Filled with sex and violence--in and out of time and space--the three books of The Illuminatus are only partly works of the imagination. The...
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Dec 16, 2009
Seth
rated it: 
I gave this book 5 stars.
- As science fiction it would get 2
- As philosophy it would get 1 (the world-view it argues for is much better discussed in other books--some of them even by RAW)
- As humor it would get 3. Maybe 4 on a good day
- As conspiracy theory it would get 4
- As research it doesn't even rate 1
- As a good guide to things to research for yourself, it's a solid 4 (great game: open to a random page and pick 5 things to look up in a library)
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- As science fiction it would get 2
- As philosophy it would get 1 (the world-view it argues for is much better discussed in other books--some of them even by RAW)
- As humor it would get 3. Maybe 4 on a good day
- As conspiracy theory it would get 4
- As research it doesn't even rate 1
- As a good guide to things to research for yourself, it's a solid 4 (great game: open to a random page and pick 5 things to look up in a library)
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Sep 07, 2011
Keely
rated it: 
A sprawling, many-faceted, satirical series, Illuminatus! is difficult to rate and more difficult to review. There are so many aspects which one could address, so many points of divergence, ideas, philosophies, and influences, but at it's heart, it's a rollicking adventure story that, despite it's many political and social themes, rarely takes itself too seriously.
I can certainly say I liked it, but it's hard to say how much. Some parts were better than others, but there are many par More...
I can certainly say I liked it, but it's hard to say how much. Some parts were better than others, but there are many par More...
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Jul 22, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
I'm re-reading this now, and felt I should clarify my position on this book, as I often list it as one of my favorites.
High Literature this is not. It is campy sci-fi, saturated with gratuitous sex scenes, psychedelia, conspiracy theories, counterculture etc. When I recommend this book, it's usually with the caveat that the authors are sort of bumbling about and finding their feet for the first 80 or so pages.
When it finally does start moving along, the reader finds his- or her More...
High Literature this is not. It is campy sci-fi, saturated with gratuitous sex scenes, psychedelia, conspiracy theories, counterculture etc. When I recommend this book, it's usually with the caveat that the authors are sort of bumbling about and finding their feet for the first 80 or so pages.
When it finally does start moving along, the reader finds his- or her More...
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Mar 29, 2008
Matt
rated it: 
I like this book because it takes every conspiracy theory that existed prior to 1975 and weaves them into a grand narrative of the 'haves' pulling a fast one on the 'have nots' since before the beginning of recorded human history. Also, similar to William S. Burroughs, I think you have to examine RAW's work in the context of him being such a defining force in the American underground culture. Having said this, I do have one major complaint about this work. This is one of those books that has too
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Jul 16, 2007
Gar
rated it:
Honestly, the bury-the-needle rating on this is primarly from nostalgia and gratitude. The thing is, the book saved my soul. I say this because I read the Illuminatus! trilogy the very first thing after stumbling into reading Ayn Rand's Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged in high school, as a fairly bright and moderately-creative geek, which qualities looked even more exaggerated by relative comparison to a very small class size. That's like getting injected with concentrated live-culture viruses
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Jul 24, 2007
Geoff
rated it:
I have given this book away so many times now. It's the only way I can repay the favor Jayson did me when he initially loaned it to me. This book literally changed my life, and I can only believe for the better.
Countless bizarre ideas and ideologies are brought together in a raucous, chaotic storyline spun through three volumes. Discordianism, Kabbalah, the Church of the Sub-Genius, elaborate retellings of conspiracy theory and countless other bizarre and interesting ideological land More...
Countless bizarre ideas and ideologies are brought together in a raucous, chaotic storyline spun through three volumes. Discordianism, Kabbalah, the Church of the Sub-Genius, elaborate retellings of conspiracy theory and countless other bizarre and interesting ideological land More...
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Oct 11, 2010
Noble
rated it:
In a nutshell: sex, drugs, and conspiracies.
Ridiculously surreal, jumping from one POV to another often and without warning (and sometimes mid-sentence, I think - it's been a while), as well as bouncing between pre-history and the near future and various points in between. Not even the characters really know who/where/when they are, half the time. Most of it seems like abject silliness, until you come across something, such as a prediction or comment about government and/or society, More...
Ridiculously surreal, jumping from one POV to another often and without warning (and sometimes mid-sentence, I think - it's been a while), as well as bouncing between pre-history and the near future and various points in between. Not even the characters really know who/where/when they are, half the time. Most of it seems like abject silliness, until you come across something, such as a prediction or comment about government and/or society, More...
