Daemonomania

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Daemonomania

Aegypt 3: Daemonomania

Only 3 stars for Crowley? I hoped I'd never have to do it.

Prosaicomania

Dripping with language, endless foreplay but scant climax

Daemonomania
John Crowley
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Love & Sleep

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Little, Big (P.S.)

Otherwise: Three Novels

ASIN: 0553378236
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Amazon.com

John Crowley's powerfully mysterious Dæmonomania adds flesh to the world he imagined in Ægypt and Love and Sleep. In this book, as in all his books, Crowley transports faithful readers to a place where time, place, and meaning come unstuck. It is in some ways the story of the end of the world as it might be, or might have been, a novel of history, eschatology, and faith with unforgettable characters and hauntingly lovely sentences. If the world's end is neither bang nor whimper but "like the shivers that pass over a horse's skin," how is it perceived by the people living through it?

Historian Pierce Moffett finds his key to understanding in New York state's Faraway Hills, as do his lover, Rose Ryder, and single mom Rosie Rasmussen, whose daughter seems to suffer from dæmonomania--spiritual possession by Renaissance magician John Dee. Each character must pick a careful path between the colliding juggernauts of past and present, magic and mundane. The wind of apocalypse is blowing:

"Scary wind.... What if it's the one?" she said.
"What one?" he said.... He in fact knew what one, for it was from him that she had heard mythologies of wind, how it bloweth where it listeth, one part of Nature not under God's thumb and therefore perhaps at the disposal of our Enemy; she had heard his stories about changer winds, how one had once blown away the Spanish Armada and thus saved England from Catholic conquest, a famous wind which if you went to look for it in the records of the time wasn't there.

In typical Crowley style, magic is seamlessly woven into the narrative. Pierce is writing the story of the end of the world while it happens, Rose joins a cult that promises salvation, and Rosie inherits a spooky legacy that might hold the secret to saving her daughter. All are involved in deep exchanges of power, and all must yield to what Crowley calls the "queasy pressure of Fate."

Crowley describes Dæmonomania best when he writes about Pierce's book: "The book... was about magic, secret histories, and the End of the World, an event that Pierce would suggest was under way undetectably even as he wrote, as the reader read." This is a complex, disturbing, and beautiful book, one that will bear rereading. Crowley's writing is gorgeous in places, frustrating in others, but always irresistible. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

For the people in this novel, the concerns of everyday life are beginning to transmute into the extraordinary and to reveal the forces, dark and light, that truly govern their lives. So it is for Pierce Moffett, would-be historian and author, who has moved from New York to the Faraway Hills, where he seems to discover -- or rediscover -- a path into magic, past and present.

And so it is for Rosie Rasmussen, a single mother grappling with her mysterious uncle's legacy and her young daughter Samantha's inexplicable seizures. For Pierce's lover Rose Ryder, another path unfolds: she's drawn into a cult that promises to exorcise her demons -- the same cult that Samantha's father has joined.

It is the dark of the year, between Halloween and the winter solstice, and the gateway is open between the worlds of the living and the dead. A great cycle of time is ending, and Pierce and Rosie, Samantha and Rose Ryder must take sides in an age-old war that is approaching the final battle.... Or is it?

Winner of an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Literature, Crowley in this tale conducts us on a journey into the very mystery of existence: what is, what went before, and what could break through at any moment into our lives.

Customer Reviews:

Daemonomania.......2007-03-12

This book was awful. I forced myself to finish it because I did not feel right claiming it was the worst book I'd ever read if I had not finished it. It was a gift, and I was not aware if was the third book in a series (perhaps the cover should be more clear on this matter). Reading the other books would probably have made some of the confusing parts less so, however the book would still have been awful. I kept waiting for the author to tie everything together and get to some point or conculsion that he never did. It reads as if he just stopped writing. The story was not entertaining in the least with the plot bouncing around all over the place. I don't claim to be an intellectual so perhaps this book was not meant for me. If like to be confused and puzzel out books from the first page, read this. Otherwise, I would advise you to take a pass on this one.

