Crosley Reviews

This is a most entertaining and engaging book which is well constructed and cleverly pieced together but it lacks that certain something which makes a book a classic.

As the first part of a trilogy it sets up the story well and establishes a fair bit of background BUT unlike other trilogies (Dark Materials, Wind Singer etc.) is doesn't quite make it as a stand alone novel. You feel there is more to come and that the author could have got cracking with the plot a lot earlier (we are nearly 100 pages in before the seeing stone is put to any use).

Having said all that I am intrigued to see how the story unfolds and will read the next two books but without the eagerness I had after reading Northern Lights for example.

Magical Arthur Stone

The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley- Holland is a magnificent book providing numerous details about King Arthur. It takes place during the crusades and displays many characters plus it has a good plot behind it. Arthur De Caldicot is 13 and is named after King Arthur. Merlin, who is Arthur's father's friend, gives Arthur a black stone called obsidian. The stone starts to tell stories about King Arthur that is Arthur De Caldicot's namesake. When Arthur first received the stone, he does not know what it means and is very confused.
The stone plays an important part. Only Arthur can see stories in it though. The stone has a mind of its own and is mysteriously unusual. Sometimes the obsidian shows smoke and other weird thoughts and pictures inside it at different times. When Arthur is confused about his stone he tries to ask Merlin what everything but Merlin can't tell anything. Arthur has to figure it out his self. In one point in the book he sees his good friend Gatty in the stone. All through the book Arthur tries to figure out what the stone means to him. Merlin is the only person who knows about the stone. Arthur can't tell anyone though or else the magic doesn't work. Arthur has the only power in his warm palm to see the King Arthur stories.
I would highly recommend this book for a fun read and to people ages 12+. Although it contains violence sometimes it still is an incredible book. The book goes by in a snap. It is also easy to understand.

This book starts out with a boy that is very confused about what or who he is. Aurthur de Caldicot also has a special friend that has been seen many times before in other King Aurthur stories, Merlin. Merlin give Aurthur a seeing stone which starts to make the story a lot more interesting.

Before the stone was given I was kind of bored and didn't understand how this had any tie-in with King Aurthur, but when you first experience the magic of the Seeing Stone you become a lot more intrigued. This book is worth buying in my opinion and I'm looking forward to reading the next two.

As a Vodou Houngan I read this book with expectations of it being the usual banter with only a marginal amount of information. What I found was something else entirely. A book that has false information in it and manages to have an author against Vodou. Calling it "hysterical nonsense" I believe was the term used. The author stated this near the end of the book. Please!... Unless you know A LOT about Vodou don't read this book. The Tao of Physics or Divine Horsemen are MUCH better alternatives.

Reginald Crosley's book has an interesting thesis, which is that the world of the Vodou loas (or Voudon, as he names them) is actually a real world, a parallel universe, which is the same universe as the world of "dark matter" explored by particle physicists.

Crosley's technique for advancing this argument is to explain first the findings of particle physics and the strange behavior of subatomic particles, their fuzzy relationship to time and space, and the existence of dark matter, and then to explain the world of Vodou. He then assumes the two worlds are the same world, while offering no evidence that this is the case. It is a clever act of sophistry.

But nevertheless the book is intriguing, offering a good explanation of the findings of particle physicists, as well as an excellent history of the creation of the religion of Haiti and the "gods" of its pantheon. He gives an excellent, and somewhat disturbing account of "adorcism", the crisis of possession that people attending Vodou ceremonies experience at the hands of the various Voudons, and a good overview of the relationship between the various sects of Vodou, both "good" and "bad". If you are looking for a good overview of the Vodou religion, this book contains it.

The book is always interesting, and is a neat hypothesis, even if his case is not compelling. I enjoyed the book immensely.

Reginald Crosley's Vodou Quantum Leap draws some important connections between alternate realities and mysticism. It's unusual to find a discussion of Afro-Haitian spirituality, modern science and East/West spirituality written by a doctor: this provides a fine survey of quantum physics, mysticism and spiritual worlds.