Frecklemaid reviewed The Turner diaries by Andrew MacDonald
Review of 'The Turner diaries' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
I read this primarily as research for a university essay on right-wing extremism, so I was certainly expecting the rhetoric expressed throughout this book. If you don’t know, The Turner Diaries is a notorious piece of white supremacist propaganda that has reportedly inspired more than 200 attacks and murders. As such, you’re probably going to be offended by the book unless you are yourself a white supremacist antisemite. On a personal note, I didn’t love the realisation that I would’ve been sent to march off a cliff at the very best.
Even disregarding the blatant racism this just wasn’t well written. The constant references to the ~System~ were a clear, unimaginative ripoff of 1984 and despite the frequent use of the term I’m still not sure what it means (I think it’s just the authors ridiculous way of trying to make a slightly more authoritarian version of the U.S. government …
I read this primarily as research for a university essay on right-wing extremism, so I was certainly expecting the rhetoric expressed throughout this book. If you don’t know, The Turner Diaries is a notorious piece of white supremacist propaganda that has reportedly inspired more than 200 attacks and murders. As such, you’re probably going to be offended by the book unless you are yourself a white supremacist antisemite. On a personal note, I didn’t love the realisation that I would’ve been sent to march off a cliff at the very best.
Even disregarding the blatant racism this just wasn’t well written. The constant references to the ~System~ were a clear, unimaginative ripoff of 1984 and despite the frequent use of the term I’m still not sure what it means (I think it’s just the authors ridiculous way of trying to make a slightly more authoritarian version of the U.S. government sound deeply dystopian.) The writing is as basic as the world-building and the book reads more like bad fan fiction than anything that should’ve sold 200 000+ copies.
I did find it worrying/interesting that MacDonald described an attack killing ~4000 on September 11 (albeit in Houston and with bombs). Was 9/11 a coincidence or was it somewhat inspired by his work? He also predicted antiracism protests turning riotous, leading to destruction of property and murder. However, I’m not gonna credit him with any predictive powers for that since you could reasonably assume that mass protests of any kind have the potential for violence.
In conclusion, read this if you feel like it but be aware of its flaws. To any white supremacist/neo-Nazis/general ethno-nationalists, please improve the quality of your literary offerings.