I'm honestly not sure what you mean by 'populist', here, since the implications of your complaints are pretty much counter to my understanding of the term.
That said, I don't think that any of the problems you've suggested really materialize in the first book, and the overall setting that evolves from it is, like, about as non judgmental, overall, as it's possible for popular fiction to be.
IOW, the macho-anti-intellectualism you're reading isn't a fact of the author's attitudes, its an accurate modeling of his chosen 'point group'. Speaking as someone born and raised in WV, and who absolutely hates those social traits, Flint has done an excellent job at being fair and at being accurate, while still telling a good yarn.
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."
That said, I don't think that any of the problems you've suggested really materialize in the first book, and the overall setting that evolves from it is, like, about as non judgmental, overall, as it's possible for popular fiction to be.
IOW, the macho-anti-intellectualism you're reading isn't a fact of the author's attitudes, its an accurate modeling of his chosen 'point group'. Speaking as someone born and raised in WV, and who absolutely hates those social traits, Flint has done an excellent job at being fair and at being accurate, while still telling a good yarn.
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===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."