'Magician: The Lost Journals of the Magus Geoffrey Carlyle'
by Robert Holdstock and Malcolm Edwards
Paper Tiger, 1982
This odd little book of 128 pages was published by Paper Tiger in 1982. While most of the Dragon's World / Paper Tiger catalog was devoted to presenting overviews of the works and techniques of artists active in the fields of science fiction and fantasy illustration, the company did release illustrated fiction titles, of which 'Magician' is representative. In 1982 the authors were well-established in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, with Holdstock the recipient of the British Science Fiction Association award for his novelette 'Mythago Wood'. Given the emphasis his fantasy fiction imparts to the cultural and religious mores and practices of ancient Britain, Holdstock was well qualified to write 'Magician'.
For his part, Malcolm Edwards was an editor of magazines such as Interzone, and fiction and art books. such as 'Alien Landscapes'. He thus was familiar with the process of creating illustrated books.
With 'Magician', Holdstock and Edwards play it straight all the way. The book purports to be a collection of writings about magic and spellcasting discovered in a secret laboratory housed under the grounds of 'Rockhurst Manor', a 16th century mansion constructed on a site in the Wiltshire Downs with a lengthy history of occult associations. The laboratory was used by one Geoffrey Carlyle, aka 'Rofomagus', 1496 - 1571 (?).The book is an easy read, with large-font type. Its chapters detail, in a forthright manner, the mechanics of various occult endeavors such as summoning demons and shades, scrying the future, acquiring familiars, and mixing potions for one purpose or another. One thing that the authors do to promote a sense of verisimilitude to the narrative, is to detail the ingredients and labors associated with casting spells and performing magic. Given that the ingredients can be quite unpleasant ('....the spawn of a frog that has been seeped with the juice of hellbore, mixed with semen collected after copulation with a beast, and fouled with the blood of worms, slugs and other creatures of the low earth'), and the more powerful spells require nine or more days of fasting on the part of the mage, it is clear that magic is not a trivial pursuit.
Magic also is quite dangerous, particularly when involving the summoning of demons; the slightest error on ther part of the summoner can leave him or her vulnerable to a quick and painful death by the hand (or talons) of the summoned entity. The book has copious illustrations, by Dan Woods. These are competent, but not remarkable. There is some nudity, presumably to signal to parents that 'Magician' is not intended for a juvenile readership. 'Magician' can be had for reasonable prices from used book vendors. Who will want a copy ? Well, if you are fond of the fantasy fiction of the 1970s and early 1980s, when the genre was starting its ascent to a commercial juggernaut, then the book will be entertaining. Those with a fondness for the witchcraft and occult pop culture craze of those years, likely will find the book to be a an affectionate spoof of titles such as 'The Modern Witch's Spellbook' (1971) by Sarah Lyddon Morrison.
For my part, I'm kind of wondering what would happen if I were to donate a copy to my local middle school's library.........?!
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