Customer Reviews

The Necronomicon

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(40)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(54)

 

 

OF COURSE THE BOOK IS FAKE! OF COURSE THERE IS NO REAL NECRONOMICON!

It wasn't written to fool you, it's just for fun! So you can say "I have a copy of the Necronomicon!" It's a prop! It's not a hoax, it's not a religious text, it's not a "real" grimoire.

It does, however, read like a "real" hermetic, enochian, or kabbahlistic spellbook. Many of the same themes are present, the seals and gates correspond directly to the kabbahlistic sephiroth, for instance.

The two main differences here are.
1. The Sumerian pantheon is used instead of a Hebrew or Greek pantheon
2. The books is much darker and forboding. The reason for spellcasting here is not to advance in your workplace or get a new lover, as in most modern "real" spellbooks, instead it is supposed to be used to gain power from the "Elder Gods" (the good guys) to keep "The Ancient Ones" from destroying the mortal world.

The beggining and ending written by "The Mad Arab" are a great homage to Lovecraft. This is for entertainment.

If you like the way you get scared reading Lovecraft's stories, you might like to read this book. If you love occult sigils you will love this book. If you're writting horror or fantasy stories, you might find this book useful as inspiration. If you want to learn a bit about Sumerian mythology (you know, MARDUK, slayer of TIAMAT, and all that), there's some of that in the introduction too.

I really enjoyed this book.

Actually the "real" Necronomicon is "The Egyptian Book of the Dead" which is a pretty complete translation of hieroglyphs from the papyrus of ANI which, written about 1500 - 1400 BCE. and aquired by the British Museum in 1888. This book won't give you magic powers either, but it's an authentic religious text.

I tell you, I owe this book a great deal. It gave me an interest in Mesopotamian Theology that I have kept for 10 years now. I discovered the Necronomicon in high school, and it is, most certainly, a fabrication. But it's a pretty good fabrication, I'll give it that. Now I have never read any of Lovecraft's works, but I'm sure that Simon borrowed a great deal more from the translations of Sumerian cuneiform tablets that have become increasing available in the past 50 or so years than he ever did from the Lovecraft's mythos. In fact, some of writings in the Necronomicon, such as the Maklu and the Magan text, are very similar to actual Sumerian and Babylonian manuscripts. In other words, Lovecraft's Necronomicon was a myth by his own admittance. However, Simon's Necronomicon is, at least in part, based on a religion that was very real and practiced for thousands of years. Personally, I am at least pleased to see a book create such a resurgence of interest in a system of believes that has been close to dead for such a long, long time. However, for those of you who are interested in taking the contents of this book to a more personal level, there are far more accurate sources to look to, although I'm sure Simon's work would be best in captivating your interests.

LOVED both Crowley and Lovecraft since childhood... how nice to read a creative grimoire that has some of the "spirit' of both! Does it work? Of course, if you make it so. "Alice in Wonderland" is a great grimoire if you approach it properly (ask any quantum physicist). Is this or any of the other "Necronomicons" a work of fiction? Who cares? Remember, Crowley often used fiction and poetry as prime source material and Wicca was reconstructed by an anthropologist or two in the 1950s (despite all the bogus "family tradition" people who suddenly appeared in the '60s). Even so, these arts really DO work - it's not the veracity of the reputed source that makes your Magick work, it's your MIND and your SPIRIT!........ On the lighter side, check out the many reviews below and the reviewers' constant trumpeting of their esoteric credentials... "I'm Frater Hoo-Ha and I've read my Lovecraft"...."I'm a Certified Crone, and these others don't know what they're talking about," etc., (methinks they do protest too much.) Remember, gentle Sabrina-and-Buffy-watchers, everybody else has already read the same mass-produced books (on magic or by Lovecraft) that YOU have read! Oh, well...

