Alembic – Timothy d’Arch SmithDalkey Archive Press – 1992 Alembic is a novel about alchemy, insanity, sex, drugs, rock’n’roll and magic. If that doesn’t make you want to read it, this blog isn’t the place for you. Alembic is the only novel by Timothy D’Arch Smith, a name you might recall from my earlier posts … Continue reading Alembic – Timothy d’Arch Smith
Crucible – 1987 This book popped up in my suggestions from Goodreads a few years ago, but it wasn’t until I came across a quote from it that claimed that Montague Summers had attended Black Masses that I decided to buy it. It’s a rather interesting collection of essays about different books, their authors and their … Continue reading The Books of the Beast – Timothy D’Arch Smith
Six Ghost Stories – Montague Summers Snuggly Books – 2019 A few months ago, I got an email from my pal Sandy Robertson telling me that Snuggly Books were going to release a collection of short fiction by Montague Summers. I have long been aware that Monty had written a collection of short stories, … Continue reading Six Ghost Stories – Montague Summers
The most exciting part of Francis King’s Sexuality, Magic and Perversion was doubtlessly a passage towards the end of the book where King is discussing how magic has been portrayed in works of pornography. He points out that most of the occult-themed porn that had appeared at the time that he was writing his book … Continue reading Spawn of the Devil (Inpenetrable) – A Quaint and Curious Volume of Forgotten Porn
The Aleister Crowley Scrapbook – Sandy Robertson Foulsham – 1988 + 2002 Although I don’t practice Magick or believe in most of his bullshit, I have written about Aleister Crowley several times. As full of shit as he clearly was, he led a peculiarly interesting life, and while there are countless books about his magickal … Continue reading A Chat with Sandy Robertson, Author of the Aleister Crowley Scrapbook
Today, the 10th of August 2017, is the 69th anniversary of the death of Reverend Alphonsus Joseph-Mary Augustus Montague Summers. Monty was the early 20th century’s foremost expert on witchcraft, and if you’ve read through this blog before, you’ll probably know that he has long been one of my heroes. He seemed to have spent most … Continue reading My hero, Montague Summers
Here’s a list of all the books reviewed on this blog. I’ll try to update this as I post. Abraham of Würzburg – The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage Ahmed, Rollo – The Black Art Alhazred, Abdul – The Necronomicon Ali, Mohammad – The Invincible Magick Spells of the Afghan Mullah-Sensees … Continue reading Index
Nocturnal Revelries 