Publication history
It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1969 by Arthur Barker Limited. A paperback edition was published by Panther Books Ltd in 1974.Reception
Clifford P. Bendau wrote in ''Colin Wilson, the Outsider and Beyond'' from 1979: "The human striving for an inept management of freedom is, once again, the issue in ''The Philosopher's Stone''. ... Like '' The Mind Parasites'', ''The Philosopher's Stone'' is a story that is a teaching; but it is also a teaching that is a story. It remains one of Colin Wilson's best novels to date." In his 1982 book ''The Novels of Colin Wilson'', Nicolas Tredell also made comparisons to ''The Mind Parasites'', and wrote that "''The Philosopher's Stone'' is a much more substantial and, in some ways, more satisfactory novel". He criticized the second part of the novel: "With two higher men on his hands, and a lot of the novel still to go, Wilson tries to show them in action. He runs into difficulties, however. As in ''The Mind Parasites'', the consciousnesses rendered do not seem much like those of higher men. In the earlier novel, however, the battle against the parasites acted as a structuring device; at this stage in ''The Philosopher's Stone'', structure is lacking."References
1969 science fiction novels 1969 British novels 1960s horror novels Cthulhu Mythos novels British horror novels English philosophical novels English science fiction novels Novels by Colin Wilson Science fiction horror novels Arthur Barker Limited books {{1960s-horror-novel-stub