The Necronomicon by Simon is a great read. It's facinating how the tome has taken a life of it's own, definitely helped by the rumors that flew to the ears of the curious back in the eighties and nineties. I was in junior high when friend who knew of my interest in things esoteric suggested the read to me, more as a horror novel than as a serious study in the arcane or spiritualist side of my personae. But I digress, while the magic words do smack of amateur horror fiction, it is still an interesting read none the less if not for any other reason than the way Simon merged the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft with the fact of Sumerian lore.

It seems that almost everyone has an opinion about this work. I shall not add myself to this list of people. Opinions are for armchair-occultists and coffee-breaks. I really wish I didn't have to rate this book, because it is a blessing and a curse depending on whose hands are holding it. Nevertheless, I will write this review in light of what reviews I have read so far. So let's get started! First of all, the debate of whether this book was written in the 20th century or not is not relevant to the subject it covers. Would, for example, Agrippa's works be less valid if he wrote them today? Luckily, I obtained this book before people began debunking it. I therefore took it at face value. I had some prior knowledge of magick, and this book 'filled the shoe'. Fact: I had easy results using this book. Fact: Strange phenonema occured while just reproducing some of the seals on paper. Fact: merely reading it increased my hypnagogic activity to a nightly basis. Fact: Trying a ritual by the ocean at night once produced intense UFO-phenonema which forced me and two friends to run away because of sheer fear. I could go on considerably, because the powers of the sumerian/babylonian/assyrian deities are easily contacted with this book and by using it, they become integrated with your life in a very real way. One could claim that this was all in my own head, but on several occasions I shared these experiences with other people around me, some who had no clue what the necronomicon even was. Collective hallucinations? Perhaps, but what exactly are collective hallucinations? In fear of rambling like the Mad Arab himself, I will conclude this review with the following: Magick is about creating your own reality. The occult is the hidden, the unknown. Whether these things stem from the far reaches of the interdimensional universe or from within the dark confounds of the mind really seizes to make any difference at some point. This point begins and ends with the necronomicon!

By his own admission, we know Lovecraft invented the legendary Necronomicon; it was a pure fabrication, a fictional tome serving as one of the many devices he utilized to tie the works of his "Cthulhu Mythos" together. Lovecraft's Necronomicon was not inspired by any "real" medieval magical grimoire (Abdul Al Hazred is a fictional character), rather HPL took his inspiration for the literary Necronomicon from "The King In Yellow", a series of stories by Robert W. Chambers in which Hastur, The Yellow Sign, Carcossa, Hali and the evil tome The King In Yellow itself first appear in American horror literature. Never-the-less, many fans of Lovecraft refused to believe that the Necronomicon was a fabrication.... And writers like this mysterious "Simon" are reaping the benefits of this naive misconception. What the "editor" has done here is present a primer on traditional ceremonial magic (in the tradition of MacGregor Mather's Golden Dawn and Crowley's A.A.), spruced it up with some (possibly authentic) Sumero-Babylonian mysticism, and then shamelessly worked in modified names of Lovecraftian beasties (Xastur=Hastur, Azag-Thoth=Azathoth, Ishniggarub=Shubniggurath)and then marketed this hodge podge under the name "Necronomicon" hoping that Lovecraft fans would buy it thinking it was real. He apparently was not disappointed... The only reason I gave this dishonest work two stars is because the intro information on Crowley is informative and the rituals themselves (if you can excuse the occasional use of Lovecraft's creatures' names) are apparently based on actual Golden Dawn magic ceremonies and authentic Sumerian traditions. So, the book is not totally useless, I just wish the original content (sans Lovecraft) would have been presented under a different name (and the fact that it wasn't is inexcusable and dishonors HPL, Crowley, and any serious practitioner of ceremonial magic). Do the rituals work? I don't know...I don't have the guts to try them out!

Real or fake the Simon Necronomicon is a worthy read. What makes a magical practice real? The books attached to it or the belief in its power to the person / persons practicing the magic? Any good magician will tell you the same thing, power comes not from the physical but from the mystical.. YOU contain the magic all else are trappings designed to focus your energy. The Simon Necronomicon does just this, it "tunes" you in on a part of power that is as ancient as is is mysterious.

