Rate this book

Mutants And Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, And The Paranormal (2011)

by Jeffrey J. Kripal(Favorite Author)

3.92 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0226453839 (ISBN13: 9780226453835)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

University Of Chicago Press

review 1: I couldn't get past page 50 of this awful book. Yes, comics often illustrate, even beautifully, a wide range of human experience that some label "paranormal" (but which I think is simply experience on a 6th sense level, completely natural and normal, not at all "supernatural" and which simply can't yet be explained by science). However, to have had a gnostic experience does not qualify one to be smarmy, smug, self-righteous, or to hold out a New Age-y type belief that this proves that humanity as a whole is "evolving" to some better space or time (or that humanity is really a colony that came from aliens who dropped on this planet). Come on, the New Age movement started in the 70s, and I think most educated humans can see that since then, we've gone a long way toward destr... moreoying our planet, wrecking our economies on a global scale, extincting many other species, and generally intensifying the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots". I don't see humanity evolving in any positive way. So I can't swallow a book written in a hopeful, faith-based style that sprinkles fairy dust. If you want to learn more about mythology and man's attempt to explain his sense of spiritual self or "Divinity", read some Joseph Campbell. Don't waste your time on this crap. And don't even get me started on the Whitley Striebers of this world, out to make gobs of money through b.s. claims of alien abduction. If you're gullible, a fanboy/fangirl, or you really do think we were put here to colonize the planet by aliens, by all means, read away. However, if you're just looking for some interesting reading about the myriad ways humans have always used to try to explain what can't yet be rationally explained (and perhaps never will be, since each of us has our own individual response to what comes to us from a 6th sense perspective), like I said, read some Campbell or go back to the classics of Greek mythology.
review 2: I don't know where to begin with this fascinating book. First, this is the quintessential non-ebook. The design elements, color plates, and the thick, creamy pages, sewn into a rich cloth-bound book makes this a pleasure to hold in the hand. If you read this on an ereader, I weep for you. As far as the topic goes, it jacked straight into the part of my brain that loves fortean phenomena, occult knowledge, and pop culture. If those topics appeal to you...if you were ever a member of Barbelith...if you read comics or have any interest in comparative religion, mysticism, or the paranormal, you should give this book a try. less

Download links for: Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal

Advertising