Reviews
"Tyson isn't the first writer to attempt a full 'translation' of the forbidden text, but his may be the most comprehensive."--Publishers Weekly "Descriptions of the lost city of R'lyeh, the ruins of Babylon, and other, stranger places blend with tales of monsters and demons, lies and truths. Occult nonfiction author Tyson remains true to Lovecraft's spirit in this tribute to a master of horror."--Library Journal "Tyson sets about 'expositing the ways of the dead.'...Here, Lovecraft's skin-crawling nonexistent tome is lifted from the mists of fantasy and loathsomely fleshed out by Tyson, famed dealer in magic and spells and scribe of much nonfiction on magic and the occult...Scholarly horror, marvelously illustrated. Or as Lovecraft, in a wild ecstasy that's quoted here, would praise it: Ph'nglui nigliv'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeb wgab'nagl fhtagn. Id!"--Kirkus Reviews "This exhaustively researched volume reproduces and connects the details of the mytology originally created by the eldritch author. It addresses all of Lovecraft's references to the book and its fictional protagonist/writer, Arab scholar Abdul Alhazrerd, 'the mysterious Necromancer of Yemen." --Fangoria
Table of Content
Table of Contents List of Illustrations .............. x Prefatory Note by Olaus Wormius .............. xi Concerning the Life of Abdul Alhazred by Theodorus Philetas .............. xv Howlings in the Desert .......... 3 Rapture of the Empty Space .......... 7 Lustful Demons and Angry Demons .......... 13 The Eaters of the Dead .......... 17 Many-Towered Irem, Its Wonders and Pitfalls .......... 21 The Dweller in the Caverns .......... 25 The Lost City Beneath Irem .......... 29 The Starlit Chamber of Seven Gates .......... 33 The First Portal, Leading to the Plateau of Leng .......... 37 The Second Portal, Leading to the City of Heights .......... 41 The Third Portal, Leading to Sunken R'lyeh .......... 45 The Fourth Portal, Leading to Yuggoth .......... 49 The Fifth Portal, Leading to Atlantis .......... 55 The Sixth Portal, Leading to Kadath .......... 61 The Seventh Portal, Leading to the Temple of Albion .......... 65 What May Be Safely Written of the Old Ones .......... 71 Yig, Corresponding with the Sphere of Saturn .......... 75 Yog-Sothoth, Corresponding with the Sphere of Jupiter .......... 81 Cthulhu, Corresponding with the Sphere of Mars .......... 87 Azathoth, Corresponding with the Sphere of Sol .......... 93 Shub-Niggurath, Corresponding with the Sphere of Venus .......... 97 Nyarlathotep, Corresponding with the Sphere of Mercury .......... 103 Dagon, Corresponding with the Sphere of Luna .......... 109 The Great Seal of the Old Ones, Known As the Elder Seal .......... 115 The Underground River A'zani .......... 119 Memphis, City of Mummies .......... 123 Concerning the Tombs of Wizards .......... 127 The Uncanny Ways of Cats, and Their Cult .......... 131 The Riddle of the Sphinx Interpreted .......... 135 The Resurrectionists in the Storehouse of Kings .......... 139 The Essential Salts and Their Use .......... 143 The Valley of the Dead .......... 147 Walking Corpses Above the Second Cataract .......... 153 The Book Markets of Alexandria .......... 159 The Ziggurats and the Watchers of Time .......... 165 The Tower of Babel and the Fall of the Watchers .......... 171 The Ruins of Babylon .......... 175 U'mal Root and Its Manner of Harvest .......... 181 The Valley of Eden .......... 185 The Wisdom Seat .......... 189 The Monastery of the Magi .......... 193 Inner Grounds of the Sons of Sirius .......... 197 The Secret Purpose of the Magi .......... 201 Why the Stars Are Not Right .......... 205 The Thing Beneath the Library .......... 209 Why the Old Ones Do Not Die .......... 213 Concerning Shoggoths .......... 217 The Formula of Yug .......... 221 The Well of Life .......... 225 The Relic of the Hebrews .......... 229 Wanderers on the Road to Damascus .......... 233 The Rite of the Companion .......... 239 Terms of the Covenant with Shub-Niggurath .......... 245 Soul Bottles .......... 251 The Lane of Scholars .......... 255 The Secret of Damascus Steel .......... 259 The Burial Ground at Damascus .......... 263 The Conclusion to the Journey .......... 267