Not bad, although I could sort of see where it was going from quite early one. I don't really agree with the pagan-esque philosophy, but much of what is stated could really be ascribed to any image of the Divine. Plus, on the whole, just an interesting story, especially if you, like me, ever feel like you don't "fit in" to modern civilization. ( )

Blackwood, a writer active in the late 1800s and early 1900s was best known for his collections of horror short stories. In this novel, though, he is delving into a sort of ecological mysticism. The theme of this novel is that the Earth is a living entity and that early in the existence of Mankind there was an easy, if subconscious, communication between the Earth consciousness and humankind. Modern life, with its trappings of civilization, have long since severed this link, although there are some few people walking the planet who are still able to make this connection. Unfortunately, giving in to the call of the Earth consciousness, and experiencing a sort of ultimate beauty of existence, means risking losing your self-consciousness, something even the most enlightened modern man is loath to do. The book is about the journey of discovery taken by one such atuned man, as told by his friend who has heard only the protagonist's descriptions of events. Think, for example, of Marlow telling us about Lord Jim. The book is interesting as a period piece, an example of the mystical writing of the period. The problem is that the discussions and descriptions of the philosophy and the characters are quite repetitive. This novel, 260 pages in the modern reprint I read, could have been half the length. And Blackwood's writing is strewn rather too heavily with overwrought adverbs: things are done or perceived "amazingly" "incomprehensibly" "astoundingly" "insufferably" way too much. But some of the descriptions are quite good, including the protagonist's experiences once he has his brief run in with the great spiritual realm of the Earth consciousness. (I can barely believe I just typed that with a straight face, but there you have it.) Anyway, I found this interesting, but I can't say I'd recommend it to very many people. ( )