Was it "invented" by HP Lovecraft, possibly, but I tend to believe no. Do we dismiss the Bible and say it is fictional because it has been used as a plot in more than one writers fictional book? No, we don't.

My advice, use it.. Decide for yourselves. All "practices" began somewhere with someone. Abraham started Judaism, Mohammad started Islam, sever thousand other Ministers began their respective Christian congregations... Whether Simon found the Necronomicon or Lovecraft "invented" it, its here now, and from the looks of things it is here to stay.

This book hasn't seen an authorized hard cover printing since 1981 so this beautiful new edition from Ibis is most welcome. Everything about this book screams quality. It is bound in heavy black cloth and the front cover and spine feature deep foil stamping in silver. The NECRONOMICON seal is featured on the front of this edition but the Elder sign, Covenant sign and Watcher sign are ommited this time, making this the first hardcover printing not to feature the seal in it's component parts. Endpapers are heavy black and laid in well. The printing quality is first rate and all designs and seals are impeccably reproduced here. The pagination is the same as all previous editions (including the Avon printings). The paper is heavy, acid free, and has a bit of gloss. The book has a sewn binding and black ribbon book marker. It is an oversized volume and is rather heavy to lift. While it dosen't quite approach the world's most evil coffee table book size, it is considerably larger than the average hard cover. This is a very well produced book and worth the price being asked here on Amazon.

All though this is noted as being a revised edition, the only new inclusion I spotted was yet another introduction from Simon. All (three!) previous introductions are also included here as well as the pronunciation guide, additions to the 777 tables etc. All texts appear in this volume exactly as they have in every other edition starting (and ending) with the testimomy and continuing to the attributes of the Zonei, Entrance, Gates, MAKLU text, 50 names, MAGAN and URILLA texts etc. It's all here and all very well presented. Some of the interior art designs have been modified (not the sigals of course) giving the book a more subdued feel. Original chapter entrance letter designs have been retained for this version. Khem Set Rising no longer gets credit for the artwork in this version, it now goes to Simon, with Khem now being responsible for "ink" whatever that means. I suppose it most have something to do with a falling out between Levenda and Khem, who knows?

Whether you just want to add a beautiful new curiosity to your book shelf or want to unleash the powers of the Ancient Ones, you are likely to be happy you bought this edition. You may also want to consider reading DEAD NAMES by Simon for a "history" of the NECRONOMICON and then check out NECRONOMICON FILES by Harms & Gonce for an "alternative history" of the book. No matter what your views on the book, this is undisputably a gorgeous presentation of one of the most talked about books of this (or any other) era. Be careful if you decide to use it. You don't want to find some foul, gibbering slime thing squatting in your living room taking a dump. Conjure up a watcher first! Above all, have fun with this great cosmic joke book. Kutulu wouldn't have it any other way.
I just heard something strange coming from below me . . .

Despite the fact that the Necronomicon was invented by H.P. Lovecraft as an element for his supernatural fiction, people still take this book seriously. Some follow it religiously. Sure there are a lot of incantations, myths and rituals which are obviously derived from sumerian volumes... but the story of the "Mad Arab"... a character concocted by Lovecraft, and the warning of it's misuse are complete balderdash. What Simon has done is taken rituals and myths owing their source to Sumerian/Mesopotamian origin added some mumbo jumbo, elements from Lovecraft and pure fiction and wrapped it up in a mystical, pseudo arcane package. Simon's Necronomicon is indeed an interesting read. I've read it from cover to cover and enjoyed every page. Wierd fiction, mythology and mysticism are interests of mine (I do not practice occultism, in fact I'm a christian) and this book was a clever combination of all 3. Plus it looks good on my shelf next to my Lovecraft volumes.

For god's sake people, there are a few morons that believe this is real, and immediately hundreds of people insist on proclaiming their superiority by acting shocked that 'so much' people believe in its authenticity.
Ofcourse this is fake, but it's nicely written, just a great read for anyone who likes lovecraftian stories.
Nothing to go bonkers over, chill out already.