The Mind Parasites
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1939 |
| Founder | August Derleth, Donald Wandrei |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Books (including The Mind Parasites by Colin Wilson) |
The Mind Parasites is a science fiction horror novel authored by English writer Colin Wilson. It was released in 1967 by Arkham House in a limited print run of 3,045 copies. This title represents Wilson's sole publication with Arkham House and incorporates motifs inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
Publication history
Encouraged by publisher August Derleth, Wilson composed The Mind Parasites after Derleth challenged him to develop a story centered on Lovecraftian concepts. Wilson had expressed both admiration for Lovecraft's thematic ideas and criticism of his writing style. The novel initially appeared in 1967 through Arthur Barker, featuring an alternate introduction, before being issued in the United States by Arkham House.
Between 1972 and 1975, Oneiric Press reissued the work, first under the management of Michael Besher and Chellis Glendinning, and subsequently by Besher alongside his brother Alexander Besher. A paperback edition was published in the United Kingdom by Panther Books Ltd in 1969, with a reprint following in 1973 due to strong demand. The book garnered positive attention, including a commendatory review from William Burroughs published in the 1969 edition of the New York underground paper The Rat.
The novel's first Russian-language edition was produced in 1994 by Ukrainian publisher Sofia, with an initial print quantity of 20,000 copies.
Plot summary
The narrative centers on Professor Gilbert Austin's confrontation with the Tsathogguans—unseen mental parasites that pose a threat to Earth's most intelligent individuals.
Critical reception
In a review for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Joanna Russ criticized The Mind Parasites, characterizing it as more reminiscent of the enthusiastic style found in Boy's Life than true to Lovecraft's tradition. She cautioned that aficionados of Lovecraft might find it unsatisfactory and described it as "one of the worst books I have ever read and very enjoyable, but then I did not have to pay for it." David Pringle assigned the novel a one-star rating out of four, describing it as a "stilted version" of the science fiction theme involving invisible controlling forces and remarked that it "fails to meet the standards set by the author's accomplishments in other areas."