Aegypt 3: Daemonomania.......2006-02-24

Bantam was insane to release this book without identifying it in any way as the third volume of a novel in progress! What strange experiences the many misled must have had reading it. Aegypt is a strange enough novel already, after all, with two sets of interwined narratives in each of two (three? seven?) time periods, interpolations from imaginary novels and poems, summaries of actual Renaissance and hermetic texts, digressions on astrology, divorce law, and you name it...Daemonomania alone tackles sado-masochism, Christian cults, masturbation, epilepsy, murder, molestation, the Philosopher's Stone, a number of different takes on "magic", several thousand things I'm forgetting and (a couple times over) The End Of The World.

Anyway, don't even think about touching this book until you've read its two prequels, Aegypt (AKA The Solitudes) and Love & Sleep, available in most libraries.

Daemonomania is the longest segment, thus far, and perhaps the wildest. Its writing is magnificent, its content wise and tough-minded. It wraps up most of the story arc of Aegypt: Apparently the almost-complete volume four, Endless Things, will be something of a departure.

What else to say? As far out as he ranges, Crowley's topic is always life itself, like any good novelist. And like any great one, he frequently shows us what our own lives are like in ways that we, merely living them, have somehow never noticed. This superb, crazy novel is an ongoing miracle.

Only 3 stars for Crowley? I hoped I'd never have to do it........2005-12-20

Is it just me, or is Crowley's command of English slipping? He even tries to get away with "pinnace" meaning (apparently) pennant"! This is depressing in this most fastidious writer. I'd forgive him (with difficulty) if he pulled off more of the exquisitely beautiful prose that he can produce, but this book seems overwrought and tired instead. His prose is still so much better than most writers' that I don't want to be savage, but by his own geostationary standards it has fallen far.
He is still trying to "write sex". He's tried before, failed, and has acknowledged it as a problem. He devoted enough space to it in this book to make this reader, at least, wish he'd get it over with, or get over it, if he can't get it over. His occasional attempts to be playful or eager fall like stones into a bathtub.
This book is spent marking time, and cueing things that have yet to happen. It's not obvious that it's making progress with other things rather than plot: the characters still seem fuzzy and vestigial (a Crowley feature, or problem, according to taste). John Dee apparently succeeds in making gold - "sophic, wonderful" - but it doesn't appear to do him any good: he finds out, what he could fairly have been expected to see coming, that the spirits whom he has consulted through his scryer are having him on. Although (in a sense) "the world ends twice", the second occasion has yet to be worked out - we don't really know ANYTHING about it except that it involves an entertaining bit of Renaissance clockwork (literally), and that it is introduced with a great wind (like the last one). Funny, that. Water has already been, air has been, fire is not yet, so this ought to be earth, but there's no sign of it. Crowley has hinted that fire may appear later (but it was then being promised for volume 3, and it may never have been more than a tease).
Perhaps when this particular four-volume slog is over he will again turn to miniature perfections like "Engine Summer", or really frightening visions of the shape of human life like that seen in "The Deep". Please, please.

Prosaicomania.......2005-03-06

John Crowley is surely a writer's writer - that is, he would rather impress other writers with his craft than engage readers with exciting plotlines or empathetic characters. I have nothing against other reviewers who are amazed by Crowley's intricate layering of philosophies and his mastery of language, but I consider it all self-indulgent, pretentious, and boring. There is certainly a plethora of intriguing wordplay here, representing twisted realities and time unstuck, but Crowley also frequently overdoes it (badly) with annoying slush like "Where he had once. The sunporch where." Exploring the depths of prose can only get you so far with readers who don't feel like taking months to read a book slowly to soak in all the words, especially when the plot ultimately fails to secure one's attention for any extended amount of time.

