The Philosopher's Stone

✍ Scribed by Wilson, Colin

• Publisher: Panther
• Year: 1974
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 199 KB
• Edition: New Edition
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9780586039434

✦ Synopsis

Epub (reformatted)

Wilson probably has
earned a reputation more as a scholar & biographer than as a
novelist; but this novel, originally published in 1969, proves that he
possesses significant skills in the area of fiction as well. He weaves a
great deal of speculation into the meaning of existence & 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 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
unnecessary, but rather a convenient means to overcome years of
conditioning). Lester & Littleway perform the operation upon
themselves & proceed to refine their new skills until they are able
to employ a sort of time vision 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. & it was obscurely
connected with [a] sense of evil..." In the course of discovering how
the Earth & humankind truly evolved, this tale touches upon
everything from Mayan civilization to Abraham Maslow to H.P. Lovecraft's
elder Gods.