THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE ( Introduction By Joyce Carol Oates)

Wilson, Colin

ISBN 10: 0446592137 / ISBN 13: 9780446592130

Published by Warner Books, New York, 1974

About this Item

Warner Paperback Library 59213; Wilson's novel of two scientists, who, armed with a newly discovered power of heightened consciousness, are able to penetrate other minds and probe prehistoric events; Warner Paperback Rediscovery Series, First Printing of the First Edition Thus; text is clean and tight, lightly age-browned, slight spine lean; wrappers show minimal surface and edgwear, light reading crease, two tiny spots on back cover.

Seller Inventory # 001490

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE ( Introduction By Joyce Carol Oates)
• Publisher: Warner Books, New York
• Publication Date: 1974
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0446592137
• ISBN 13: 9780446592130
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Good Plus to Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • England
  • Modern Novel
  • Science Fiction

About this title

Synopsis

1st Panther 1974 edition paperback vg+ condition. In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Review

Wilson probably has earned a reputation more as a scholar and biographer than as a novelist; but this novel, originally published in 1969 and here rescued from obscurity by new-age publisher Jeremy P. Tarcher, proves that he possesses significant skills in the area of fiction as well. Wilson weaves a great deal of speculation into the meaning of human existence and the future of the species into the plot; so much so that the book at times seems as much a work of philosophy as of fiction. The story centers on the experiences of Howard Lester, an enterprising young intellectual whose work with fellow researcher Henry Littleway leads to the discovery that implanting a minute bit of a metallic alloy into the prefrontal cortex of the brain can introduce a higher state of conciousness. (As in the case with Carlos Castaneda in his thematically-similar Don Juan chronicles, the researchers later discover that the artificial catalyst is not necessary, but rather a convenient means to overcome years of conditioning). Lester and Littleway perform the operation upon themselves and proceed to refine their new skills until they are able to employ a sort of "time visioif 'that allows them to tap into racial memories. With this knowledge comes the realization that there are shadowy periods in our species' past that have been kept hidden from us by more powerful beings. Lester relates his moment of insight: "I knew with certainty that there is something in the world's prehistory that cannot be found in any of the books on the past. And it was obscurely connected with [a] sense of evil...." In the course of discovering how the Eardi-and mankind-truly evolved, this intriguing tale touches upon everything from Mayan civilization to Abraham Maslow to H.P. Lovecraft's elder Gods. -- From Independent Publisher