Author Keith Rowley wastes no time playing the first of many Hitchcockian cards in this masterpiece of occult literary fiction. On page one, svelte, blonde, thirty-eight-year-old Sue Williams is window shopping on a beautiful sunny day. On page two, a man with unfathomable eyes of naked darkness and a cold smile envelopes her thoughts with his thoughts before maneuvering her into a waiting taxi.
Later, she tells her husband Bill she was mugged. Her blackmailer has pictures of what really happened, threatens to expose her if she talks, and is soon demanding a greater act of betrayal. So here it begins: an everyday couple is thrust into a dangerous and incomprehensible arena of lies, twisted loyalties and occult schemes with world-changing consequences.
Neither Bill nor Sue has ever heard of Aaron Steen, much less his quest for the Aquarius Key which he seeks via the misuse of rituals from the world of ceremonial Magick. Neither of them knows that Bills brother Peter has been deeply involved in Qabalistic theory and rituals for years. And finally, when they first learn of such Magick, they dont believe its real.
Rowley writes well and moves the plot forward by unfolding the story through the viewpoints of Bill, Sue, Peter, Steen and the other principals. His language has a fine snap, crackle and pop to it and is well suited to the fast-moving sequences of every day reality, the terrifying descriptions of rituals and to the mind-bending images found on higher planes of existence.
Readers of The Da Vinci Code will remember that author Dan Brown used a fair amount of space in his novel having knowledgeable characters inform othersand simultaneously the readerabout the secrets of the Holy Grail. Keith Rowley uses the same technique: characters who are well-versed in the cosmology of the Tree of Life, the principles of the Hermetic Qabalah, the Thelema philosophy and the associated ways and means of ritual Magick also utilize a lot of similar instructional time throughout The Aquarius Key.
The challenge for both Brown and Rowley is that while some (perhaps most) of this information will be over their readers heads and/or outside their readers belief systems, the plots of the novels dont make sense without it. The extent to which readers of The Aquarius Key view theories of Magick as exciting material that enhances the plot or as tedious detail that delays the action may well depend of their frames of reference.
Readers who love hair-raising occult thrillers will enjoy The Aquarius Key with only minimal study of the philosophical passages. However, students of astrology, tarot, alchemy, mystical Kabbalah, and related paths will find that Rowleys decision to explain the Magick as the plot unfolds makes the novel a much richer book.
Aaron Steen and his compatriots know well the pathways and forces hidden away upon the Tree of Life from all the Bills and Sues of the world, and how through personal will and t -
Malcolm R. CampbellI initially purchased this book on impulse, being somewhat captivated by the cover artwork; and whilst I don't normally bother with 'occult' material, most of it being derivative, superficial nonsense, this one scared the hell out of me. The author seems to have a solid knowledge of physics as well as Qabbala, and melds science with mysticism at every turn.
The characters and the powers they wield seem all too plausible as the action unfolds through past and present and future. But maybe the book's greatest quality is not it's (rather original) storyline, but its immense attention to detail through some awesomely narrated scenes of ceremony and terror.
If you're going to read The Aquarius Key, throw away any preconceptions you have about magicians and hope to god you don't ever bump into one on a dark night - this could keep you awake for days. -
Peter Labelle
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