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Old 12-28-2015, 04:42 PM   #26 (permalink)
Lisnaholic
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Join Date: Nov 2010
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..........................................Colin Wilson - The Philosopher´s Stone

Quote:
Originally Posted by grindy View Post
I read the book now and enjoyed the hell out of it.
Thanks for the rec.
I love his somewhat scientific, logical approach and there are a lot of themes and topics there I'm generally very interested in.
And it's amazing how he takes the opposite route of Lovecraft, replacing obscurantism with analytical, systematic explanations and still manages to convey a lovecraftian sense of awe.
If you know other, similar books, I'd be happy to read them as well.
Sorry, Grindy! I have only just come across your post. I´m really happy that you enjoyed the book. Welcome to the very small club of people who have followed up on my recommendation (the other members being my brother and my best friend).

Yes, as you say the book has a scientific, logical approach, but is none-the-less what is known as "a page-turner". Lots of interesting ideas, and the way it links in with Lovecraft is particularly satisfying, isn´t it?

Colin Wilson was a busy guy, and wrote eighty or ninety books, but this is easily his best novel. After being disappointed by a couple of his other novels, I moved over to his non-fiction stuff: his biog of Rasputín is good, also his philosophical books; The Outsider, The Age of Defeat, The Strength to Dream. Being philosophy, they aren´t to everybody´s taste of course. But one reviewer wrote of Colin Wilson, " He has a style that makes the pursuit of an intellectual idea as exciting as a detective story", and I think that stands as good description of his books in general.
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