Nov 21, 2008
Danny
rated it:
If James Joyce was a one-man literary IRA, then Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea are the literary Al Qaeda. As these groups can be viewed as either terrorists or freedom fighters, depending on your point of view, so it is with this book.
As is probably not ironic for a book considered to be the holy grail of conspiracy theory, it's definitely not difficult to perceive the Illuminatus Trilogy as an act of intellectual terrorism. This is not an easy book to read. Time, location, per More...
As is probably not ironic for a book considered to be the holy grail of conspiracy theory, it's definitely not difficult to perceive the Illuminatus Trilogy as an act of intellectual terrorism. This is not an easy book to read. Time, location, per More...
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Oct 23, 2007
Donald
rated it:
The "Illuminatus" trilogy is marvelous, compelling and often hilarious. Authors Shea and Wilson weave a complex, meandering tale around the Illuminati, a group that even establishment historians acknowledge existed. The difference here is that, like many conspiracy theorists, the authors propose that the Illuminati never disbanded and continue to run the world behind the scenes.
Reading author Robert Anton Wilson's susequent works, some inspired by his friendship with LSD gu More...
Reading author Robert Anton Wilson's susequent works, some inspired by his friendship with LSD gu More...
Oct 08, 2007
rachelm
rated it:
As I'm having trouble summarizing this book myself, I've decided to quote the meta-review of their book which the authors wrote into the novel:
"'It's a dreadfully long monster of a book,' Wildeblood says pettishly, 'and I certainly won't have time to read it, but I'm giving it a thorough skimming. The authors are utterly incompetent--no sense of style or structure at all. It starts out as a detective story, switches to science-fiction, then goes off into the supernatural, and is More...
"'It's a dreadfully long monster of a book,' Wildeblood says pettishly, 'and I certainly won't have time to read it, but I'm giving it a thorough skimming. The authors are utterly incompetent--no sense of style or structure at all. It starts out as a detective story, switches to science-fiction, then goes off into the supernatural, and is More...
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Jul 18, 2007
Aaron
rated it: 
Couldn't finish it. Didn't even finish the first book in the trilogy. Interesting. Ever-shifting in perspective like Ulysses, but Ulysses unlocalized. Instead of focusing on one person on one day in a very distinct place, it looks at a number of disparate people all over the world in places both real and imaginary, with no regard for chronology. Some fine writing in there, but the hyper-leaps from the JFK assassination to underwater battles over Atlantis to graphically-described sex rituals (s
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Dec 16, 2009
Naomi
rated it: 
The authors thought they were WAY more clever and intellectual than they really were. Mostly these books were pretentious and boring and a regurgitation of themes that had been explored numerous times in numerous other places. Not to mention the fact that the whole trilogy pretends to be building up to some huge world-altering event that never actually happens. It's like the authors finally realized after 3 books that they didn't really know what they were trying to say or where they wanted the
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Mar 11, 2009
Bruno-Ken
rated it:
Finally finished off this Leviathan.
Was much more impressive when I first started reading it some time around 2000 or so. Perhaps my memory of its excellence had inflated in the intervening years. Or perhaps I have gotten much more fluent in conspiracy literature since then, making the originally mind-blowing "revelations" (fictive or not) less so now. And even back then I found the writing pretty bad.
Still, it remains impressive, first, because it manages to More...
Was much more impressive when I first started reading it some time around 2000 or so. Perhaps my memory of its excellence had inflated in the intervening years. Or perhaps I have gotten much more fluent in conspiracy literature since then, making the originally mind-blowing "revelations" (fictive or not) less so now. And even back then I found the writing pretty bad.
Still, it remains impressive, first, because it manages to More...
Jan 05, 2009
JT
rated it:
I WANT TO BELIEVE--more importantly, I just wish I could understand.
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a brilliant work--it really is. The writing, references, connections, intentionally loose treatment of history, stream of conscious craziness is genius. But I think I'm just too stupid.
I am familiar with all the conspiracy theories within, and I found the author's humorous treatment of obscure, famous, and plain goofy (c'mon The Discordians riding around in a golden submarine More...
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a brilliant work--it really is. The writing, references, connections, intentionally loose treatment of history, stream of conscious craziness is genius. But I think I'm just too stupid.
I am familiar with all the conspiracy theories within, and I found the author's humorous treatment of obscure, famous, and plain goofy (c'mon The Discordians riding around in a golden submarine More...
Jan 27, 2012
Alexandra
rated it:
Possibly the wittiest book i have had the pleasure to read, from start to finish. It makes you lol, not an internet lol but a real lol, vocal chords and and lots of "hehehehe Hagbard you bugger, your funny" kinda laugh.
