Fantastic New Work of Fiction Delves Into the Ultimate “Bad Guy”

It has been a long time since the name Aleister Crowley has been brought up in the fiction world, but once a person reads even a ‘snippet’ of who and what Aleister Crowley was, they will head directly to Google, or their local library, to try and find out exactly what he was doing down on earth in the first place.

Crowley has been called a genius by some and a monster by others; and Leah Tallent, the fictional Head Research Librarian of the New York Public Library, who is the ultimate star of the widely acclaimed book - 13 - finds herself following a mystery. The mystery is unbelievably written by author, Amy Lignor, and immediately grabs readers and brings them into a ‘puzzle’ left behind by a group of men in 1902 - a group of men led by Andrew Carnegie.

Aleister Crowley is a big part of the puzzle as Tallent & Lowery - 13 leads readers from one amazing location to another, as Leah Tallent and Gareth Lowery hunt down artifacts that - when brought together - can literally change the world. Aleister Crowley was the man who was in charge of hiding half of the twelve mysterious keys that Tallent & Lowery are searching for. In fact, Crowley represented the ultimate ‘evil’ in the world, and was thus given the job to bury objects that could never again see the light of day.

Leah Tallent, in the first of seven adventures, knows all about this man who was once referred to as “The Great Beast.” She also knows that, at the beginning of his ‘reign’ he was very much revered by many. Aleister Crowley was an influential Englishman who became an occultist, astrologer, mystic, and ceremonial magician. He was responsible for founding his very own religious philosophy called, Thelema, and was also very into the rules of chess and the world of poetry, losing himself in the words of…Poe. (Two other puzzle pieces that make this book impossible to put down!)

Crowley was born into pure and utter wealth, and was initiated into the Golden Dawn (a Masonic Order) in 1898 by the group’s leader. The strange ceremony took place at Mark Masons Hall in London, where Crowley accepted his ‘Masonic’ motto and magical name of Fater Perdurabo, which meant, “I shall endure to the end.” And that is exactly what some people believe Crowley has done. Crowley developed many personal feuds with some of the Golden Dawn’s members, especially the poet, Yeats (who is also placed into this remarkable book as a piece of the ultimate puzzle). Yeats had been one of the rebels, because Yeats had not been particularly favorable towards one of Crowley’s poems.

But because of his background in the Order, and Crowley seeing himself as a prophet, he was said to have been contacted by his Holy Guardian Angel, while in Egypt in 1904 - RIGHT after he had returned from his mission for Andrew Carnegie.  As time went on, Crowley became known as a hideous spirit. Some even believed that he could be next in line for Lucifer’s job, because of the odd things that seemed to happen all around him. But, as all crazy men do, Crowley was able to draw thousands of followers to his side and embark on a mystery that is still unknown today.

As readers race through the first Tallent & Lowery adventure they stay by Leah’s side as a mystery unravels that is beyond heart-stopping. Readers can barely take a breath when Leah Tallent finds herself on the shores of Loch Ness, because the fabled ‘monster’ that supposedly swims in the Loch is not the fearsome entity Leah’s worried about going up against. In fact, even when the readers get a “look” at Leah’s destination - Boleskine House, an estate once owned by the Beast, himself - readers know that they’re about to be enveloped n yet another fantastic scene.

You see, Boleskine was renowned at the start of the 20^th century as being “a centre of black magic, evil and sorcery” because the building was owned by none other than Aleister Crowley. Once known as the “Beast of Boleskine,” Crowley walked the floors of the strange and eerie house while attempting to coax out the forces of evil. As Leah Tallent soon finds out, it may not have been that difficult for Crowley to do so, seeing as that a “key” that Tallent & Lowery didn’t even know existed resides on that estate - a key that will change the whole course of the thrilling adventure.

The best part? All of these locales and back-stories are absolutely true. All around the estate, horrific things have happened over the years when Crowley was owner. From deaths, to disappearances, to a church on the property being burned down with the whole congregation trapped inside - magic rituals were said to have taken place there that supposedly invoked the four princes of evil.

It was Crowley, himself, who first wrote about the strange and eerie homestead:

“The demons and evil forces had congregated round me so thickly that they were shutting off the light. It was a comforting situation. There could be no more doubt of the efficiency of the operation.” This was one of Crowley’s magical experiments done at the estate. Do What Thou Wilt was a motto of Crowley’s - he believed in free will and not the laws of man or God - and the mysteries he left behind (many of them documented) still engage the interest of historians, archaeologists, and readers on every level.

Now, Leah Tallent knows (this librarian is so cool, she knows everything), that Aleister Crowley had spoken a great deal about his infamous house, including giving out the information that, “…this ends in a “lodge” where the spirits may congregate. And, sure enough, as Leah Tallent and Gareth Lowery walk this frightening property, they see the Gate Lodge - a separate building that Crowley had used that holds the power they need.

People, you may ask yourself how on earth the author was able to fit together locales like Whitechapel, the haunted Winchester Mansion in San Jose, California, Boleskine House, and the site of the Last Supper. But Tallent & Lowery is such a fantastic read, that it seems as if the author simply knew from the beginning that this “puzzle” actually existed.

Tallent & Lowery - 13. 

The ‘Ultimate Bad Guy’ has re-surfaced in this exciting new series, and the time to uncover the true secret of Loch Ness is finally here!