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Reader Reviews | |
Review by Geoff Ward (300611) Rating (6/10) Review
by Geoff Ward But every heresy is a banner for a perceived reality - and an exclusion - for those at odds with the established order, and Allan marks out the territory, following an introduction to the origins of occult belief, in a series of brief discussions of a range of occultists, magicians, religionists, psychics, writers and ufologists, including Aleister Crowley, Austin Osman Spare, Kenneth Grant and H P Lovecraft.
'It is strange that as our rejection of organized religion gains
momentum, we still apparently need something to cling to and so
we invent one.' This particularly telling sentence from Allan,
although written while discussing the subject of UFOs, could be
applied to all of the beliefs he explores. Allan points out that, in all cases, it is the context in which the term 'heretic' is applied, and who applies it, that is vital - who decides someone is uttering heresy, and under what rules? Rightly, he sees the charge of heresy arising from fear of change among those with vested interests in the social status quo, but also, within scientific and technological communities, from arrogance and a blinkered world-view, all too common today. It must be said that the book has many Shandyesque digressions into areas of personal interest to the author but only obliquely relevant to the general theme, such as comments on the Beatles, the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan and early sci-fi movies.
With similar obliquity, the books' tendentious sub-title is 'Can
we now explain the unexplainable?' The answer, of course, as far
as that 'now' is concerned in relation to the subject matter,
is 'no', for the book has much more to do with seeking than finding. |
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