels the new hypothesis the “Gray Day Theory,” after Day and botanist Asa Gray (1810-1888)). As random, undirected natural selection is impossible, any and all detectable genetic modifications must be caused by a directed, programmed plan. IGM does not identify the manipulator, nor does it have to in order to supersede Darwin’s fancies and trickery. From page 212: “The fingerprints of manipulation, which consist of genetic changes that could not have fixed naturally in the available time, look the same regardless of whose fingers happen to have made them.” Day finds this principle consistent with Aristotle’s notion of the Unmoved Mover and Saint Thomas Aquinas’s First Cause of theism. Day has given himself plenty of room to build upon his new theory, and evidently, he is hard at work doing just that. Atheists and Enlightenment mongers will, of course, deny that such intelligence is or was possible. They just won’t hang their objections on any concrete proofs or workable formulas.

Regardless of one’s mathematical abilities—assuming one is not a biologist—please read the book in order to fully understand its devastating, yet straightforward proofs. (Your reviewer’s experience is limited to a “B+” in college calculus, and even I found the going easy and even thrilling.) If one seeks material with which to refute what one’s children are (mis)taught in their schools, even their Christian schools (some of them), then read the book. If one enjoys making a righteous mockery of profane travesty, then please read the book. Probability Zero is the scientific innovation of the year, and possibly, of the century. The probability that it will be useful is infinite.

*Many thanks to Vox Day for writing Probability Zero and for graciously allowing me to use the foregoing quotes and cover image.