Matrix Warrior: Being the One

by Jasun Horsley and Jake Horsley

Book Overview

Finally comes the ultimate book for all those seeking to know more about the philosophy behind The Matrix and its sequels. Suppose that this world is not what it seems, and that humanity is actually just a food source supplementing a reign of machines. Welcome to the premise behind the world of The Matrix : the movie phenomenon and massive box-office series that has also produced some of film's most intelligent and thoughtful moments in the last ten...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031232264X
• ISBN13: 9780312322649
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Take the Red Pill, if you dare...

What is the Matrix? You've asked yourself this, time and time again. You know there's something wrong with the world that you're living in- something doesn't work. You feel like an alien. You know there has to be something more than this. In this daring little book, Jake Horsley suggests that your intuitions might just be correct. "Matrix Warrior" is a manual for living the life of a seeker- someone not looking for little spiritual thrills, but radical liberation. Disguised as a pop culture tome, Horsley uses analogies from The Matrix and the literary works of Phillip K. Dick (a significant influence on the mythology of The Matrix) and the metaphysical storytelling of Carlos Castaneda to spin a battle plan for those who would wage war against the apparent world. The author suggests that people can be divided into four categories- "humatons", or those who are asleep, "matrix warriors", those who know that there is more to life than they've been offered, "matrix sorcerers", those who are no longer under the control of the matrix and able to manipulate it to some extent, and "lucids"- people, like Neo, who are totally liberated from the matrix. This book is about the first step- becoming a "matrix warrior", and preparing to take advantage of opportunities to "unplug"- those rare events in life when we are offered a way to radically change our circumstances and embrace a more authentic mode of being. Along the way, there are digressions on ethics, metaphysics, futurism, and many other topics. While the Castanedan influence is apparent, one uncredited (though obvious) influence is the work of Aleister Crowley, especially regarding the way of the will. There are some slight deficiencies- the author didn't seem to entirely "get" the later Matrix films- in fact, he doesn't seem to understand them at all (for a better grasp, listen to the commentary tracks on the DVDs themselves, where Cornel West and Ken Wilber spin an interesting glimpse at the deeper implications of the movies). But other than that quibble, "Matrix Warrior" is an excellent little book, and well worth your time... if you want to take the red pill, and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes...

An adjunct to the movie, or a textbook in its own right

This book is so closely linked to the film "The Matrix" that, before recommending it, I would want to know what the potential reader's standing with regard to the film. Firstly, for the out-and-out Matrix fan or "Neo-phyte"- and that includes both those who loved the original film and hated the sequels and those who loved the whole series - I'd say this book is a must-read. Jake Horsley takes the film's virtual reality concept and provides a whole set of philosophical and practical tools for exploring onwards. The intellectual challenge presented by the film becomes a life-challenge for self- and universe-exploration and growth. If no more Matrix films are ever made - or if future sequels sink so low as to be not worth viewing - there is still enough in the original movie plus Horsley's handbook to last a lifetime. For these readers, of course, being the "unofficial Handbook" would make it the only handbook worth considering - for any "official" handbook could be no more than a mouthpiece for the system itself. Then there is the readership that sees the book and ignores it - because it is clearly all about a film they have not seen and may not want to see. Particularly in the case of a Pagan/Magick/New Age reader I say this is unfortunate, because the book is about much more than The Matrix. It is also a very neat re-interpretation of shamanic and martial arts "warrior" principles for the twenty-first century. Taking the works of Carlos Castenada in particular, Horsley has synthesised the teachings with the language of cyberspace to define "The Way of the CyberWarrior". Despite frequent allusions to the movie, the effect is not confusing to the uninitiated - if anything it makes one want to get the DVD and watch it. The third class of reader is someone, like myself, who enjoyed and was stimulated by the original movie but did not bother much with the subsequent cash-in sequels. An admirer, but not an all-out fan. Such a reader might be put off by the subtitle "The Unofficial Handbook", preferring the real thing, wanting to know what the Wachowski brothers themselves put into the movie rather than the opinions of some outsider who clearly failed to win official recognition for his book. Ironically, such a reader has most of all to gain from it. What could any "official" handbook do but tell you more of what the film was meant to convey but failed to do? Like the extras added to the DVD of a classic film, do they really add to the original artistic experience of the film, or do they simply `explain away' by contextualising the magic? Instead of that we have an exploration by someone who is clearly a fan of the film, but outside of its circle of creators. As he explains at the end of the book "When I started this exegesis I was willing to entertain the possibility that the Neo-phytes were right and everything in the movie was true. Now that I've completed the work, there seems no way back, no way to tell myself that, after all, the Matrix is ju

Great reading for everyone, not just Matrix fans

(...) Finished this book about two months ago, but just now catching up on reviews. Since I loved the basic thesis behind The Matrix that what we know as reality is just a computer program, I wanted to understand about the history behind this thesis. The Matrix Warrior does a good job at that. Horsley draws connections between the world of the movie and our own world and shows how the characters in the movie transcend the false reality the matrix imposes on humanity. Combining an in-depth examination of the film with philosophical inquiry and the teachings of Castandeda, Jake Horsley has produced in Matrix Warrior a profound yet witty analysis-and all readers need to get "unplugged." It is a VERY entertaining read if you are at all interested in the idea that there may be alternate realities. Horsley shows how "the One" is a concept in many faiths around the world. Anyone can be "the One" with enough enlightenment. The more important thing though, is to take the path of the matrix warrior. To search for reality. To be conscious of what you are "plugged" into and consciously "unplug" from the things you don't like. Too many of coast through life taking what comes. Being "the One" in large part involves asking the right questions, seeking answers, and deciding for yourself what your reality should be. Good advice for all of us, not just fanatics of the movie series.

theoretical look at reality through the Matrix movies

This book is more than simple sugar candies for die hard fans of the movie though obviously MATRIX WARRIOR provides a reference tool for the film's cult lovers. However, there is a more powerful philosophical bent to this book that takes readers to the deeper meaning of what is reality. Jake Horsley makes a case that the movie could be real (are we someone else's dream/nightmare?) yet even more brilliantly interprets a metaphysical meaning of realistic pragmatism. Like The Matrix, he pleads with his audience to unplug themselves in search of the real inner person by discarding the masks of society and to stop being the source of energy for someone else.MATRIX WARRIOR is a one sitting easy to read work that is also a thought-provoking analysis of the movie yet is more at least in the reality of this reviewer. Mr. Horsley provides an interesting strongly supported theory that the underlying theme to The Matrix is to unplug oneself from the machines of society. There is no doubt that Mr. Horsley has done just that with this intriguing look at society through the spectrum of The Matrix movies. Editorial asides: (1) reality to this sixties lost soul of going unplugged is if this is all I received by being plugged I was cheated; (2) the middle picture was filler that needed more confrontation/debate between the Architect and the hero; and (3) Mr. Horsley owes a follow-up guide book once the third movie is unplugged. Readers who appreciate a theoretical look at reality (interesting phrasing) through a microcosmic analysis of The Matrix will enjoy this well written cerebral work.Harriet Klausner

A great read!

I purchased Matrix Warrior last week and have to say that is a a hugely interesting, humorous, and above all thought-provoking read. Despite coming off as a little egotistical at times, Horsley gets his points across in an entertaining and intelligent manner. Maybe he has simply jumped on the Matrix bandwagon, but he deserves tremendous credit in his research on this book.I would recommend it to any die-hard Matrix fan.