The basic premise of this novel is wonderfully intriguing, featuring different ends of the world for different observers, with occult mysticism and medieval philosophy getting warped into diverging time streams and realities in the present. However, this book's jacket makes no mention that it is a continuation of some of Crowley's previous books, so the unfamiliar reader is confronted with ideas that are already in progress with inadequate explanations. Crowley doesn't even bother to wrap up all the story's possibilities in this book (or the previous installments). A heavily anti-climactic conclusion, which deals more with developments in the philosophy rather than the plot or the characters, promises nothing except yet another continuation into the next book that might come out someday whenever Crowley gets around to it. Fans of long-winded and pretentious literary contortions are surely waiting with bated breath, but the rest of us will have no trouble moving on to something else more readable. [~doomsdayer520~]

Dripping with language, endless foreplay but scant climax.......2003-01-27

Having not read any of Crowley's previous works, I picked up Daemonomania without any preconceived notions of what it should have been like. I was immediately attracted to the level of language used and the "Thomas-Hardy-on-crystal-meth" style of description. Daemonomania is indeed a feast for the linguaphile.

The soaring descriptions, the intricate character development, the seamless weave of the present, the past, and the alter-present, however, never quite seem to come to a climax, leaving the reader feeling teased and somewhat exhausted. One almost wishes for an Anne Rice-esque climactic ... power, lust, and blood, reminiscent of the concluding pages of "The Witching Hour", but then remembers that this is Crowley, not the Queen of the Damned. Crowley builds so much tension, though, that the reader years in vain for some sort of release. When it comes, however, it is no more satisfying than a rice cake and some diet Coke after having won the Iditerrod.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Institute on Religion and Public Life on March 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1625 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: DAEMONOMANIA.(Review) (book review)
Author: John J. Reilly
Publication: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2001
Publisher: Institute on Religion and Public Life
Page: 53

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Daemonomania
John Crowley
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K78I5M

Average customer rating:

A great fantasy novel

a rare and exquisite work

Beautifully written, though not my favorite GGK book

The Lions of al-Rassan

Not his best work, but good nonetheless
The Lions of al-Rassan
Guy Gavriel Kay
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Kay, Guy Gavriel | ( K ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0060733497

Book Description

The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan -- poet, diplomat, soldier -- until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.

Meanwhile, in the north, the conquered Jaddites' most celebrated -- and feared -- military leader, Rodrigo Belmonte, driven into exile, leads his mercenary company south.

In the dangerous lands of Al-Rassan, these two men from different worlds meet and serve -- for a time -- the same master. Sharing their interwoven fate -- and increasingly torn by her feelings -- is Jehane, the accomplished court physician, whose own skills play an increasing role as Al-Rassan is swept to the brink of holy war, and beyond.

Hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, The Lions of Al-Rassan is both a brilliant adventure and a deeply compelling story of love, divided loyalties, and what happens to men and women when hardening beliefs begin to remake -- or destroy -- a world.

Customer Reviews:

A great fantasy novel.......2007-05-23

If you like other novels by this author or if you are just interested in a solid fantasy this is a great book. As with other Kay novels there are echos of historical Europe. These borrowings add to the sense of realism in the story. The story of the Lions of al-Rassan is not connected to any other Kay novels.

Enjoy.

a rare and exquisite work.......2007-03-31

There aren't a lot of truly supreme books, ones that eloquently speak and resonate through the human condition; that, aside from conveying their truths elegantly, are also interesting literary exercises with layers and complexities that move and challenge. This is such a book. Gay Gavriel Kay is an exceptional writer and this one plows through the insipid inanities of genre and sings. The characters are astoundingly wrought, even minor ones will make you weep. The plot with such finesse weaves around and back in upon itself, intriguing, but never frustrating the reader and the layers of meaning connect, inspire, and deeply satisfy. This is only my second Kay novel; YSABEL was also very good, but not quite up to LIONS. I did try The FIONAVAR TAPESTRY, but found it flat and not of interest. As a librarian I know a lot of readers shy away from anything labelled "historical" or "fantasy". In this case especially that's truly tragic. Readers of such literary novels as SOUL MOUNTAIN, THE SATANIC VERSES, ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE, and WAR AND PEACE, even Proust, would find much to enjoy here.

