The Eye in the Pyramid, the Golden Apple, and Leviathan
Hardcover, 816 pages
English language
Published Feb. 13, 1998 by MJF Books.
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.[1] The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, related to the authors' version of the Illuminati. The narrative often switches between third- and first-person perspectives in a nonlinear narrative. It is thematically dense, covering topics like counterculture, numerology, and Discordianism.
The trilogy comprises three parts which contain five books and appendices: [The Eye in the Pyramid (][1]first two books), [The Golden Apple][2] (third and part of fourth book), [Leviathan][3] (part of fourth and all of fifth book, and the appendices). The parts were first published as three separate volumes starting in September 1975. In 1984 they were published as an omnibus edition and are now more commonly reprinted in the …
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.[1] The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, related to the authors' version of the Illuminati. The narrative often switches between third- and first-person perspectives in a nonlinear narrative. It is thematically dense, covering topics like counterculture, numerology, and Discordianism.
The trilogy comprises three parts which contain five books and appendices: [The Eye in the Pyramid (][1]first two books), [The Golden Apple][2] (third and part of fourth book), [Leviathan][3] (part of fourth and all of fifth book, and the appendices). The parts were first published as three separate volumes starting in September 1975. In 1984 they were published as an omnibus edition and are now more commonly reprinted in the latter form.
In 1986 the trilogy won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, designed to honor libertarian science fiction.[2]
The authors went on to write several works, both fiction and nonfiction, that dealt further with the themes of the trilogy, but they did not write any direct sequels.
Illuminatus! has been adapted for the stage, as an audio book and has influenced several modern writers, artists, musicians, and games-makers. The popularity of the word "fnord" and the 23 enigma can both be attributed to the trilogy.
[1]: openlibrary.org/works/OL15331404W/Illuminatus!_Part_I [2]: openlibrary.org/works/OL8123082W/Illuminatus!_Part_II [3]: openlibrary.org/works/OL8123083W/Illuminatus!_Part_III
Every time I get summoned for jury duty, I bring this book with me to read while I wait. I have never been picked to sit on a jury. Is this a coincidence? Is this blind luck? Is this evidence of a (dare I say it) conspiracy? I don't know and I don't care, because I still get paid for showing up. Whether or not this book will get you out of social obligations and court appearances is up for debate, but it helped ME build my own solid gold submarine.
Reread The Illuminatus! Trilogy, thirty years after my first time reading it. Completely different experience, and it adds some depth to my understanding of my own development, since it was a keystone book for me at the time. This story -- of a crew of conspirators in a giant yellow submarine trying to save the world from the Illuminati -- hangs together much better than I remember. That might be because in 1988 it was the first non-linear novel I'd ever read, and Pulp Fiction wasn't going to be released for years -- so some of the mental gymnastics required come much more easily to my 49-year-old mind than to my 18-year-old one. The an-cap libertarianism underlying much of the novel sets my teeth on edge now, but the absurdist history and broad jokes are just as delightful now as they were then. Moreso; I know more of the history …
Reread The Illuminatus! Trilogy, thirty years after my first time reading it. Completely different experience, and it adds some depth to my understanding of my own development, since it was a keystone book for me at the time. This story -- of a crew of conspirators in a giant yellow submarine trying to save the world from the Illuminati -- hangs together much better than I remember. That might be because in 1988 it was the first non-linear novel I'd ever read, and Pulp Fiction wasn't going to be released for years -- so some of the mental gymnastics required come much more easily to my 49-year-old mind than to my 18-year-old one. The an-cap libertarianism underlying much of the novel sets my teeth on edge now, but the absurdist history and broad jokes are just as delightful now as they were then. Moreso; I know more of the history they're talking about now (the death of Dillinger, etc.) On the downside, the quality of the writing for the women characters is about what you'd expect from two ex-Playboy editors in the early 1970s. Overall, this was worth the re-read, but I'm not going to rush out and re-read Wilson's sequels.
I couldn't get through the third chapter. I really couldn't get into the quirky storytelling of the book. Just didn't click with me. Reminded me a lot of [b:Memoirs Found in a Bathtub|497121|Memoirs Found in a Bathtub|Stanisław Lem|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175236431s/497121.jpg|485271]
one of the weirdest books i know. and just because I am paranoid doesn't mean that they are not following me!
Matt Ruff and the KLF have probably (separately) mainlined this thing. Read it several years ago - it's quite likely outdated now and the insistence on drugs is both oldfashioned and boring. For some reason it puts me in mind of the Moseley area of Birmingham, perhaps because almost all of the interesting and creative people I know live around there. Politics are ok though. Now do you believe there's a conspiracy?
Despite its politics being ok, this may be one of the books you think are the shit when you're 18 or 20 and read 20 years later and decide they're, if not just 'shit' at least not as good as you remember. Ayn Rand, William S Burroughs (possibly excepting "The Western Lands"), and Illuminatus! (I've always thought "The Magus" was crap. Same goes for "The Alexandria Quartet." No change there).
