The Spectral Link by Thomas Ligotti

While it has been quite a while since I've made a post to this blog, I have been reading every day. However, I've been mostly preoccupied with non-fiction and genres that I would not write about here. To my one or two readers...I apologize.
I bought The Spectral Link by Thomas Ligotti very recently from friend. Tonight, as I was looking for something new to read, it was staring at me from my shelf. I picked it up and, being short book, finished it very quickly.
The book is comprised of two short stories. The first, "Metaphysica Morum", concerns a man who would like nothing more than to commit suicide. He begins to have dreams in which an entity known as the Dealer appears often. Upon discussing this with his doctor/therapist, the doctor also starts to have these suicidal thoughts.
While I enjoyed the telling of the story, I'm not sure I really understood what it was about. I felt like it was a commentary on society however I may be a little too dumb to understand what exactly that commentary was. I did thoroughly enjoy the backstory of the main character though.
The second story, "The Small People", definitely felt like a commentary on race. It was about a boy who thoroughly despised those only known as the Small People or just Smalls. These were miniature representations of "normal" humans with doll-like features (i.e. smooth skin) who moved from area to area as they saw fit. While they sounded creepy in appearance and manner, it was hard to figure out just why the main character and his friend hated them so much. This feeling was no different than the confusion I feel when wondering why real people hate others just because they are different.

Xelucha and Others by M.P. Shiel

Upon opening this book, I had no clue what to expect as I had never read anything by M.P. Shiel, let alone even heard of him. After finishing this book, I'm a convert.
If you're like me, you may be a bit turned off by the first story (Xelucha) upon first reading. You should read on however because the remainder of the book is great reading and you'll even decide you like Xelucha if you go back and read it afterward.
Xelucha and Others was published by Arkham House in 1975. There were 4,283 copies printed. Since Shiel died in 1947, all of these stories were written much earlier than the publishing date.
The table of contents is as follows:

Introduction
Xelucha
The Primate of the Rose
Dark Lot of One Saul
The House of Sounds
The Globe of Gold-fish
Many a Tear
The Bride
The Tale of Henry and Rowena
The Bell of St. Sepulcre
Huguenin's Wife
The Pale Ape
The Case of Euphemia Raphash

The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens

I actually finished this book about a week or so ago but haven't had time to write about it until now. Life sometimes gets busy...especially when I have too many hobbies.
The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens (a pseudonym for Gertrude Bennett - NOT for A. Merritt as some folks once believed) first appeared in the magazine Thrill Book in 1919 and 1920. It was not published in book form until Polaris Press did so in 1952. According to Wikipedia, there were 1,563 copies printed although I haven't verified this number. Inside of the book is printed the following:

This First Edition of "The Heads of Cerberus" by Francis Stevens is Volume One of The Polaris Fantasy Library. Fifteen hundred copies have been printed and numbered, and the type has been distributed. Fourteen hundred and ninety copies are offered for sale by subscription only.

I own number 22 of the Polaris Press edition with a slipcase. The book is illustrated by Ric Binkley but the colophon on the title page was created by Hannes Bok. The introduction was written by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach. I plan to reprint the introduction in the next entry because I found it interesting.
The story itself centers primarily around three main characters, Bob Drayton, Terry Trenmore, and Viola Trenmore (Terry's sister). Terry wins an auction for a vial of powder thought to be the "Dust of Purgatory" which was rumored to be harvested by Dante himself. Upon opening the vial at home, they breath in some of the dust and are whisked away to a parallel universe that is on a different time track than our own.
The parallel universe they are brought into is set in Philadelphia in 2118. However, this Philadelphia is much different than the one we know today. For one, it is a totalitarian society where everyone must wear a badge with their number on it. The only people with names are the high officials and those known as "Superlatives". These Superlatives are citizens that have won a contest and earned their title which can be anything from Loveliest to Cleverest. Every year there are contests held in which any citizen may vie for any of the Superlative titles. The loser is thrown into a pit and killed. What we find out is that (of course) the games are usually fixed so that relatives and favorites of those in power always win.
The Philadelphia of 2118 is also actually the entire state of Pennsylvania. Each state was walled off into its own territory and nobody is allowed to enter or leave their home territory. The people of Philadelphia also worship William Penn.
For the time it was written, I felt that it was a pretty original concept. The writing style was also very similar to A. Merritt...enough so that Francis Stevens was thought to be a pseudonym of his. However, this was later proved false. This was a fairly quick read and I definitely recommend it.

