Endless Things

March 5, 2007
Crowley's eloquent and captivating conclusion to his Ægypt tetralogy finds scholar Pierce Moffet still searching for the mythical Ægypt, an alternate reality of magic and marvels that have been encoded in our own world's myths, legends and superstitions. Pierce first intuited the realm's existence from the work of cult novelist Fellowes Kraft. Using Kraft's unfinished final novel as his Baedeker, Pierce travels to Europe, where he spies tantalizing traces of Ægypt's mysteries in the Gnostic teachings of the Rosicrucians, the mysticism of John Dee, the progressive thoughts of heretical priest Giordano Bruno and the "chemical wedding" of two 17th-century monarchs in Prague. Like Pierce's travels, the final destination for this modern fantasy epic is almost incidental to its telling. With astonishing dexterity, Crowley (Lord Byron's Novel
) parallels multiple story lines spread across centuries and unobtrusively deploys recurring symbols and motifs to convey a sense of organic wholeness. Even as Pierce's quest ends on a fulfilling personal note, this marvelous tale comes full circle to reinforce its timeless themes of transformation, re-creation and immortality.

May 15, 2007
This final novel in Crowley's dense and fascinatingÆgypt tetralogy blends historical fiction with a hint of magical realism as protagonist Pierce Moffitt seeks to uncover the truth behind the persistent myths ofÆgypt. An alternate reality of alchemy, magic, and hermeticism,Ægypt is supposedly accessible through the great mystical texts of such Renaissance writers as John Dee and Giordano Bruno (both of whom appear as characters in the novel). Crowley's labyrinthine plot unfolds with a confident ease that will excite readers looking for a novel as absorbing as Dan Brown'sThe Da Vinci Code yet written at a higher level of language, plot, structure, and erudition more akin to Umberto Eco'sFoucault's Pendulum . Crowley (creative writing, Yale) deftly weaves the obscurantism of Renaissance hermetic culture into his novel in a manner that is accessible yet scholarly, entertaining but still educational. For those familiar with the previousÆgypt writings, this work offers a supremely satisfying conclusion to Crowley's tetralogy and is recommended for any public library already carrying the author's previous works.Christopher Bussmann, Pratt Inst. Lib., Brooklyn, NY

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