I have read it twice now so am very familiar with the book, which really helped upon the second reading. It is a very long book, and if your taking your time reading it then you may forget a few things, like why Saul ended up in that weird hospital, the first t More...
I have read it twice now so am very familiar with the book, which really helped upon the second reading. It is a very long book, and if your taking your time reading it then you may forget a few things, like why Saul ended up in that weird hospital, the first t More...
Dec 08, 2011
Normacarpenter
rated it:
There are many plotlines and characters, and the narrative constantly skips from one thing to another. I think every reader will find at least some plots/characters to like.
I agree with some of the points in this novel, such as the idea that humans are constantly and unnaturally forced into pigeon holes and labels. I like the way one of the main characters, Hagbard Celine, defines himself as neither conservative nor liberal but simply a human being. There is also a cool dolphin and a pint More...
I agree with some of the points in this novel, such as the idea that humans are constantly and unnaturally forced into pigeon holes and labels. I like the way one of the main characters, Hagbard Celine, defines himself as neither conservative nor liberal but simply a human being. There is also a cool dolphin and a pint More...
Jul 30, 2011
Garrett
rated it:
This book takes you into the paranoid world of a large cast of characters bent on rising up against the forces of the Illuminati conspiracy that surrounds us all. As a humming underground sect, fueled by endless money and drugs, the underground champions fight against them for the freedom of thought and action of every world citizen.
I read this heavy volume several times in my life, and every time I do, I realize something else about my world that is disturbing and troubling, and with good rea More...
I read this heavy volume several times in my life, and every time I do, I realize something else about my world that is disturbing and troubling, and with good rea More...
Apr 29, 2011
Norman
rated it:
This was the strangest book I have ever read. I almost gave up a couple of times but I am glad I didn't.
The book presents every conspiracy theory known to man in a fashion that seems to defy coherent timeline and consistency. It is as if each chapter was written independently, with only the faintest of connecting threads. I often thought that I was reading someone's acid induced musings.
It wasn't until I had read well into the book that I realized there actually was a pattern t More...
The book presents every conspiracy theory known to man in a fashion that seems to defy coherent timeline and consistency. It is as if each chapter was written independently, with only the faintest of connecting threads. I often thought that I was reading someone's acid induced musings.
It wasn't until I had read well into the book that I realized there actually was a pattern t More...
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Mar 26, 2011
Robyn
rated it:
Be careful if you're going to pick up this book. This is not the kind of story that hands everything to you, or wraps up every element of the plot in a neat little bow. This book demands a lot of you, it moves fast, and not always in the way you expect, and you just have to keep up. Yes, there are plenty of places where you are going to have NO IDEA just what is going on, you are going to have to go back and re read passages to understand them, and you do need to read all of the appendices if yo
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Apr 30, 2010
Jack
rated it:
INTIMIDATION FACTORS
Over 800 pages (though the pages span over three books)
Who in the world are these authors?
You don't want to be caught in public holding a book that looks like this.
Not for the dogmatically sensitive.
The plot of Illuminatus! is difficult to describe, but I'll try. The offices of a magazine are bombed, supposedly by a conservative group of some sort. The editor of the magazine has disappeared without a trace. Detectives assigned to the case f More...
Over 800 pages (though the pages span over three books)
Who in the world are these authors?
You don't want to be caught in public holding a book that looks like this.
Not for the dogmatically sensitive.
The plot of Illuminatus! is difficult to describe, but I'll try. The offices of a magazine are bombed, supposedly by a conservative group of some sort. The editor of the magazine has disappeared without a trace. Detectives assigned to the case f More...
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Feb 05, 2008
Josh
rated it:
This book was so unbelievably aggravating to read it's hard to fully explain. There are no chapters, three gazillion characters and plots, and most of them are on acid the whole time, so it's nearly impossible to keep track of what's happening. But, there's so much information in it that everyone should know about the rich history of conspiracy theories and mythology that it's hard not to recommend it. Basically, this is a book that you want to have read, but not to actively read.
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Aug 09, 2010
Rob
rated it:
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is what happens when you take every conspiracy theory, 60s/70s counterculture, pulp science fiction, Robert Anton Wilson's wacky anarchist mysticism, chuck them all in a blender, hit puree, and spike the resulting concoction with LSD. The trilogy statrs out like a detective story, with two erstwhile cops investigating the bombing of a left-wing newspaper and uncovering a vast conspiracy, but unlike your typical mystery where layers and layers of fabrications are eventua
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Jan 19, 2012
Sean
rated it:
Loved it. Really mixed all my favorite things about literature into one tome: shifting perspectives, discussion of esoterica, combination of real ideas with absurdity, pulpy action, conspiracy theories, satire of conspiracy theories, mixing high brow with low brow, juxtaposition of philosophy action and humor, time shifts, mindfuckoscity. Really just a fun read. My only problem with it is the double-edged sword of the very era-specific philosophy of the thing; it was very indicative of the "
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Dec 25, 2010
Skip
rated it:
This was a brilliant read... once you get into sync with it's non-linear structure. It took me until well into the book... I'd say around 150 pages in before I started to get into sync with it. After that, I really couldn't put it down.