The Art & Practice of Astral Projection by Ophiel

Edward C. Peach (aka Ophiel) was an occultist who wrote books during the 60s and 70s. This particular book, "The Art & Practice of Astral Projection", was written in 1960 and first published in 1961. Ophiel published it himself under the moniker "Peach Publishing". The copy I have was published by Weiser in 1998.
I bought this book as part of a lot on Ebay and really wasn't sure what to expect. I had not read or even heard of Ophiel but the books in the lot sounded interesting and weren't expensive so I gave them a shot. I will read the other two books at some point as well.
When reading this book, you have to remember that it was written during a time when there wasn't very much information readily available regarding the occult. Ophiel had been researching these topics during a time in which a lot of this information was still kept secret by magickal groups.
That being said, the information holds up pretty well. There are definitely some mistakes here and there but overall it's a good introduction. The book outlines four different methods of astral projection as follows:

Little System
Dream Method
Body of Light Method
Symbol Method

All but the first system are Ophiel's interpretation of methods found in other reference material. The Little System is a method discovered by Ophiel and documented here.
This book also gives instructions on the Qabalistic Cross along with the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram. He does not call the rituals by these names however. He does give pretty good instructions on these rituals (with a few minor errors) but you should definitely study them in the Golden Dawn books if you're serious about performing them on a regular basis. These are very important basic rituals that should be read, studied and performed by any aspiring occultists.
Overall I think this was a great introduction not only to astral projection but also to the occult in general. I have my own favorite beginning books but this would be a good starting point for some people. You will need to look past the fact that this book was not copyedited however. At times it was a bit off-putting to read streams of consciousness, sentences in all caps and continuously being told to write Ophiel for more advanced information. However, like I said earlier, this is a fine introduction.

Lilith by George MacDonald

Lilith by George MacDonald was first published in 1895. Going into this book, I really wasn't sure what to expect. I knew that MacDonald was a major influence on C.S. Lewis and his Narnia series but that's about all I knew. What I found was a vivid imagination and a mythology that intertwines Christianity and dark fantasy.
The influence MacDonald had on C.S. Lewis is very obvious while reading this story (especially when you consider that the White Witch of Narnia is descended from Lilith, the first wife of Adam). Lilith takes place in our world but also in a parallel universe. This universe is entered through a mirror. However, it's not as simple as looking at the mirror and walking through. First the traveler must go through a secret door up into a tower, pull a chain to open a hole in the tower and adjust a few mirrors so that the light hits the portal mirror just right. At that point, the parallel universe can be entered. Mr. Vane (the main character) was showed this secret by Mr. Raven, a mysterious librarian that appears at times in Vane's home library.
Once in the world, Vane discovers many fantastic things. For one, each day goes through all four seasons, beginning with spring in the morning and ending with winter at night. He also discovers that Mr. Raven is none other than Adam and meets his wife Eve.
Throughout the story we meet many strange and fantastic beings. We meet the Little Ones, children who have never grown up. We meet the Giants, predators of the Little Ones. There are animated skeletons, two leopardesses, and various other creatures. We also meet Lilith and discover she was the first wife of Adam. Lilith is pure evil. At one point she picks up her daughter Lona (who is attempting to hug her), throws her down, and kills her. Lilith is awful but even she is saved in the end.
This was a long but very enjoyable story. I really liked how MacDonald extended the Christian mythos and added dark fantasy. It's definitely worth a read.

The Centipede Press Library of Weird Fiction - Blackwood and Hodgson

About a week or so ago, I ordered two volumes of the Centipede Press Library of Weird Fiction series. Normally I can't really justify paying for Centipede Press books because they are typically very expensive (but beautiful). However, these volumes are at a much more affordable price. I found them on Amazon for about $40 each. I just took a look and Centipede Press is also selling them right now for $50.
The Blackwood volume contains some of his best stories and is edited with an introduction by S.T. Joshi. Limited to 500 copies and coming in at 880 pages, this book is a massive, beautiful tome. It is cloth-bound, has Blackwood's signature embossed on the front cover and comes with a beautiful dust jacket. I cannot comment on the editing or content since I haven't read it yet but I am very happy to own this great looking book.
The table of contents is as follows:

