Celtic, European and Worldly

Lila de Alba, FT Weekend, New Jersey, Saturday, 7th March 2026

In an age when the airwaves hum with the discordant symphony of populist rage and algorithmic resentment, Martyn de Tours’ Celtic Domination: The Most Significant Influencers emerges not merely as a novel, but as a clarion call for the reclamation of decency in a fractured world. Published amid the lingering echoes of the MAGA era’s toxic legacy, this 428-page hybrid of thriller, manifesto, and philosophical pilgrimage invites readers into a labyrinth where Celtic heritage becomes a bulwark against the encroaching tides of authoritarianism and intellectual decay. De Tours, the pseudonym of the contrarian strategist Martyn Jones, a figure whose prolific output has long danced on the edges of strategy and speculation, crafts a narrative that is as lush as it is urgent, weaving personal introspection with a bold blueprint for collective renewal. It is a book that demands we confront the “dirty war” waged by the far right on the Enlightenment’s fragile gains, while proposing a democratic alternative rooted in plurality, equity, and environmental stewardship. In doing so, it stands as a testament to the enduring power of ideas in an era of manufactured ignorance.

At its heart, Celtic Domination follows Becci Lloyd, a “passive Marxist” academic of Welsh-Spanish descent, whose quiet life in mist-shrouded London is upended by an enigmatic envelope from her estranged brother Ricky. What begins as an intimate reunion, replete with the sensory delights of tango dances, the scratch of an ancient gramophone, and the amber glow of Pedro Ximénez sherry, spirals into a conspiracy-laden odyssey. Becci, with her poised rebellion and jagged brilliance, becomes an unlikely coordinator for a shadowy network of intellectuals and activists, unearthing a “Digital Celtic Covenant” that reimagines Celtic identity not as narrow nationalism, but as a vibrant tapestry of kinship, land, language, and open debate. This covenant, drawing on the historical wounds of the 1847 “Blue Books”, those infamous reports that sought to “cleanse, defame, and eradicate” Celtic cultures under imperial guise, positions Celtic revival as a moral imperative against modern forms of domination.

De Tours’ synthesis of genres is masterful, blending the high-octane pulse of a spy thriller with the ruminative depth of a novel of ideas. Characters converse in philosophical duets over laden tables, their dialogues veering from the erosion of Western curiosity to the weaponization of social media’s “black mirror.” Here, the true antagonists are not mere villains but systemic forces: the “Archaeologists,” a cultish NGO led by the urbane extremist Dr. Octavian Rhys-Lancaster, funded by right-wing brokers peddling “supremacy pornography” and resentment. This shadowy cabal embodies the far right’s “planned debasement of the media,” where lies and disinformation masquerade as truth, fueling a resurgence of “jungle law” that views slaughter as statecraft and amorality as virtue. Against this, de Tours invokes “Celtic Magic”, a harmonious blend of peace, love, and understanding, as an antidote, reminding us that the “ancient pulse” of decency beats on, unbowed by fascist uniformity.

Yet Celtic Domination transcends mere critique; it hypothesizes a radical, democratic future. In its speculative coda, inspired by de Tours’ own peregrinations along the Camino de Santiago – those long roads of humility and kindred spirits, the book envisions “A More Perfect Celtic Union.” This pan-Celtic alliance, spanning Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany, Galicia, and the Isle of Man, is no nostalgic reverie but a pragmatic bulwark against global perils. It calls for unified humanitarian defense, shared cybersecurity to counter digital disinformation, a network of universities fostering intellectual rigor, innovations in green technology and AI for sustainable equity, and a digital platform preserving linguistic diversity. Radical equality dismantles the rigged systems where the rich hoard ever more, while universal human rights demand we fight for others’ dignity as fiercely as our own. Environmental stewardship rejects the arrogance of climate denial, insisting on stewardship of the land as a core democratic value. In this vision, domination’s dialectic, the urge to dominate lest one be dominated, is transcended by solidarity, drawing on Thucydides and Hobbes not to justify power grabs, but to advocate for a world where no one need fear subjugation.

This hypothesis is profoundly left-wing in its essence, a moral compass pointing toward inclusive democracy over exclusionary tribalism. De Tours exposes the intellectual decline wrought by transactional culture and populist propaganda, lamenting the “age of stupidity” where media vapidity and MAGA-style demagoguery erode cultural memory. His prose, luxuriant and billowing, captures the messiness of human thought, sentences that breathe like ancient tomes, images of conspiratorial televisions and glowing ravens that hover between allegory and enchantment. True, the narrative meanders at times, with dialogues that verge on essays and speculative elements that strain against the fictional frame. But these are not flaws so much as features of a work that refuses simplicity, embracing digression as a form of resistance to the soundbite era. In a morally sound rejection of authoritarian thinking, de Tours prioritizes the beauty of plurality, the sanctity of open debate, and the ethical imperative to remember our shared origins amid chaos.

Martyn de Tours, or rather, Martyn Jones, deserves our deepest admiration for this audacious feat. A pilgrim-scholar whose contrarian spirit infuses every page, he has crafted a masterpiece of defiance, a “Modern Renaissance” in book form that screams into the void of modern politics with breathtaking intellectual audacity. Facing backlash from “pro-genocide, pro-war, pro-MAGA” quarters, including death threats and disinformation campaigns, de Tours stands as a beacon of moral courage, his work a necessary insurgency against hate’s puppeteers. In an era when the far right peddles xenophobic nostalgia, Celtic Domination offers a vision of kinship that is inclusive, sustainable, and profoundly human. It reminds us that true domination lies not in conquest, but in the collective will to build a world where decency prevails. For those weary of the fetid imperialist conceits of our time, this book is not just a read; it is a rallying cry.