Beautifully written, though not my favorite GGK book.......2007-02-26

OK, I just finished reading this book about 10 minutes ago. I spent about a week reading the first half on and off, but once I got to the second half, I finished it in 2 days. It is beautifully written and a good story. To me, the first half of the book set the scene wonderfully, but it was the second half of the book that was a true "page turner" and I had a hard time putting it down to go to sleep once I got into the story.

Let me admit from the beginning that I bought this book because 1) I read Sailing to Sarantium and loved it and am hoping it will be made into a movie, and 2) I heard the Lions of Al-Rassan was being made into a movie instead and wanted to see why.

The characters in The Lions of Al-Rassan are well-developed, and I particularly identified with Jehane, the Kindath physician that is the opening character in the book. The two male leads are both unique and honorable characters, who like Jehane, the reader will come to love as the story moves forward. I am very interested to find out who will play these 3 main characters in the movie.

Kay writes in a way that draws you into the historical world being created. The surroundings, interactions between people, and background are described in depth, which serves to place you in the world of the characters not only physically, but culturally, which is quite an achievement.

I know I am stereotyping the sexes, but I think as a whole, men would like this book more than Sarantium. It is full of conquest, death, sex, and honorable characters, which will make a great movie. I think women (like me) might like the characters, art, and romance in the world of Sarantium more.

Though there are several bloody scenes, the gore in Lions of Al-Rassan wasn't overly gratuitous and did lend to the story.

Overall, great book. Buy it and read it. But check out Sailing to Sarantium, too!

The Lions of al-Rassan.......2007-01-10

"The Lions of al-Rassan" is one of my favourite novels by Guy Gavriel Kay. It is well written, like all his work, although perhaps not as densely written as "Tigana" or "A Song for Arbonne". Although technically falling in the fantasy genre, the worlds of these novels are very strongly modelled on the cultures of medieval (?) europe. In the case of "The Lions of al-Rassan" it is modelled on the clash between the Islamic and Christian cultures in Medieval Spain. The book is a great, well-paced read, with very character-driven plot. I now have two copies at home, so I have one to read, and one to lend to friends.

Not his best work, but good nonetheless.......2006-07-14

"The Lions of Al-Rassan" is typical of Kay's "series" of alternative or fantasy historical novels: a rich tapestry of characters that live and act in a world that is simultaneously familiar and strange; a world where ordinary people act out of necessity and duty to achieve great things, and the powerful are shown as the complex beings that they would be in our world. His carefully crafted characters evoke real people and are never the one-dimensional people we too often see in such novels.

Like his other novels (except the pure fantasy novels of the exceptional Fionavar Tapestry), "The Lions of Al-Rassan" is a beautifully descriptive, intelligent work of fiction that can only loosely be called "fantasy". They are difficult to categorize as they are like "historical" novels in that they parallel a time and place in our history - even down the geography and people - but he has set them on a different world to avoid the restrictions of plot and device inherent in writing a story set in our own past.

That said however, this book doesn't have the sweeping epic breadth of "Sailing to Sarantium" or "Lord Of Emperors" that make up his Sarantium Mosaic, nor does it contain the subtle political and social intrigues of the brilliant "Tigana", and it doesn't achieve the beauty of the lyrical and poetic "A Song For Arbonne".

For Kay fans, this is still a must read, but I must confess that reading it I was never as transported into another world and time as I was so often with his other books.

Average customer rating:

The Lions of Al-Rassan
Guy Gavriel Kay
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Average customer rating:

Different Lions get Mixed in Unending Adventures.

The Lions of al Rassan
Guy Gavriel Kay
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

French | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All French Books | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0006480306

Customer Reviews:

Different Lions get Mixed in Unending Adventures........2007-04-26

"The Lions of Al-Rassan" is what is usually defined, as a Fantasy book. Yet in my opinion is more than that.
Kay has researched the historical period he reflects in this "alternate universe", and gives an accurate and sensible picture of it: the value of honor, the religious beliefs (even if disguised with other names and nuisances), the mixed loyalties (to country, king, family and religion), poetry and medicine among others.

