Paralibrum.
Independent reviews of bibliophile occulture.
‘Mystai’ by Peter Mark Adams
A meticulous study of this book will most likely feel like a daydream transporting the reader to the ancient world of the Mysteries and their gods initiated by Adams’s eloquent writing and personal insights supported by beautiful images of the frescoes of the Villa of the Mysteries and other ancient iconographies and artifacts. The functional combination of text and imagery is what makes Mystai such a potent and inspiring book.
'ARCANUM' by Daniel Yates
Arcanum is a book almost entirely made up of images, of stunning macro-lens photographs taken by the highly talented Daniel Yates. Arcanum is also an assassin, as it perfectly understands the sequence of experiences it needs to take us on: From allowing us entrance, to slowing us down, to stilling our gaze, to drawing us in, to showing us a glimpse of the threshold its images can be, to finally pointing into the darkness beyond by means of its illuminating titles and chapters.
‘The Book of the New Sun’ by Gene Wolfe
Here is a short, sharp look into the world of Severian the Torturer. We will examine nothing, but one of its most fascinating creatures and the particular magical elixir prepared from it. As we will see, the mythical alzabo holds several significant lessons in store for us as spirit-workers.
