Many dimensions

by Charles Williams

Paper Book, 1949

Status

Available

Call number

813

Publication

Grand Rapids, Mich. : Eerdmans, c1949, 1974 printing.

Description

An ancient stone possessing awesome and terrifying powers wreaks havoc in this intelligent and provocative literary excursion into the supernatural A remarkable object has fallen into the hands of the abominable scientist Sir Giles Tumulty. Once positioned at the center of the crown of King Solomon, it is a stone of astonishing and terrifying power, capable of good and evil alike. Anyone who touches it can move through time and space, perform miracles, and heal or kill. The stone can replicate itself, and does so during the course of Sir Giles's inhuman experiments, subsequently falling into numerous unworthy hands throughout England. There are those who will attempt to use the stone for personal gain, only to discover that it is they themselves being used by a power beyond their comprehension; some will find themselves trapped in eternally repeating nightmares from which there is no escape; still others will be freed from their earthly burdens. And so begins the battle between the forces of darkness and light for control of the most dangerous object in existence. A gripping metaphysical thriller by Charles Williams, who along with C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, and J. R. R. Tolkien was one of Oxford's famed Inklings, Many Dimensions is at once a gripping supernatural adventure and a thought-provoking exploration of the good and evil that dwell in the heart of every human being.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha

Like Williams' first novel War in Heaven, the main business of Many Dimensions is an extended scrimmage over a holy relic: in this case, the Stone of the Wise that was set in the crown of King Solomon. Continuity with the earlier book is provided in the person of a single character, the

sadistically inquisitive Sir Giles Tumulty. Other key characters include English Chief Justice Lord Christopher Arglay, who seems to be a sort of secular adeptus major undergoing an initiation to adeptus exemptus in the course of the novel, and his personal secretary Chloe Burnett who meanwhile climbs the entire mystical ladder from neophyte to magister templi.

Many of the chapter titles have a clever ambivalence. "The Refusal of Lord Arglay" could mean that Arglay is refused or refusing. Similarly, "The Discovery of Giles Tumulty" could mean that Tumulty is discovered or discovering.

Many Dimensions functions with some effectiveness as a parable regarding the magical will. The overt reflection on this topic is quasi-incidentally remarked in a quotation from 13th-century English jurist Henry of Bracton: Attribuat igitur rex legi, quod lex attribuit ei, videlicet dominationem et potestatem. Non est enim rex ubi dominatur voluntas et non lex. (214) Williams doubtless contemplated this maxim in a theological, rather than a magical sense, but the action of his novel is open to both.

There is a surprisingly sympathetic treatment of Islam in this book, creating a contrast with the sort of moronic Islamophobia in which Williams' friend C.S. Lewis trafficked in the form of his villainous Calormenes. Although Williams was the author of works of Christian theology, his fiction shows him to have a generous religious imagination, including a warmth toward conscientious skepticism. This latter is on full display in the character of Lord Arglay, who at one point describes the Christian Passion as "one of the myths of our race."

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LibraryThing member MyopicBookworm

This is a most curious book. The miraculous Stone of Suleiman becomes the focus of desire for the varied cast of characters, most of whom seek to exploit it for wealth or power, some more selflessly than others.

I was struck by the echoes of the novels of G. K. Chesterton: the ancient Persian and

his Muslim piety (expressed, though, in Williams's own spiritual language) is more than faintly reminiscent of the old-fashioned Muslims-through-Western-eyes of GKC's Flying Inn, and the small-town mayor who finds himself speaking to the government on behalf of the Common Man also seems a Chestertonian figure. Less surprising were the resonances with C. S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength, on which Williams's influence has long been acknowledged: the Arglay/Tumulty struggle is not a million miles from Ransom/Devine. Arglay's bizarrely intimate asexual relationship with his secretary recalls Williams's own romantic but chaste dealings with a succession of young female assistants. His hieratic aloofness (like Lewis's Ransom, trespassing across the line between paternal and patronizing) is perhaps also the author's, though his thoughts on law and language may rather reflect those of his friend Owen Barfield.

There are some aspects which would interest the thoughtful science fiction fan: some paradoxes of time travel are carefully dissected, and there is a fascinating description of what it might be like for one person to direct the thoughts of another (as distinct from simply taking control of their actions). The nature of faith is also touched upon (at one point Arglay decides to believe in God, as a sort of working hypothesis). The resolution should, perhaps, not be as unexpected as I found it; the spiritual thrust of the book leads inexorably away from the imposition of corrupt will upon the source of power, and towards sacrificial submission to the divine nature. MB 23-x-2007

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LibraryThing member lidaskoteina

like all williams' novels, this one leads your consciousness into a realm of other-reality or super-reality that permeates normal experience; it is as if we, living on the skin of some immense life-form of whose existence as other than a shallow inanimate substratum we are usually unaware, were to

be suddenly brought to cognizance of our situation through some momentary shrug of the huge being. i find this particular tale unhappily disturbing.

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LibraryThing member JaneSteen

A supernatural thriller from the man who was a friend of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. LOTR fans will find some interesting points in here. It's a window into how people thought during the 1930s, and as such often strikes as strangely old-fashioned. Williams raises more questions than he answers, which

is the problem I always have with writers of a mystical bent. Still, I'm glad I read it; I'm a Tolkien, Lewis and Sayers fan, so it's good to read the work of another Inkling.

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LibraryThing member antiquary

I must confess I recall very little of this, though I know I read it. I recall one, character, Lord Arglay, also occurs in a horror short story by Williams.

LibraryThing member bemislibrary

It was interesting how a stone with mythical powers could be at the center of a fight between good and evil. The author draws on religious differences and the struggle for each sect to gain an advantage and promote their own way as the one true way. Mixed in with some philosophical debate between

predestination and free will, is a bit of time traveling. Interactions between governments add another layer to the discussion.

I received this book through a Publisher's promotional giveaway. Although encouraged as a courtesy to provide feedback, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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LibraryThing member Woodcat

Very disappointing. Silly. Of its time. Didn't finish but may try again.

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