This isn't a dreadful book, it's just very, very limited. It will give you the means to interpret a Tarot spread, as long as that spread is a multiple of three cards and you're not looking for any depth to the interpretation. I picture this book being passed around at a party, where everyone wants a quick reading for fun and doesn't expect that reading to mean anything. What Tyson has done is create a pair of sentences for each card, one for the upright meaning and one for the reversed meaning. Each sentence can be divided into three parts, one starting with a noun, the next with a verb, and the third with an adverbial phrase. When you do a reading, you put down three cards in a row and create a new sentence, made up of the first card's noun, the second card's verb, and the third card's adverb. An instant reading, yes, and like many instant processed foods, lacking in flavor and texture.

Not all the flaws in this book are necessarily Tyson's fault. When I first saw this book, years ago, I thought it was weirdly gloomy and that the sentences sometimes didn't match the cards. Reading it now, with more personal experience of the Tarot, I see that Tyson based his sentences on Aleister Crowley's Thoth deck. However, the book is illustrated with the Universal Tarot, a Rider-Waite-Smith clone. This leads to obvious discrepancies, like the sentence that reads "The stern girl/child applying the force of reason manages the controversial affair to its conclusion with practicality overcoming all obstacles to attainment." I'm guessing that Tyson wrote this sentence for the Thoth deck's Princess of Swords card. However, it's illustrated with the Universal Tarot's Knave of Swords, a strapping young man possibly as old as his early 20s. But when the English language is twisted into knots to accommodate Tyson's noun-verb-adverb format, do I blame him or his editor (Two of Pentacles reversed: "Alternative causing a downturn of circumstance troubles through uncertainty over the correct action with instability transforming gain into loss.")?

Basically, this book just didn't seem worth the effort to work through. If all you want are quickie readings, you can probably find a website that offers them, not buy a 254-page book. If you want to learn the Tarot in depth, this will barely get you started. Perhaps it'd be useful if you wanted some keywords for the Thoth deck, but that's about it, I'm afraid. ( )