This novel, set in the Europe of the late 16th century, revolves around Dr. John Dee's fictional exploits as an espionage agent for Queen Elizabeth the First. Dee and his crystal scryer the alchemist Edward Kelley, along with their wives, are sent to Bohemia to discover the date upon which the Spanish Armada is to sail against England. In Prague they become embroiled in the magical struggle between the great Kabbalist Rabbi Judah Loew, who is the legendary creator of the Golem, and a brotherhood of black adepts who serve Lilith, demon queen of lust, and seek to bring about her reign upon the surface of the Earth. Dee and Kelley are forced to use the magic of the Enochian angels to save the souls and sanity of those they love.

Many of the circumstances and individuals in the Tortuous Serpent are based in fact. Queen Elizabeth almost certainly did use John Dee as a spy in the royal courts of Europe. Dee and Kelley were traveling in Bohemia with their wives just prior to the sailing of the Spanish Armada. Rabbi Loew did live in the ancient Jewish ghetto of Prague, and was a contemporary of Dee and Kelley. It is very possible that Dee actually met him. While in Bohemia at this time Dee was recording the details of Enochian magic during Kelley's regular psychic communications with the Enochian angels. However, the actual plot of the novel is, of course, fictitious, as a close study of Dee's magical diary during his stay in Bohemia will quickly reveal.

Readers familiar with my nonfiction books may find this novel interesting for its use of the Gnostic grimoire Liber Lilith as a literary device. The grimoire, as yet unpublished, was transmitted to me under the influence of my guardian spirit. It is an inspired work that details a creation myth in which Lilith is the central figure, and presents a complete system of erotic magic that involves sexual union with Lilith. The work is of a controversial nature - parts of the grimoire reveal techniques that can only be described as black magic, which is the primary reason it has not yet appeared in print. However, it is the source for techniques of magic that are extremely valuable, and exerted a significant influence on the contents of my nonfiction book Sexual Alchemy.

ISBN: 1-56718-743-9. Price: $12.95. Llewellyn, 1997.