A Tale of the Resistance

by Doug French
by Doug French

Nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, and frequent LRC contributor, Vin Suprynowicz has written tirelessly of the abuses of government. Alas, the stories of the ham-handed antics of petty bureaucrats and the goons representing the various branches of this nations law enforcement agencies are so frequent he cannot cover all of them.

But what has chronicling these government-induced tragedies that destroy peoples lives really accomplished? The government keeps getting bigger and more powerful, running roughshod over the citizenry. Thousands of new laws are passed each year by power-hungry nincompoops serving themselves in the public offices of political subdivisions throughout this country. None of these new laws promote the cause of freedom, just the opposite. But, the people gladly obey, enduring countless humiliations like sheep.

Finally, Suprynowicz is at the end of his rope. He has had it with government and the time for trying to educate the public or writing your congressman is past. The year is 2031 and a few heroes decide it is time to fight back with force in Suprynowicz’s first novel The Black Arrow, a tale of the resistance.

Despite being set more than two decades from now, the government abuses sparking the revolution actually happened during the past decade. Although fictionalized, most readers will recognize stories such as: a certain doctor being arrested and losing his license for over-prescribing pain medication; an innocent wife, her son and family dog being gunned down by federal agents; the free speech rights of an income tax protester being trampled upon; the false imprisonment of a young man who made millions as a teenager selling drugs, who started when an elderly neighbor asked him to acquire some marijuana for medicinal purposes; an occupied family-owned building being seized without due process through eminent domain; intrusive searches at the airport, a family man sent away to prison for unknowingly selling horticulture supplies to supposed drug dealers, and so on.

By 2031, the government has become even more out of control. The TSA-airport searches are expanded onto America’s city streets. Roadblocks are everywhere. Not having your children implanted with ID chips is a crime. Unlicensed daycare centers are raided. Those who get out of line are gunned down in the street.

But a hero emerges to take the country back: the Black Arrow. And Suprynowicz makes his hero bigger than life – a Randian superman. An ex-rock and roll singer, the Black Arrow by day is a millionaire businessman, who is smart, muscular, handsome, and, of course, an expert with a compound bow. By night he turns into a killing machine, leading a rag-tag group of highly skilled commandos who live in the city sewer system in an assault on those who deny us our freedom. Our hero has no use for the "well-meaning, pasty-faced, overweight guys with pocket protectors. I’m sure they’re going to figure out a foolproof letter-to-the-editor that’ll win us back our freedoms any week now," scoffs the black arrow in one of the books memorable passages.

But don’t think that all Mr. Suprynowicz has on his mind are weapons, revenge and the evils of government. The black arrow character is what all men want to be and the guy all women want to be with. And the author has provided us with plenty of pleasing female characters to fall in love with our hero. These girls are not just beautiful, but smart, athletic and courageous.

So, while the resistance drives this tale, there is more than one love story to be sorted out – in R-rated fashion.

Suprynowicz is especially adept at making the story’s government villains as despicable as possible. The "chunky, balding little" Mayor Daniel Brackley is especially loathsome. A man who uses his power in the worst ways imaginable; the reader roots for his violent demise.

Weapons aficionados will enjoy the frequent discussions of Japanese and European swords, as well as various types of compound bows, arrows and other armaments. The weapons are expertly used to brutally kill various politicians, bureaucrats and members of the police force known as the Homeland Security Special Forces.

Today, the government bad guys seemingly win all of the battles over freedom. The peoples’ rights lose ground day by day, and we shrug our shoulders and say; "you can’t fight city hall."

Vin Suprynowicz lets us at least fanticize about fighting back with The Black Arrow. For anyone who has been inappropriately felt up by a TSA agent at the airport, or had your property stolen for supposedly a public purpose, or been arrested for engaging in a voluntary exchange of products or services that is none of the government’s business; and wished you could whip out a sword and lop the head off the dimwitted government clown who is flexing his power at your expense – this book is for you.

And for once, at least in this fantasy, the good guys win.

The Black Arrow can be pre-ordered at LibertyBookShop.us.

January 7, 2005

Doug French [send him mail] is executive vice president of a Nevada bank and a policy fellow of the Nevada Policy Research Institute.

Copyright © 2005 LewRockwell.com

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