Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon (Necronomicon Series) [Paperback]

Donald Tyson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2006 | Series: Necronomicon Series (Book 2)

H. P. Lovecraft's compelling character, Abdul Alhazred, is brought to life in this epic tale detailing the mad sorcerer's tragic history and magical adventures. Alhazred tells his own life story, beginning with himself as a poor, handsome boy in Yemen who attracts the attention of the king for his divine skill in poetry. As the court poet, young Abdul lives a luxurious life at the palace, where he studies necromancy and magic. But falling in love with the king's daughter leads to a foolish tryst, which is ultimately discovered. As punishment, Abdul is tortured, brutally mutilated, and cast into the desert, known as the Empty Space. Battling insanity, he joins a tribe of ghouls and learns forbidden secrets from a stranger called Nyarlathotep. Thus begins his downward spiral into wickedness. Renamed Alhazred, he escapes the desert and embarks on a quest to restore his body and reunite with his true love. Traveling across the ancient world and fantastic realms, he is hounded by foes and tormented by the demands of his dark lord.  

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having already written a "translation" of H.P. Lovecraft's imaginary book of occult lore, the Necronomicon, Tyson (Necronomicon: The Wanderings of Alhazred) takes fictional homage one step further with this "autobiography" of the forbidden tome's author, the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred. Maimed and cast out into the desert for carnal indiscretions with the king's daughter, young Abdul takes up with a group of ghouls and travels to the fabled Nameless City. Under the tutelage of Nyarlathotep, the messenger of the monstrous Great Old Ones, he learns unspeakable necromantic secrets and has fantastic adventures based on Lovecraft's stories. This embellished Arabian Nights fantasy is targeted largely at Lovecraft fans, some of whom will likely balk at a pastiche nearly as long as Lovecraft's complete collected fiction. (July)
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About the Author

Donald Tyson is a Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Early in life he was drawn to science by an intense fascination with astronomy, building a telescope by hand when he was eight.  He began university seeking a science degree, but became disillusioned with the aridity and futility of a mechanistic view of the universe and shifted his major to English.  After graduating with honors he has pursued a writing career.

Now he devotes his life to the attainment of a complete gnosis of the art of magic in theory and practice.  His purpose is to formulate an accessible system of personal training composed of East and West, past and present, that will help the individual discover the reason for one's existence and a way to fulfill it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (July 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738708925
• ISBN-13: 978-0738708928
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,780 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm impressed, April 24, 2007

By 

Bruce F. Webster "geek in a suit" (Parker, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon (Necronomicon Series) (Paperback)

After reading the first several chapters of _Alhazred_, I put the book down and almost didn't pick it back up again. The writing was decent, and Tyson had obviously spent a lot of time in historical research (as well as Lovecraftian), but I just wasn't sure where the book was going.

However, I did pick it back up again -- and I'm glad I did. In my opinion, the book got stronger as it went along. I disagree with another reviewer's comment that Alhazred ends up as a "likable rogue" -- I'm not sure how that applies to someone who craves decaying human flesh, who breaks his word and lies through his teeth, who casually causes the death of many people (cf. the escape from the gypsy camp), including children -- or for that matter, who leaves a painful (and possibly fatal) surprise in the jewelry box of a certain princess. Han Solo is a likable rogue; Alhazred is a self-consumed monster barely connected to the human race. Heck, compared to Alhazred, Hannibal Lecter almost qualifies as a likable rogue.

And yet by the end of the book, Tyson makes him fascinating, understandable, and even a bit sympathetic. That, in the end, is what impressed me about this book. _Alhazred_ isn't really a horror novel (hence some of the disappointed reviews); it's a 'historical' novel about a fictional character who happens to end up writing (or compiling) the Necronomicon. And when I was done, I was sorry to see the book come to a close.

Here's hoping a sequel is in the works. ..bruce..

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Darkly Delightful!, August 12, 2006

By 

Jeffrey Jene - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon (Necronomicon Series) (Paperback)

Based on Tyson's fabulous 2004 release Necronomicon: The Wanderings of Alhazred, this book is a first-person account of the life of young necromancer Alhazred. The material does not come off quite as frightening or disturbing as the previous work, but more of a dark Arabian Nights-ish tale that is entertaining nevertheless. The book is long, and is filled with love-affairs with djinn, murder, deception, eldritch creatures, chases across the desert, and encounters with the Old Ones themselves. It is definitely worth the read.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story and right up HPL's alley, July 10, 2006

By 

David Grant Mackenzie "Mac" (Colorado) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon (Necronomicon Series) (Paperback)

I am not sure what book the other reviewer read, because I found it to be well written and filled with images of horror and mutilation on a deeply psychological level. This is not the in your face splatter pulp of recent generations. It makes you use the faculties of your own troubled mind to generate the fear and terror. It does not deliver it all on a silver platter for the lazy mind to waft away. A very nice companion to Mr. Tysons Necronomicon. There was only one problem that prevented me from giving five stars.. My copy jumps from page 44 to page 141.. A tad difficult to read, but all in all a very good tome...