ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Ian Thornton
Ian Thornton’s debut novel, The Great and Calamitous Tale of Johan Thoms (How One Man Scorched the Twentieth Century, but Didn’t Mean to) was published by Simon & Schuster Canada in September 2013. Harper Collins published worldwide on June 28th 2014 to coincide with the centenary of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the pivot of the novel. It was translated across Europe and taught at the Sorbonne.
Prior to becoming a novelist, Ian worked for Broadcast magazine in London and also for Variety. He is a co-founder of the global television industry publisher, C21 Media and www.c21media.net.
He covered the Royal wedding in London for CTV, Canada's premier independent broadcaster, and has recently written for Wisden Cricketer, The Guardian, The Hindu and for the Soho House magazine, House. He also wrote on the football World Cup in South Africa for the Canadian sports channel, The Score, and has worked for Queen’s University in Ontario, where his project was presented at the White House as part of President Obama's new media initiative.
Ian is the official biographer of the Compton cricket club in California and has been a judge on the largest Latin American film festival, Expresion en Corto. He is currently producing a feature documentary.
Originally from Leeds, Ian currently resides in Toronto with his wife Heather Gordon and their children, Laszlo and Clementine.
About the book (how fab is that cover!)
Aleister Crowley, also known as the Great Beast, is one of the most reviled men in history. Satanist, cult leader, debauched novelist and poet, his legacy has been harshly contested for decades.
Crowley supposedly died in 1947, but in Ian Thornton's new novel, set in the present day, the Great Beast is alive and well and living in Shangri-la. Now over 130 years old, thanks to the magical air of his mystical location, he looks back on his life and decides it is time to set the record straight.
For Crowley was not the evil man he is often portrayed as. This was just a cover to hide his real mission, to save the twentieth century from destroying itself and to set humanity on the road to freedom and liberty.
The Death and Afterlife of Aleister Crowley is an epic novel that will make you see this notorious figure in a completely new light, as he encounters an impressive cast of real-life characters including Timothy Leary, The Beatles, Princess Margaret, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock.
For my stop I have my review, enjoy.
The Deaths and Afterlife of Aleister Crowley by Ian ThorntonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - 4 days
Pages - 400
Publisher - Unbound
Source - Review Copy
Blurb from Goodreads
Aleister Crowley, also known as the Great Beast, is one of the most reviled men in history. Satanist, cult leader, debauched novelist and poet, his legacy has been harshly contested for decades.
Crowley supposedly died in 1947, but in Ian Thornton's new novel, set in the present day, the Great Beast is alive and well and living in Shangri-la. Now over 130 years old, thanks to the magical air of his mystical location, he looks back on his life and decides it is time to set the record straight.
For Crowley was not the evil man he is often portrayed as. This was just a cover to hide his real mission, to save the twentieth century from destroying itself and to set humanity on the road to freedom and liberty.
The Death and Afterlife of Aleister Crowley is an epic novel that will make you see this notorious figure in a completely new light, as he encounters an impressive cast of real-life characters including Timothy Leary, The Beatles, Princess Margaret, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock.
My Review
I had never heard of Aleister Crowley before reading this book, a man refered to as "Beast" by his own mother and reveled in being called "Great Beast" as his notoriety grew. He denounced his religious background and started up his own "religion" encouraging people to do what they want basically. He was interested in the occult, satanism and widely documented his insatiable appetite for enjoying all the pleasures and perversions the human body can offer.
So, it was more than an eye opener when I started reading this, told from Aleister as being the narrator he tells the reader, warts and all, his life and journeys. Exposure to sexual acts as a young child by adults in his care, bestiality in rituals, drugs, alcohol pretty much anything and everything. I had to keep putting the book down to goggle him and see if this stuff was true, it was. He made a name for himself, his exploits, he was featured on the band "The Beatles" album cover. There is no denying he lead an eyebrow raising life to put it politely. Some of the exploits I felt I needed to wash my eyes and brain in holy water after reading!
Whilst the book doesn't go into masses of details for the debauchery there is plenty for you to know exactly what he is talking about. Some of his poems, featured, include bodily fluids, this is not a book for the faint hearted or easily offended. That said it makes for interesting reading, the guy was rumoured to be a spy. What Thornton has done is taken well known historical events and woven them into Crowley claiming to have influenced, averted or been present when X event happened.
My history knowledge is terrible so I would put the book down to read up on X assassination or X war to get the documented events on what happened then read on to how Thornton placed Crowley in among it. It is an interesting, colourful (blue) and shocking read, sexual exploits that will shock you (unless you already know his history). I would love to have a Q&A with the author as I can't even imagine just how much went into the research for the book before then crafting a well known figure and creating a history or actual events and slotting him into them. Why that character, was it a challenge and the creative process for pulling all of that together. I can honestly say I have never read a book like it, if you know of Crowley I would love to hear your thoughts on the book and if like me this is your first introduction to him what did you think?
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