The story is loosely based on the medieval poem "The Song of Mio Cid", around year 1000 in the Iberic peninsula, three cultures mixing and interacting, a main character from each of them: the courageous Captain Belmonte, the sage and stubborn doctoress Jehane and the cunning warrior-poet-politic Ammar, the three of them draw a complex and absorbing tapestry.

Kay has a special knack to depict scenes that lead the reader to jump to conclusions that are, astonishingly, proved wrong a couple of pages later, this keep you reading on tiptoes, expecting new surprises... and they show up even if you are warned.

The descriptions of cities, rural places, king's courts, markets have a distinctive flavor, without being boring. The different characters are fully human and interesting, not two dimensional stereotypes as may be expected in Fantasy story. The inner thoughts of most of them are shown, giving insight as to why they do what they do.

This is a book to be enjoyed by different kind of readers.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

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The Lions of Al-Rassan
Guy Gavriel Kay
Manufacturer: Harper Prism
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEMTJW

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LIONS OF AL-RASSAN
Guy Gavriel Kay
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8UBPW

Average customer rating:

The Lions of Al-Rassan
Guy Gavriel Kay
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEX1KI

Average customer rating:

The Lions of Al-Rassan
Guy Gavriel Kay
Manufacturer: Eos
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Customer Reviews:

The story moved well and was fast paced,suspensefull........1998-05-23

In the tradition of this fine television seris,the story was excellent. Set in the jungles of Mexico,the storyline was a bit exotic and interesting. The inclusion of a military commando team and the ensuing firefight was suspense and action mixed in a well writtien AND well read story. This audio series on this show just keeps getting better and better....would love to hear another one read by Gillian Anderson..

Book Description

The 72 Names of God are not names in the ordinary sense. They are very different from the signature on a letter or the back of a credit card. Instead, they offer connection to the infinite spiritual current that flows through the world. By connecting to these sources of spiritual power, you acquire protection from any and all forms of negativity and danger. You remove the blockages that separate you from total joy and fulfillment. You open the pathways to transformation, for yourself and for the entire world. This convenient set of cards for The 72 Names of God was created for you to carry and use whenever you need them, at any time, and in any situation you may face.

Customer Reviews:

I just got on exelente time and prize........2007-01-07

I got the 72 Names of God: Meditation Deck by Yehudah Berg, exelente contition of use and on the good time.

72 Names of God: Meditation Deck.......2006-08-21

This 'pack of cards' is very interesting to have with you at all times as there is always a helping hint in the pack for whatever situation you are in.
One side has a title and a 3 letter name, the other a more in-depth explanation and the same name.

Criticism about the deck's background.......2006-08-11

Beside the criticism I have on the book which accompanies the deck, specifically in not crediting sources, I have some criticism on the deck itself.

There is a prohibition against images in Judaism, such as the third commandment. Some allow images with very few limitations, but those usually prohibit making images of G-d himself.

It is therefore unsurprising that Jewish Kabbalah uses little imagery, very little colored imagery, and none I know of associated with G-d names.

[Yes, I'm aware of the tree of life and it's associated colors, as well Jewish amulets, a few of which are colored, and some Jews have photos or drawings of Rabbis, but that's about it - no elaborate colorful - no Gustave Doré illustrations to the bible in Judaism.]

This deck walks a fine line at best in this respect.

Daily Cards for Daily Tasks.......2005-11-21

I use these cards everyday. I shuffle the deck and select on of the "72 Names" to work on each day. This item is a must for your kabbalah collection.

On the run?.......2005-09-12

Too busy for spiritual anything? Well you have come to the right place.Order yourself up this lovely deck a cards to surely please the empty void you know you carry inside.Just pull one card of day and your on your way to a spiritual path you only dreamed of.If you are not satisfied, it makes a great card game.Place a hat on the floor, and see how many cards you can fling into it.I love my deck,you will love yours.

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72 Names of God Meditation Deck
Yehuda Berg
Manufacturer: Kabbalah Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N78XOA

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