The Philosopher's Stone

by Colin Wilson

Book Overview

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,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446330302
• ISBN13: 9780446330305
• Release Date: June 1977
• Publisher: Warner Books (NY)
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Some Mind-Expanding And Thought-Provoking Stuff....

In her article on Colin Wilson in the May 30, 2004 "Observer," reporter Lynn Barber mentioned that the author, then 73, had seemingly read "every book ever written." She also noted that Wilson claimed never to have thrown a book away, and that his home library in Cornwall contained approximately 30,000 volumes. Well, any reader who delves into the author's 1969 offering, "The Philosopher's Stone," is not likely to dispute those statements. Though chosen for inclusion in Cawthorn & Moorcock's "Fantasy: The 100 Best Books," the novel could just as easily have been placed on a Top 100 Horror or Science Fiction list, and its range of literary, cultural, historical and anthropological reference is immense. In his 1961 book "The Strength to Dream"--which he refers to as "a study of the creative imagination"--Wilson had disparaged the works of the great horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, and was challenged by Lovecraft publisher August Derleth to try to write something in the Lovecraft style himself. The result was Wilson's 1967 novel "The Mind Parasites," and "The Philosopher's Stone" finds the author again taking an exceedingly scientific approach to outdo the antiquarian recluse of Providence, and with winning results. In the novel, we meet Howard Lester, a young scientist who is obsessed with the concepts of life prolongation and the expansion of human consciousness. By manipulating the prefrontal cortex of his brain, he gradually acquires the ability to use "time vision"--to look at an object and see its history--along with numerous lesser abilities. Wilson conflates into his story the mysteries of Stonehenge, Silbury Hill, Chichen Itza and the Voynich Manuscript; weaves in sidelines involving the provenance of Shakespeare's works and a haunted house mystery; treats the reader to numerous speculations regarding the potentialities of the human brain; and ultimately gets very dark and Lovecraftian indeed, as he shows us the true origins of man AND the Cthulhu Mythos! It is one wild story, lemme tell you, both mind-blowing and mind-expanding, and told with such a remarkable amount of scientific detail and citation as to seem absolutely credible. This reader almost found himself believing that he really COULD live forever, if he only stimulated his consciousness enough with what Wilson calls "value experiences," and that he COULD make concrete images appear by using the power of the mind, as Lester learns to do by the novel's end. "The Philosopher's Stone," it must be said, is not an "easy" book. Wilson, self-proclaimed genius that he is, has, as I've mentioned, thrown in an incredible number of references into his novel; by my count, 214 that sent me scurrying to my encyclopedia, atlas and the Interwebs to check out. He is seemingly knowledgeable of every obscure philosopher (George Edward Moore, Henri Bergson, Edmund Husserl, etc.), mathematician (Julius Dedekind, Carl Gauss, Karl Weierstrass, etc.), composer (Ralph Vaughn Williams, Roland de

Lovecraft for people who don't like Lovecraft

Colin Wilson wrote this book because although he liked the basic ideas behind the "Lovecraftian" genre, he did not like the writing style of H.P. Lovecraft. His goal was to develop a well-written novel using the rules of the genre, such as making everything as real as possible in regards to references, events and places.This book also deals extensively with the concepts that are more at home in a Frank Herbert novel, such as the limits of what it means to be human and what human beings are capable of. This book is part mystery, part science-fiction, part primer to Wilson's occult philosophy.

A great Lovecraftian suspense!

This is one of the best Lovecraft-style stories I have read. The suspense in this book is great. You never know what will be uncovered in the next page. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good suspense story.

this is a companion to Wilson's "Mind Parasites"

Colin Wilson continues his exploration of "Intentionality" as a key element in his existential philosophy. If you liked The Mind Parasites, then you owe it to yourself to read this book (as well as The Space Vampires). His use of fiction as a vehicle to philosophical discourse is worth the effort to find these books.