Introduction
A Haunted Island
Smith: An Episode in a Lodging House
The Listener
The Willows
The Insanity of Jones
The Woman's Ghost Story
A Psychical Invasion
Ancient Sorceries
The Wendigo
The Sea Fit
The Glamour of the Snow
The Golden Fly
The Man Whom the Trees Loved
Sand
The Wings of Horus
The Regeneration of Lord Ernie
The Damned
A Descent Into Egypt
May Day Eve
Old Clothes
The Old Man of Visions
The Occupant of the Room
Bibliography

The Hodgson volume is just as beautiful as the Blackwood and has all of the same features (embossed signature, cloth binding, great dust jacket). It is also edited with an introduction by S.T. Joshi. It is slightly shorter in length coming in at 733 pages. However, it is still an enormous volume. It does not contain what is typically considered Hodgson's magnum opus - The Night Land. It does contain many of his other great stories though.
Here is the table of contents:

The House on the Borderland
The Ghost Pirates
The Goddess of Death
A Tropical Horror
From the Tideless Sea
The Mystery of the Derelict
The Voice in the Night
Out of the Storm
The Gateway of the Monster
The House Among the Laurels
The Whistling Room
The Horse of the Invisible
The Searcher of the End House
The Thing Invisible
The Derelict
The Thing in the Weeds
The Finding of the Graiken
The Haunted Pampero
Demons of the Sea
The Haunted Jarvee
The Hog
The Riven Night
The Room of Fear
Bibliography

The Burrowers Beneath by Brian Lumley

"The Burrowers Beneath" is the first of the Titus Crow series by Brian Lumley. The story centers around Titus Crow and his friend Henri-Laurent de Marigny who discover, through a few other people, that Shudde M'ell (one of the Great Old Ones) and some of his fellow Cthonians have escaped from the prisons of the elder signs.
Since escaping, they have primarily remained beneath Africa. However, at various times their eggs have been discovered and removed. This has caused the Cthonians to move and pursue their young.
The story was a lot of fun and I would definitely recommend reading it if you enjoy the Cthulhu Mythos. Unlike many other stories within the mythos, Crow and his cohorts fight back. They even manage to kill a few lesser Cthonians. They are not immune to the mental effects exerted by the creatures but they defend themselves with elder signs, protection elixirs, etc.
One of the things I really enjoyed about this story was the number of books Lumley references. Some of these books are fictional and some of them are actual, published works. I kept a list as I was reading but after a while I got tired of doing it. In the end I believe I missed 2 or 3 books. Here is the list I created in the order that they were mentioned:

• The Necronomicon by Abdul Alhazred (Created by H.P. Lovecraft as a counterpart to the Cthulhu Mythos)
• Cthaat Aquadingen (Fictional)
• Pnakotic Manuscripts (Fictional)
• R'lyeh Text (Fictional)
• Unaussprechlichen Kulten by Freidrich Wilhelm von Junzt ("Nameless Cults" - Fictional)
• De Vermis Mysteriis by Ludwig Prinn ("Mysteries of the Worm" - Fictional)
• Cultes des Goules by Comte d'Erlette (Fictional)
• Notes on the Necronomicon by Feery (Fictional)
• Revelations of Glaaki (Fictional)
• The Golden Bough by James G. Frazer (Real - This is a study of magic and religion. I own a copy)
• Witch Cult by Margaret Murray (Real - Actually titled "The Witch Cult in Western Europe")
• Liber Miraculorem by St. Faith of Conques (Real - Actually titled "Liber Miraculorum Sancte Fidis)
• History of Magic by Eliphas Levi (Real - I own a few other works by Levi but not this one)
• Unknown "Slim Volume" by Commodus (Fictional - While the actual name of the book is not given by Lumley, he claims that this book was written around A.D. 183. Commodus was Emperor from A.D. 180 to 192 when he was assassinated.)
• A Temple to the British Druids by William Stukely (Real - Actually titled "A Temple Restor'd to the British Druids)

I actually really enjoy when authors reference other works. When the works are fictional, it allows me to imagine what they look like and what they contain. I can imagine the author scribbling away in the middle of the night at a book that will only be read and understood by a few. When the works are real, it gives me new books to read. Either way it's a win.