Once again, the wonderful folk (Daniel Schulke) at Xoanon have been perpetrating their own particular brand of Spare-ist confusion, this time resulting in the lovely shimmering gray LUX HAERESIS. If you go to the source, you may be able to find a copy for $100 plus shipping.
Like its forebears, this is no easy read, as the author loves writing in strange words. Something charming in "the Focus of Life" and "The Logomachy of ZOS", it is a habit that can get tedious when handled by lesser people. The late Andrew Chumbley was a master, where it comes across as a mask to hide the light from the unworthy, but for lesser mortals like Pharaon and others, it can come across as derivative and childish. Schulke treads a middle zone, sometimes getting it right, and sometimes appearing pretentious.
However, language aside, Schulke continues a very valuable tradition, that of the Cultus Sabbatai, which is more of a successor to Austin Spare than the late Kenneth Grant ever was with his qlippothic typhonian OTO - largely an exercise in turgidity.
There are few people out there who cater to intelligent adults, and Cultus Sabbatai is about the only one that I'm aware of (Clearly, I dont get invited to the right sort of parties). The rest are either PC or reactionaries with the mindset of rebellious teenagers.
My greatest regret is that Cultus Sabbatai is a closed order, so you can look but not touch (i.e., read, but not participate).
Unfortunately I cant recommend this book as a practical guide, anymore than I could the works of Austin Spare, due to the language barrier. However, it is a worthy grimoire, few indeed of which are being published these days. If you enjoy well-made books that are classics, and have the money available for this kind of purchase, I recommend buying a copy today, before it sells out and prices start escalating. Contact the publisher at the snailmail address they use, and take it from there, or find a good bookseller (they recommend Field's books in SF or Caduceus in the UK, both of whom I would also recommend) and pay a little more.
In rank, I'd place this after Azoetia and Viridarium Umbris, but before Ars Philtron which appeared somewhat clumsy by comparison (if more practical).
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Book Piracy
In response to a comment on "Satyr's Sermon" below, I tried but failed to leave a comment in reply. I'll have to work that out later. But here is my reply:
"Anonymous said... how do you come to terms with the fact that these kind of books are now being pirated as pdf versions?"
Mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I generously support the publishers by buying these quite expensive books whenever possible. However, there is a problem when I want to read a book that is unavailable except at exorbitant prices - like "Qutub" was until a couple of years ago. I was grateful to stumble across a pdf, then went to some trouble to convert this to text and rebind, matching the upside-down and back-to-fronting needed to sew into signatures. By the time I was finished, I think this could be covered under "derivative works" use, but I figured nobody would mind as the publishers werent being put out (the book was out of print, so they werent losing a dime) and this was only for my personal use. When the new edition came out, I bought a copy for $100 or so.
Although I had some issues with Scarlet Imprint coming out with second editions of limited runs on a regular basis, I think they have solved the issue since - providing hardbacks for book afficionados, but with a cheaper paperback version for those who are purely interested in the text.
That to me could be applied to the general schism between the wealthy and poor; the poor are accommodated with basic necessities, while the rich get exclusive versions with a few extra knobs and whistles thrown in.
In short, pirating is OK in my opinion, so long as it does not interfere with the legitimate interests of the creator of the works. If you're not going to buy the work, because you cant, then it is pseudo-legitimate to obtain a crappy copy for personal use. However, if you can reasonably afford to purchase the product from the creator, one is obliged to do so or forego the privilege.
Legally, of course, corporations can and do patent the use of turmeric and other things they never created. I'm talking morally here, not legally. And the publishers I'm talking about here, in the main, are moral people who understand the issue.
A side issue is that some corporations like the OTO consider some books to reveal "their" secrets (although they did not write the rituals on which these are based). If someone writes something they have a right to restrict its distribution. If they inherit it, I personally feel not.
"Anonymous said... how do you come to terms with the fact that these kind of books are now being pirated as pdf versions?"
Mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I generously support the publishers by buying these quite expensive books whenever possible. However, there is a problem when I want to read a book that is unavailable except at exorbitant prices - like "Qutub" was until a couple of years ago. I was grateful to stumble across a pdf, then went to some trouble to convert this to text and rebind, matching the upside-down and back-to-fronting needed to sew into signatures. By the time I was finished, I think this could be covered under "derivative works" use, but I figured nobody would mind as the publishers werent being put out (the book was out of print, so they werent losing a dime) and this was only for my personal use. When the new edition came out, I bought a copy for $100 or so.
Although I had some issues with Scarlet Imprint coming out with second editions of limited runs on a regular basis, I think they have solved the issue since - providing hardbacks for book afficionados, but with a cheaper paperback version for those who are purely interested in the text.
That to me could be applied to the general schism between the wealthy and poor; the poor are accommodated with basic necessities, while the rich get exclusive versions with a few extra knobs and whistles thrown in.
In short, pirating is OK in my opinion, so long as it does not interfere with the legitimate interests of the creator of the works. If you're not going to buy the work, because you cant, then it is pseudo-legitimate to obtain a crappy copy for personal use. However, if you can reasonably afford to purchase the product from the creator, one is obliged to do so or forego the privilege.
Legally, of course, corporations can and do patent the use of turmeric and other things they never created. I'm talking morally here, not legally. And the publishers I'm talking about here, in the main, are moral people who understand the issue.
A side issue is that some corporations like the OTO consider some books to reveal "their" secrets (although they did not write the rituals on which these are based). If someone writes something they have a right to restrict its distribution. If they inherit it, I personally feel not.
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