Today dear readers I am on the blog tour for The Deaths And Afterlife Of Aleister Crowley (Published 22nd Aug 2019) By Ian Thornton. A big thank you to the publishers Unbound for my copy to review, always appreciated. And also to the amazing Anne for the invite, thank you.
About The Author
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 http://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.
The Deaths And Afterlife Of Aleister Crowley
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
Where to begin dear reader? Where to begin indeed. Prior to reading this book my knowledge of Aleister Crowley was non-existent. I was going into this book blindly with no escape plan. I wanted to take the plunge and see inside the mind of the evilest man in the world. Who was Aleister Crowley? Who was he really behind closed doors?
Thornton has an intricate style of writing that tends to your curiosity. It encourages the question: “What was actually going on inside The Beast’s head?” It’s not surprising he is the way he is. His mother mentally abused him and was forced to stare at his stillborn sister’s body for hours on end while reading the Lord’s words. It’s chilling writing.
Crowley is intriguing to follow. To say he is a complex character would be an understatement. He believes he is a prophet like Jesus. That he will lead us to victory in the battle between good and evil. (In my opinion Mr Crowley suffered from an enlarged ego and saw himself as untouchable) The more you read, the more you are pulled in to the controversy that is Crowley’s life. He was the greatest spy of 20th Century and faked his own death in 1987 after which he spent the last seven decades at Shangri-La in the Himalayan mountains. Thornton’s narrative is extremely convincing as Crowley’s voice as you try to decipher the truth from the recorded fact known to the public. You question what’s real and what’s fiction.
The whole Occult situation gave me serious vibes of Eyes Wide Shut, figures in cloaks and masks chanting in ritual. Religion is always a taboo topic among people yet Thornton writes Crowley’s opinions raw and honestly which at times shocks and unsettles you. Some readers may find it uncomfortable while others may see it as amusing. The hypocrisy of it all runs naked and wildly throughout this book.
There is an echo of prayer and scripture that follows the reader. A couple of times I envisioned being in a church alone and hearing these words being hummed around its stone walls as the overpowering incenses tickled my nose. It’s bewitching as you feel incredibly unholy and may wish to shower shortly after you finish, the feeling of being unclean lingers on your skin.
I give The Deaths And Afterlife Of Aleister Crowley By Ian Thornton a Three out of Four paw rating.
Not your normal everyday read but then again Crowley was a unique person. I would recommend this if you are interested in reading something a bit different and broadening your horizons. Always thought-provoking seeing someone’s take on figures from the past. An odd one that I can’t quite put my finger on, but then again dear reader what is exactly normal?
Don’t forget to follow the rest of the blog tour, dates below. Enjoy!
Links
Buy A Copy 
@unbounders
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Bunny’s Pause 
Thanks so much for this blog tour support Emma x