Customer Reviews

Zos Speaks!: Encounters With Austin Osman Spare

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This book consists of two parts. The first is a collection of short letters by Spare and Kenneth & Steffie Grant, and also bits of Kenneth Grants diaries, all written between 1949 and 1956 common era. This gives explainations of Spares magical philosophy and his art in a less enigmatic way then his writings do. The second part is The Book of Zos vel Thanatos, containing The Logomachy, The Zoėtic Grimoire: The Formulae of Zos vel Thanatos and The Living Word, all later material by Spare published here for the first time.

The book is filled to the brim with Spare's art, including some beautyful colour pictures. Spare was a major influence on contemporary magick and this book deepens one's understanding of him greatly.

Kenneth Grant has been hinting for over 30 years that we would one day get to see the Grand Grimiore of Zos, and he's finally delivered it. And it was well worth the wait. This is an absolutely stunning book. The material is everything the serious student had hoped it would be, the illustrations are vivid and well reproduced, the binding good and tight.
This book is a good investment for any intermediate or advanced student of Magick. One of the finest books Mr. Grant has ever been associated with.

As weird and questionable as I think much of Kenneth Grant's own ideas are, he is the heir apparent to Zos and knew the man better than anyone I can think of. This is why I do trust him to help communicate Zos's magical and philosophical ideas more than anyone else alive. The letters are a great tool for understanding Spare's magical ideas and techniques, as well as getting to know the soul of the man, his authenticity as a human being, his kindness and love of, and lust for life and love of humanity. This lustiness is what makes Spare so great, and what makes his form of art and magic singularly unique. He was a mystic who saw perfection in life itself, and in the journey as much as the destination. The artwork in this book is also great, being at once grotesque and beautiful, and that alone makes it worth the price.

Zos Speaks! is the nicest book I own. The color plates are amazing. I have never seen a book with so many plates. This book is written so well.