The method of blending obscure fact with plausible conspiracy and pure fiction leaves your head spinning and finding almost anything plausible and at the same time... unbelievable.
If you can get far enough in without giving up... and get into More...
The method of blending obscure fact with plausible conspiracy and pure fiction leaves your head spinning and finding almost anything plausible and at the same time... unbelievable.
If you can get far enough in without giving up... and get into More...
Apr 16, 2011
Darth
rated it:
Why cant O pick zero stars? This was less entertaining than the cereal box - and I havent eaten cereal since I was 12...
From the cover and the write-ups on this, I thought this would be right up my alley - quirky / funny / etertaining / etc...
After 100 pages I stopped reading - that may not mean much if you dont know me, but I NEVER stop reading. Same thing I do with movies, I ALWAYS see them through to the end. I guess I always figure there could be something at the e More...
From the cover and the write-ups on this, I thought this would be right up my alley - quirky / funny / etertaining / etc...
After 100 pages I stopped reading - that may not mean much if you dont know me, but I NEVER stop reading. Same thing I do with movies, I ALWAYS see them through to the end. I guess I always figure there could be something at the e More...
Mar 27, 2011
Nick
rated it:
I had always been interested in government consperisies, aliens, and other occult like literature. Mostly the zany aspects of it, the David Icke type occult. So, when I read, it usually was from this genre, and thus I usually read poorly written works. By the time I got to college, and was forced to read tons of books for my English degree, I simply gave up on reading entirely. Insubordination and stubbornness I'd chalk it up too. When I finally BS'd my way to my college degree and wasn't forced
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Sep 22, 2009
Morgan
rated it:
My story about this book:
First off, I read Schroëdinger's Cat first. And liked it better. But enough about that.
So, I'm reading this book. And from reading Schroëdinger's Cat, and thanks to Wikipedia, I know a little about Robert Anton Wilson. Concerning Wikipedia: I was doing one of those "what grand historical thing happened on your birthday?" memes. July 23: nothing really special that I could see, except 13 years before I am born Robert Anton Wilson, on More...
First off, I read Schroëdinger's Cat first. And liked it better. But enough about that.
So, I'm reading this book. And from reading Schroëdinger's Cat, and thanks to Wikipedia, I know a little about Robert Anton Wilson. Concerning Wikipedia: I was doing one of those "what grand historical thing happened on your birthday?" memes. July 23: nothing really special that I could see, except 13 years before I am born Robert Anton Wilson, on More...
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Sep 03, 2009
John
rated it:
This book drove me nuts.
I think it was mostly because I was substitute teaching at the time, so I had a lot of time on my hands to tackle this monster. Had this book been better edited and abridged I think it would be more accessible and wider read.
This book is very funny and witty, yet takes a certain amount of patience. Wilson tends to ramble on at times a la stream-of-conscious writing which was once edgy or experimental, but has grown weary.
It is like looking at cer More...
I think it was mostly because I was substitute teaching at the time, so I had a lot of time on my hands to tackle this monster. Had this book been better edited and abridged I think it would be more accessible and wider read.
This book is very funny and witty, yet takes a certain amount of patience. Wilson tends to ramble on at times a la stream-of-conscious writing which was once edgy or experimental, but has grown weary.
It is like looking at cer More...
May 18, 2010
Steve
rated it:
I read this probably around the time it was published. It totally blew me away and even helped shape some of my political & cultural views. Of course, reading it when I did in the mid-'70s there was a lot going on that also had a big impact.
The paranoia of the time and my earlier experiences & experimentations made me the perfect audience for what Shea & Wilson had to offer in the series. I don't know if it would get into people the same way now, but I knew a lot of folks who love More...
The paranoia of the time and my earlier experiences & experimentations made me the perfect audience for what Shea & Wilson had to offer in the series. I don't know if it would get into people the same way now, but I knew a lot of folks who love More...
Dec 16, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
way before dan brown brought historical conspiracy theory to the masses, this was a way for cool nerds (a distinct subphylum of 'nerd') to indulge in inside jokes and intellectual hijinks - with a nice side dish of smut. Also a great introduction to drug humor. Ideal for suburban misfits in junior high who are too young to do anything interesting, yet need a horizon-broadening experience.
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