The Philosopher’s Stone (1969)
Colin Wilson
With a new introduction by Colin Stanley
Book Description
Dr Howard Lester and his friend Sir Henry Littleway have made a startling discovery: a simple operation on the brain’s prefrontal cortex results in vastly expanded consciousness and mental powers, including the remarkable ability to see backwards in time. With their new ability of ‘time vision’, Lester and Littleway are able to travel back to the days of Shakespeare and even further to the time of the Mayan civilization and the construction of Stonehenge. But their explorations into the distant past and the origins of human existence come with an unexpected and terrifying consequence: something ancient and immensely powerful, long asleep, has been awakened by their activities, and is determined to stop them at all costs....
In The Strength to Dream (1962), Colin Wilson criticized the horror fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, leading Lovecraft’s friend and publisher August Derleth to challenge Wilson to write something better. One result of this challenge was The Philosopher’s Stone (1969), a fascinating blend of science fiction, horror, and philosophy told within the framework of Lovecraft’s mythos. This edition features an introduction by Colin Stanley.
Colin Wilson
With a new introduction by Colin Stanley
Book Description
Dr Howard Lester and his friend Sir Henry Littleway have made a startling discovery: a simple operation on the brain’s prefrontal cortex results in vastly expanded consciousness and mental powers, including the remarkable ability to see backwards in time. With their new ability of ‘time vision’, Lester and Littleway are able to travel back to the days of Shakespeare and even further to the time of the Mayan civilization and the construction of Stonehenge. But their explorations into the distant past and the origins of human existence come with an unexpected and terrifying consequence: something ancient and immensely powerful, long asleep, has been awakened by their activities, and is determined to stop them at all costs....
In The Strength to Dream (1962), Colin Wilson criticized the horror fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, leading Lovecraft’s friend and publisher August Derleth to challenge Wilson to write something better. One result of this challenge was The Philosopher’s Stone (1969), a fascinating blend of science fiction, horror, and philosophy told within the framework of Lovecraft’s mythos. This edition features an introduction by Colin Stanley.
reviews
‘An important literary achievement.’ – Library Journal
‘Colin Wilson has a narrative style that can make the pursuit of any idea seem like exciting detective work.’ – The Times
‘Colin Wilson’s best novel to date.’ – The Spectator
‘Colin Wilson has a narrative style that can make the pursuit of any idea seem like exciting detective work.’ – The Times
‘Colin Wilson’s best novel to date.’ – The Spectator
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1954321279 ISBN-13: 978-1954321274 $29.99 US, 290 pp. Case Laminate Hardcover Published 2019 BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1948405288 ISBN-13: 978-1948405287 $18.99 US, 290 pp. Trade paper Published 2019 |
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Colin Wilson was born in Leicester in 1931. He left school at 16 and worked at various jobs while reading and writing in his spare time. His study The Outsider was published by Victor Gollancz in 1956 and became an overnight sensation in England and America, bringing widespread popular and critical attention to its 24 year old author; the book has never been out of print. He followed The Outsider with two further nonfiction works, Religion and the Rebel (1957) and The Age of Defeat (1959), which were not as well received, before turning to fiction in 1960 with Ritual in the Dark, a novel he had worked on since age 17.
He continued to write prolifically in numerous genres, both fiction and nonfiction, including works on the occult, crime, and serial killers. His prolific output of fiction includes two subsequent novels featuring Gerard Sorme, the protagonist of Ritual in the Dark--Man Without a Shadow (1963) and The God of the Labyrinth (1970)—as well as novels in the vein of H. P. Lovecraft, including The Mind Parasites (1967) and The Philosopher's Stone (1969).
Wilson published more than 150 books over a long career and lived for many years in Cornwall. He died in December 2013.
He continued to write prolifically in numerous genres, both fiction and nonfiction, including works on the occult, crime, and serial killers. His prolific output of fiction includes two subsequent novels featuring Gerard Sorme, the protagonist of Ritual in the Dark--Man Without a Shadow (1963) and The God of the Labyrinth (1970)—as well as novels in the vein of H. P. Lovecraft, including The Mind Parasites (1967) and The Philosopher's Stone (1969).
Wilson published more than 150 books over a long career and lived for many years in Cornwall. He died in December 2013.