Fire in the Dark: Men and Gods

by Jack Donovan

Men today have the ability to read and be inspired by masculine myths and stories from all of the world’s religions. We can see how they evolved from one to another. Still, so many men find themselves searching for some sense of what is sacred and want to connect to something eternal, something greater than themselves. The question with so many choices, so many traditions, so many gods and heroes — which ones? In Fire in the Dark, author Jack Donovan — best known for his underground classic, The Way of Men — explores the common themes in these myths that are still relevant to the lives of men today. Beginning with the simple, primal metaphor of the campfire, Donovan identifies a tripartite system of masculine roles and shows how those roles have been repeated again and again throughout the history of myth and religion. It is the nature of men to create order from chaos, and when order has been created, it is the work of men to protect and perpetuate that order. These jobs have been idealized in world-ordering sky fathers and thundering warriors and fertility gods. Donovan has integrated these ideals into a natural religion for men that is not new, but actually draws from the very oldest ideas about what it means to be a man.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Religion

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 2, 2021

Reviews

[Ahmad A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this primer on comparative mythology and how it highlighted the masculine side of ancient gods in a memorable tripartite system: The Father, The Striker and the Lord of the Earth, or as Donovan describes it in more practical words: Create, Champion, Perpetuate.

I personally think this topic is enormous and several other historians wrote multiple volumes on it so I disagree with other reviewers that because Jack Donovan didn't compile a complete comparative account of masculine roles and ideals as shown in mythology then it's an incomplete book. The mythology is already out there, this book interprets it through the lens of Masculinity and Masculine Ideals.

Even though Jack Donovan admitted that he wanted the book to inspire rather than to direct, I still would have appreciated practical words of advice on how can one work on these ideals in their life, as a practical framework sort of speak.

Anyway, it was a good and easy read. If you like Donovan's works and also have a taste for comparative mythology, you're going to enjoy this book.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Donovan's The Way of Men. It's more academic and very etymological. The tripartite philosophy makes a lot of sense, and obviously Donovan has done his research. Donovan summarizes reference work from other authors and philosophers well. It feels like it would have been a good long essay, or really, really dense academic book. But in its current format, it feels more like a primer on world religions.

[Kaberoi Rua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donovan had definitely done his research with this book. Fire in the Dark is the missing link that Way of Men so deeply lacked. Donovan integrated the old gods from many different ancient religions and mysteries spanning across various ancient civilizations to produce a legitimate scared version of masculinity. Fire in the Dark combines the concept of solarity with "manly idealism" to produce a philosophical and spiritual movement for men that he named "Solar Idealism." To "live" Solar Idealism is to elevate and revere a holistic and ultimately ideal of masculinity that transcends time and space. To "live" Solar Idealism is to profess a hierarchy of values guided by the light of that which is perfect while recognizing that the perfect is unattainable and refusing to make the perfect the enemy of the good. To "live" Solar Idealism is to commit oneself to the lifelong pursuit of manly excellence.

Definitely recommend this book to all men but a book that would inspire younger generations of men.

[Leo Nightingale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really profound, important and beautiful ideas. Great work Mr Donovan! Highly recommend this to men who want to be better men, those interested in mythology, history, psychology and men looking for advice and guidance in general in these exceedingly strange times.

[Amir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by jack donovan , in this book he goes more in deep on what it means to be a man and mans role in life and in contact with other beings, in short a man is like a sun other beings around it get warmth and clarity from it and also as a sun he makes sure that everything is in order, while i was reading i thought about how i am in my room in complete order reading this book and this is thanks to my father who created this family and this home as a point of order , now imagine being homeless you are in complete Chaos, also men should embody the figures of father who creat order , striker who defends order , and the lord of the earth who enjoys the order gives warmth and joy to people around him.

[Bruno Farias · Rating 5 out of 5]

This time Jack Donovan goes beyond philosophy and psychology to find patterns of a certain Masculinity order and values throughout religions from most parts of the world and in different eras of time to inspire Men to find a path to the core of what it means to be a Man and how to bring light to others today.
Perhaps he's even trying to do something beautiful here, bringing us all together around the same Fire, because these days we may feel like we are just holding a lit match, alone in the darkness.

[Adrian Villanos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stay solar my friends

What I got most about this book was the need men have to admire someone who is more skilled and better than then first starting with the family father then a God we live in a age where fathers are not in the home so most men lost that connection to admire a ideal to aim for
What I hope is that we who read this book and get inspired to put the philosophy into practice can change our local communities for the better

[Seth Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few religious books speak to me as powerfully as this one did. This was the continuation of The Way of Men that I have been waiting for to help inspire me to my core. I am a strongly religious man, but only occasionally does my religion speak to my masculinity in so encouraging a way. My only disappointment is that the book didn’t go into as great a depth as I hoped, and didn’t get much into ritual and organizational potential, but it ended on a promise to further pursue both in the future.

[Rupinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grand synthesis of masculine psychology
This book is a scholarly, yet accessible grand synthesis of various aspects of masculine psychology, although it is biased towards Greek, Viking and Indo-European (Hindu-Vedic and Iranian) Mythologies. It is a pretty dense book, but the concepts presented here are a rich food for thought. Highly recommend this book to men of all ages.

[Sir Nicho · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as engaging as some of his previous books. A lot of it felt superfluous, though well researched. Admittedly, I may be the wrong audience for this type of book. Regardless I still look forward to his next book.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

At 200 pages I think there was more room to dig into this topic and go a bit further but Donovan is a good writer and knows the history. I'd put this up with there with King Warrior Magician Lover and other archetype literature.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas just a little too much mythology etc for my blood

[Bartosz · Rating 3 out of 5]

"How to start a cult" for dummies.

[John Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Sun & Steel for Gen X and Millennials? Yes.

[ei_tc Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another solid entry from JD.