Book Review: "Dark Satanic" by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Dark Satanic by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Berkley, 1972)

After reading Moira Greyland’s memoir, The Last Closet: The Dark Side of Avalon, I read Dark Satanic, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s 1972 occult novel now self-published by her trust. I chose to read it because it was one of the titles named in a court deposition. 

The novel tells the tale of ​​an editor and publisher of the occult who obtains a controversial manuscript just before its author dies under mysterious circumstances. The text in question reportedly reveals too much about hidden occult secrets, as well as practitioners in New York City, and the editor/publisher becomes embroiled in a battle of good and evil involving two different occult groups. After encountering representatives of both camps, it’s not entirely clear which side is a force for good, and our hero risks his life trying to learn more—and to decide whether to publish the book.

Dark Satanic mentions the Sexual Freedom League, a real-world organization active in the ’60s, and shows a rudimentary working knowledge of cultic groups, which came up in Bradley and Breen’s court cases. It’s also an interesting commentary on the publishing industry, as well as the relationships between authors, editors, and publishers.

Were it not for the controversy surrounding Bradley and Breen, the book was a relatively good read and could easily be adapted for film along the lines of The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby. It will most likely not be. That said, Bradley wrote a couple of other books in the series, including The Inheritor and Witch Hill, both of which are also available from her trust. (This review was previously published in slightly different form in the APA-L apazine Telegraphs & Tar Pits #4.)