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Necronomicon, by Simon
Composed of the ritual formulas of Aleister Crowley, overlaid with a pastiche
of pseudo-Sumerian mythology. The spells and rituals are sound magical theory,
and should work, given a moderate level of experience on the magician's part.
The spinoff, Necronomicon Spellbook, is a rehash of the Book of Fifty Names,
with more detailed instructions for using the sigils, much like modern Goetic
magic. Results appear to be about the same.
The Book of Gates is essentially a series of planetary initiations, in which
the mage is granted access to certain "spheres", given a vision and a password
to proceed to the next sphere. In this sense, it is very similar to Dee's
Enochian system of entering the Aethyrs, and about as useful except for the
fact that the Necronomicon contains only seven Gates as opposed to Dee's thirty
Aethyrs.
Overall rating: ***
Mind-Numbing Horror Content: **
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The Necronomicon, by George Hay
Book Out of Print - Can usually be found at abebooks.com
This book of gibberish was compiled almost entirely from HPL's fiction, and
what was filled in to glue it together is the most ridiculous sort of fiction
imaginable. There is no sense of "mind numbing horror", as the rituals
described either A) cannot be practiced, B) don't claim to produce anything of
any interest, C) are so abjectly moronic as to not even be interesting
themselves, or D) all three. The sequel to this tripe, The R'Lyeh Text, is
nothing but more of the same drivel.
Overall Rating: *
Mind Numbing Horror Content: ** (That you paid for it)
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The Necronomicon, by Lin Carter
Book Out of Print - Can usually be found at abebooks.com
An excellent book, written by one of HPL's cronies. This book (actually a short
story, but looks good in large type blackletter) is specific enough to impress
the reader with a sense of authenticity, and dark enough to convey that sense
of horror (mild, but still) true to Mythos tomes.
Like the Sussex Manuscript, this book contains enough of Lovecraft's lore to be
relevant to the Mythos, and enough original material to hold the reader's
interest. For occultists, the rituals and beliefs described herein are
plausible enough to provide inspiration for the more daring magician. Note that
the rituals as presented are not altogether recommended or even practical, but
their context is more than enough to inspire those unfettered by that pesky
literal mind.
The Seventh Narrative gives an interesting perspective on Tesseract Magic
(especially for those who have experienced a decent substitute for Liao), and
the Second Book, the Book of Preparations, is extremely interesting from a
magical viewpoint.
Overall Rating: ****
Mind Numbing Horror Content: ***
Recommended for actual magicians only
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The Sussex Manuscript, by Fred Pelton
Book Out of Print - Can usually be found at abebooks.com
Another interesting short story, the Sussex Manuscript contains enough factoids
from HPL's Cthulhu Mythos to make a meaningful read, and contains enough
original material to be interesting even if you've already READ everything
Lovecraft wrote.
It contains Mythos lore, rituals necessary to the evil priests of the Ancient
Ones, and a fascinating initiation ritual, complete with unbearable,
mind-shattering ordeal. The major flaw with this book is its brevity.
Overall Rating: ****
Mind Numbing Horror Content: ***
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**** Fascinating and useful read
*** Interesting read, marginally useful
** Better off with the Bible
* Never mind |
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