Sauron, Saruman, and their fundamental (dis)similarity. From the pen of Carl Benjamin comes an article on the Scouring of the Shire, here in Islander VI. The main topic of the article will be getting a Creational Story article (as yet
Build on rock or on sand. Henry Martin’s article in Islander VI, “Influence Is Not Power,” is a 10/10, go read right now sort of article. I have, frankly, no disagreement with what is said (unless I’ve missed something), and
We can’t just talk reformation into being. Calum Darroch’s article in Islander VI received one article already; here, again, I focus on it to bring what is in small part a disagreement but in larger part a development of the
Why ‘conservative’ isn’t enough. “Perhaps your favorite Substack essayist,” Calum Darroch writes, “is not being entirely serious when he suggests you can live like a Roman patrician, but you certainly wouldn’t know it.” As Darroch lays out in this excellent
Islander VI opens with some introductory words, two pages of correspondence, and an article on Samwise Gamgee. Now, that article on Gamgee I won’t object to, except to say that Frodo must not be forgotten in admiring Samwise (saying this
I’ve no familiarity at all with the work of Wyndham Lewis, this article’s partial subject, or Dr. Gilfedder, its author, and my knowledge of Shakespeare is small. men against darkness, published in Islander #5 doubtless possesses certain interests for the
This is part of a mixed series between my Substack and this website, complete with a jumbled posting order. Go here for the first in the series (I, II). The next article in Islander #5 is an intriguing argument by
Three articles in a single go. The last three articles in Islander 5 we’ll take at a go, because (1) this series has gotten long enough (if I repeat it with #6, it’ll be less comprehensive) and (2) I have
A part of this problem lies in an over-enamorment with physical vigor. Will Tanner’s article in Islander 5 (The Mercenaries) is a set of three historical vignettes between two framing statements regarding the locus of power in society, relative to
We’re doing two articles today. Today we’re doing two articles from Islander V. The first article is interesting in itself, but I don’t have the need to respond to it in depth. It’s an examination of how various cultures, from