The Moonchild

Rating:
Summary: Very Smart Man
Review: "The true man of genius deliberately subordinates himself, reduces himself to a negative, and allows his genius to play through him as It will (33)" Good or bad...Crowley shows us that he had a firm understanding of "The Tao" and of the work of Chuang Tzu. Moonchild is a tricky book, but for anyone searching for "the Way that cannot be Wayed," this book may be of interest to you. You may relate to some of the characters and perhaps to the idea that "The Way" trumps over all other forms of Magik. NOTE: read this book with a pen handy caus' you'll underline many a good line.

Rating:
Summary: "The Way of the Tao"
Review: "The true man of genius deliberately subordinates himself, reduces himself to a negative, and allows his genius to play through him as It will (33)" Good or bad...Crowley shows us that he had a firm understanding of "The Tao" and of the work of Chuang Tzu. Moonchild is a tricky book, but for anyone searching for "the Way that cannot be Wayed," this book may be of interest to you. You may relate to some of the characters and perhaps to the idea that "The Way" trumps over all other forms of Magik. NOTE: read this book with a pen handy caus' you'll underline many a good line.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant yet Poorly Executed
Review: An excellent introduction to Crowley's philosophy and magickal theory, yet lacking in depth and execution of storyline. I found it to be severely muddled in some places, and lacking any true depth of feeling outside of Crowley's weak attempts at exploring the psyche. Crowley's books of magickal theory and rituals, such as Magick In Theory and Practice, Book 4, Eight Lectures on Yoga, and 777 are all far superior works, and a better representation of the man's true brilliance.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant yet Poorly Executed
Review: An excellent introduction to Crowley's philosophy and magickal theory, yet lacking in depth and execution of storyline. I found it to be severely muddled in some places, and lacking any true depth of feeling outside of Crowley's weak attempts at exploring the psyche. Crowley's books of magickal theory and rituals, such as Magick In Theory and Practice, Book 4, Eight Lectures on Yoga, and 777 are all far superior works, and a better representation of the man's true brilliance.

Rating:
Summary: Fizzles a little in the end.
Review: Crowley's story is a well constructed thriller. I was somewhat disappointed by the ending (an 8 instead of a 9), but, all in all, I was pleased. There are times when Crowley, through the characters of Cyril Grey and Simon Iff, gives more magical theory than the average reader might want. However, if you are interested in reading a book by you are probably, at least somewhat, interested in Crowley's theory. So it all works out for the best. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in magic. It serves as pleasant reading and as an introduction to Magick.

Rating:
Summary: A great book.
Review: I have been an avid fan of Aleister Crowley ever since I heard Ozzy's song Mr. Crowley. This was not the best of his work, but it was written quite well. I would definitely say you need at least a passing interest in Magick to enjoy this book. Despite what others say, I enjoyed the ending, simply because I think it was Crowley's style.

Rating:
Summary: A great book.
Review: I have been an avid fan of Aleister Crowley ever since I heard Ozzy's song Mr. Crowley. This was not the best of his work, but it was written quite well. I would definitely say you need at least a passing interest in Magick to enjoy this book. Despite what others say, I enjoyed the ending, simply because I think it was Crowley's style.

Rating:
Summary: Who the hell is George Gamow?
Review: I've read this book at least ten times and I've never seen the name George Gamow before. This is an excellent book. If you are unfamiliar to Magick you will still enjoy it. You may enjoy it even more than I did the first time. If you are a novice I feel obligated to tell you the characters are based on real people. Edwin Arthwait is Arthur Edward Waite; you should be able to figure out the rest. Arthwait is my favorite character. His use of the English language is hilarious. This book is extremely well written and like Diary of a Drug Fiend you need not be interested in the subject matter to appreciate Crowley's beautiful writing. There are a few footnotes and some obscure names but these shouldn't ruin your enjoyment of this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Who the hell is George Gamow?
Review: I've read this book at least ten times and I've never seen the name George Gamow before. This is an excellent book. If you are unfamiliar to Magick you will still enjoy it. You may enjoy it even more than I did the first time. If you are a novice I feel obligated to tell you the characters are based on real people. Edwin Arthwait is Arthur Edward Waite; you should be able to figure out the rest. Arthwait is my favorite character. His use of the English language is hilarious. This book is extremely well written and like Diary of a Drug Fiend you need not be interested in the subject matter to appreciate Crowley's beautiful writing. There are a few footnotes and some obscure names but these shouldn't ruin your enjoyment of this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Very Smart Man
Review: Moonchild is a pretty good book. Crowley is an interesting figure. He uses a lot of big words I don't know the meaning of. It is a novel about torn love and the struggle between light and darkness. I think he disguised this book as a novel; he explains a lot of his ideas, magical and philosophical. It was an enjoyable book for me on many levels. I recommend this book to those curious about Crowley, and fantasy as well. The underlying philophical content takes it out of the realm of pure fantasy, but there's a lot of fantasy. One criticism would be the ending is less than spectacular. This was the first novel I've read in years. This should be required text for those interested in the occult.