Rating: 
Summary: Belief and bunk
Review: Two points...
1. The necronomicon is a name created by the great (and slightly insane)author H.P. Lovecraft. He attributed the name to coming to him in a dream. Al Alhazred, the mad Arab, was a pseudonym Lovecraft used when he was 5. Lovecraft wrote many letters, which you can find on-line with ease, referring to the subject. The necronomicon was made by both Simon and LeHay, in slightly different versions, in the 70's after a resurgance of Lovecraft popularity. These are known facts...but...2. Many people continue to attest of strange occurrances when they read and/or perform rituals outlined in the Necronomicon and it's spellbook (which was made after the success of the original book). Many say this lends proof to the authenticy of the book and that Lovecraft may have been attempting to hide his practice of the dark arts (though he attempted it very poorly if this is the case, read some of his Kthulhu stories). It may also be atributed to the theory that if you believe in something hard enough, than you may actually cause something to happen or see something that others can not(the old debate about why ghosts and and unexplained phenomena are only seen by people who already believe in them). The answer to that will always be debated, but probably never be proven either way, just like you can't prove there's a God. You'll know if you wind up there, but by then it's too late to tell anyone else. Research and read...and make the decision for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: My Attempt To Help You Decide Whether You Want This Or Not
Review: wow, this is a very controversial subject among the amazon heebeegeebees that want to argue for nothing. but here is my review on whether this book is right for certain people or not:
first of all, i would NOT consider this book satanic. it has to do with weird mythology that the "Mad Arab" gave his testimonies about and also gave us the rules of this mythologcal concept of the "gods" and whatnot along with incantations (or "magick spells" if thats any more fun to say for you). Abdul Alhazred ("mad arab") tells us of horrific experiences that he has encountered concerning black magick (again, it doesn't matter what you call it, folks. its something LIKE black magick). after he tells us of the first half of his story, he gives us many chapters on the rites and rituals and all that other good stuff that has to do with these "dangerous" things (gods, beasts, demons, whatever). after all of this, he gives us the second half of his story, but doesn't get to finish. supposedly, he mysteriously died or disapeared before he could finish it. ooooooooo, aaaaahhhh.....yeah, its a little Lovecraftian, but it still MAY have been real. no one knows for sure about its validity, so don't even stop to care about that--it'll only get a million passionate people on your back claiming one extremity or another. but there is one question that i bet you would like to know--do the spells work? well, personally i haven't gotten together all of the supplies they call for and taken all the preparations which few would probably have time to do. i've read some of these incantations--some are in an arabic language, some translated in enlgish. they are certainly interesting, but i think if they do work, it is psychological. and who can deny that our minds are the most powerful part of us? so yes, this may be of "danger" to you, but it won't kill you. why the hell would a deadly black book be allowed to be put into mass market publication if it has such evil powers to it? "simon" tells you right from the beginning, there were things changed and left out because the original writings and incantations are very powerful and cannot be given to the public. so don't expect the REAL necromonicon in its FULL form. but this book does contain Lovecraft-like stories (Alhazred's "testimonies") and interesting information about all of the gods, their symbols, conjuring rituals, and more of that kind of thing. some of the "spells" are supposed to conjure up weird demons or gods (yeah, remember Evil Dead?). theres also one in here near the end that supposedly raises the dead and haves them to be cannibals (yeah, Romero probably read this).if you really believe that this will take your soul or something silly like that, then don't be stupid and try to read the thing! its all about you. if you truly believe in its powers, then you'd be an idiot to try it out (unless you want to end up sipping on red wine with satan in the belly of hell). but for those of you who realize the SMALL possiblity of this book being harmful, go ahead and buy it. it IS interesting and can give a few spooks to people who do not know much about it. its definately different than anything i've ever owned. for strange ammature studies, it can be alot of fun. so hopefully i've helped you decide whether this book is for you or not.
Rating:
Summary: Wow...
Review: Wow... a lot of controversy here... there isn't much I can say that hasn't been said, except this. For those of you who seriously want to know the truth, there are a few concepts to understand, and you can look them up easily on the WWW if u have enough time...
1. Chaos Magick (a.k.a. Chaos magic)
2. Truth within lies
3. Power is earned, not given or bought.
4. Sigil Magick (see Chaos magick)
5. Collective Conciousness
So after you've looked into these, a few things should be realized... Chaos Magick largely involves the power of the mind, but will almost always rely on diffrent methods to make things happen (using the macrocosm to activate your microcosm... silly idea, but nessecary at some point.). That method could easily be used in this book because of 2... Much like "The Key of Solomon" (Both versions), which can be found at www.sacred-texts.com btw, if u don't wanna pay for a copy (along with "The Egyptian Book of the Dead", mentioned previously), this book won't let u do sh*t in itself, and pretty much says so in the begginning, though not as clearly as The Key of Solomon (I own a copy of this version of the Necronmicon). That centers around 3, which is that power, particularlly in Magick is not just handed out. It is earned, either by attainment or suffering, and genrally both with the priority being towards the first one. As for Sigil Magick (4), one can attach a 'spiritual' person (should you prefer that word to multidimensional or microscopic) to an idea or concept to make that happen. Then, by using what is called collective conciousness, as other realize that spirit is relative to that symbol, that spirit can appear where that symbol is present and come forth when invoked.
That's really all you need to understand, but as for my experiences with this book, the research clearly indicates it is only moderatly (At most) based on any kind of reality... however, some of the names have significance, hte book has some kind of magickal charge to it, and it I personally read it in a wrong way, certian people do appear, whou many would describe as 'evil', not in 'physical' form, but rather in a form where I can percive them in my soul.
It seems as if the symbols had some relevance at some time, but were strongly altered (they don't look anything like a Kabbalistic symbol in their structer, as based on planetary charts, but their format is the same. Just as Agrripa obviously altered his moon sigil, perhaps the 'mad arab' did this too...?), but seem to have an energy that indicates a new level of power fueled strongly by belif.
So all in all, my conclusion is that points 1-5 should be relevant to whoever reads this, and that if it has any power, it is laregly in a Chaotic Mage sort of way, while also tied in with a bit of (summerian?) diffrent magick.
I honestly don't know much about summerian magick, and focus more on Hunuistic and Kabbalistic Magick, in my studies of magick, but this seems to be the most obvious thing to me...
Oh, but here's a hint for you guys if you want to see if either the 'Key of Solomon' or 'The Necronomicon' has any relevance, and you have decent spiritual perception (I think Christians often call this discrenment). Sandlewood. If you can figure that out you';ve earned it.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh boy....
Review: Yeah, i'm going to believe that a guy whose email addy is "jedimasterskywalker" has commanded the forces of darkness. Try again, Poindexter.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Mythology for the 20th Century
Review: You should buy this one, it makes a great mythology for the 20th Century, a time when rapid improvements brought about by advances in science and technology transformed the way people look at the world around them. Its a good read, whether you believe it is real or not, it will get you thinking.
The only book I've ever read that comes close to be the 'non-fiction' equivalent of the veritable Necronomicon is Kirk Packwood's 'Memetic Magic.' When and if you're ready for the real thing check this one out.
God bless.
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