The Philosopher's Stone

I like Colin Wilson. His breadth of perspective is refreshing and inspiring. I chose something to read at random and I needed a novel, so The Philosopher's Stone fit the bill nice. It began slowly, picking up later on and it became captivating just before the middle. What I had not really known (and I don't think I am adding a spoiler here, as I have seen this written in descriptions and biographies, including the one at the end of this book itself) is that this is, to a great degree, a 'Kthulhu' novel. Having read that Mr Wilson was not so enamoured with H. P. Lovecraft, I had not seen this coming. But I like Lovecraft. The bottom line: this is a great book, written as a memoir, and it contains some great insights on Mr Wilson's (and mine) main topic: consciousness and its scope for 'expansion'. I am amazed at how the great old ones and Kthulhu were implicated in this, and I am guessing that The Philosopher's Stone was Mr Wilson's attempt to give a more positive reading of Lovecraft's dark and fear-induced writings. A very good book then. My only gripe is the end, which, I think, felt somewhat rushed to conclude the story and kind of 'shorter' compared to the rest of the book. Still, a very good and enjoyable read.

I recently finished a 2d read of this book and, while I read it in fits and starts, I gotta say, Colin Wilson is one of my favorite authors when it comes to "thinking" novels of this genre. If nothing else, he provides an introduction, at least, to the ideas of many other thinkers, philosophers, speculators etc. of the past, many of whom are not so known (if at all) by those of us who have not really studied in this area. And, this is a really interesting mystery story of humanity's evolutionary potential, including our humble, otherworldly origins, written by a guy who's brilliantly done a lot of the work for us.I cannot help but think that many readers of this book (as well as some of his others like The Mind Parasites, The Outsider etc.) will experience its effect as being expansive of their psyches or their outlook; and, in challenging or discovering some of the heretofore unconscious or unexamined limits of our worldview...both as to ourselves and everyone else. 50 years from now, if not sooner, this book will be considered one of the classics of the 20th century!Thank you Colin Wilson, wherever you are!

Colin wasn’t a lover of Lovecraft’s writing but he oddly parallels many of his views on humanity.His first book called” The Outsider “without him even realizing it was similarly named to Lovecraft’s posthumous collection “The Outsider and Others” so over time and an actual challenge he decided to incorporate Lovecraft into a few of his stories and also wrote one of The Necronomicons as well.This effort is the best ,even using some real life events to go along with the story like Lovecraft.It starts out a little slow with 2 main characters attempting to have what are known as V.E. (Value Experiences) but once the characters succeed,his visions of the return of The Old Ones And their history is fabulous.High recommendation ,especially in our present time as yes there is a need for the skilled minority to leave the mass of humanity and their problems to be solved by the evolved Old Ones who are awakened now.

From front to start, a inspiring read for the up and comer or a seasoned veteran.

This was my first Colin Wilson read and it was good enough that there will probably be another. My understanding is that this supposed to be a "sophisticated" and "literary" Lovecraft-genre novel. As a fan of the over-the-top language and melodrama of Lovecraft, I had hoped for more of that in this novel, but it's just not there. The novel has a rather long (at least for me) build up to what I hoped would be some sort of dramatic finish, but the ending does not pop for me.At this point you may be wondering why I gave the book three stars given I haven't really said much that was complimentary, but I did enjoy the book. It was engaging, and the details woven into the story from real life (look up the names dropped and you'll find they almost all really exist) is very well done. The characters have that Lovecraftian superiority complex that can be so amusing when they finally get their comeuppance.If you want a Lovecraft story to read like a Lovecraft story, read a Lovecraft story. But this is a good book on its own.

This is one of my favorites. Written in the 1960s, the story is a journey of discovery combined with time travel, with a pinch of horror. I won't claim that the science is highly accurate--it's not that kind of book--but the mix of scientific and philosophical discussions, and the series of events that tie the story into the Lovecraftian universe, make for a fun and thoughtful read.

One of my favorite books, and I finally have a Kindle version. Colin Wilson's best attempt at creating a Lovecraftian novel, with a twist. His consciousness experiments that open his eyes to the existence of the Old Ones really adds a new level of dread to the novel. I've read this book at least 4 times since I found an UK published version at a local used book store. Now I'll always have it available to read whenever I want.

I have read a good many of Colin Wilson's books and they are always thought provoking and even informative. I am self-taught and most of what I learned I got from GB Shaw, S. Beckett and Joyce. Their books sent me after other books and so on. The same thing happened with Colin Wilson's books they helped me to take a different view of the world and I am the better for reading them. I really enjoyed the Philosopher's Stone because it read like fact but it was all fiction and a great read.

I decided to check this one out after reading a reference to it in one of Gary Lachman's books. I discovered I had read it before in 2017 but couldn't remember it. So I pulled it up and read it again and found that I hadn't retained a scrap of it in my memory . . . it was like reading it 'again' for the first time! And now that I have valiantly fought off drowsiness and slogged through it a second time I shall proceed to forget it again, for it simply isn't worth remembering.

I first read this book nearly forty years ago, and couldn't put it down. It's now dated a little, of course, yet remains an intriguing, thought provoking read as we follow Howard's journey to explore and expand human mind power - a journey which becomes ever more absorbing (and surprising) as it goes along. The fact that I have kept my battered paperback all these years is testament to my enjoyment of it, so I was absolutely delighted to find it on Kindle. Now I can read and re-read without risking my increasingly fragile paperback copy. This is an unusual and constantly interesting book - difficult to describe, but very enjoyable.

Another fantastic book of Wilson's. Thoroughly enjoyed the Lovecraftian theme that runs through it. I have read many of Wilson's books now, & he had a wonderful writing style thank keeps me gripped to the story.

Haven't read yet, but based on the strength of the reviews here on Amazon, it sounds like a very interesting read. So far, I've read a number of Colin Wilson's books, but few of his novels, so this is a change of direction for me.I shall update my review in a week or so along its star rating.

I read this book a few years ago and was so impressed that I bought it as a Christmas present for a family member. I don't have feedback from him as yet, but I enjoyed it immensely. Readers who have enjoyed the work of Jorge Luis Borges will love this book.