Nature's God

The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles #3

by Robert Anton Wilson

They are the most secret of organizations and the most powerful--the Illuminati. They continue to shift the patterns of history to fulfill plans of their own, to open pathways to power which ordinary mortals are never meant to tread. It is 1776, and Sigismundo Celine, a young Neapolitan aristocrat and musician--exiled from his homeland after an unfortunate duel--has fled Europe for the American colonies. Here he will seek to master the next levels of metaphysical magic, and search for the Indian territories. In the meantime, the Irish fisherman, Moon, is caught up in revolution, his fate linked with George Washington and Lafayette. While Sigismundo prepares to contest the most powerful of the Indian medicine men, Moon, Washington, and the troops are waging an equally desperate battle for survival. THESE ARE THE EVENTS WHICH WILL SOON RESHAPE THE WORLD.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Conspiracy Theories, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Novels, Philosophy

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 1991

About the author

Robert Anton Wilson was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson helped publicize Discordianism through his writings and interviews. In 1999 he described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth". Wilson's goal was "to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything."
In addition to writing several science-fiction novels, Wilson also wrote non-fiction books on extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs, and what Wilson called "quantum psychology".
Following a career in journalism and as an editor, notably for Playboy, Wilson emerged as a major countercultural figure in the mid-1970s, comparable to one of his coauthors, Timothy Leary, as well as Terence McKenna.

Reviews

[M. Apple · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost hated to finish this novel, which was the last novel written by RAW back in 1988. He died in 2011, having never finished what he expected would be a “pentalogy” of five books. I still regard Masks of the Illuminati as his best single novel, but the three books of The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles are the best written of his many works. Lucid, straightforward and yet serpentine, flawlessly researched and complete utter fabrication and prevarication, it’s incredible to think that these books were written in an age before all information around the world was available online in a moment’s notice.

If only somebody would take up the challenge of finishing the story of Sigismundo, Cagliostro, Lord and Lady Babcock, and Seamus Muadhen…but then, a true initiation never ends…

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun time with RAW. A bit bittersweet in that this is his final novel, but still a great time, and he is really swinging for the fences in some sections, and playing with form and structure in others. Successfully manages a wide cast of characters, which i think the original Illuminatus! trilogy suffered from (along with two much structural playing around). So much esoteric symbolism that my head is still reeling, after only the first reading. Top shelf RAW.

[John Ohno · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the first two books in the series are exceptional, I felt like this one really phoned it in: it's much shorter, and many sections are essentially collections of RAW quotes or extended hallucination passages (in RAW's trademark imitation of Joyce, wherein he lists arbitrary combinations of words, some imaginary, in the hope that some will be deemed relevant). It's worth reading for those who read the first two, but does not rank highly among his works.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult book to review. The life story of Celine and the Babcocks continue apace. There is some interesting historical detail. The story gets diverted by hallucinatory sequences in which RAW dispenses philosophy. The series sadly truncated, unresolved, here, as the author passed away before he could complete the series.

[Hrishikesh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easily the worst of the trilogy. Stick to the other two, you won't miss much.

[East Bay J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book three of Wilson's Historical Illuminatus Chronicles is probably the quickest read of the three books, as Wilson has abandoned the egregious footnotes and gotten more or less down to business. At least as much as he is able. I find "experimental writing" as practiced by Burroughs and others to be a bit tiresome, though I recognize the effectiveness it can have in communicating ideas. Still, as I've said before, when I want to read a novel, I want to read a novel.

Having said that, I enjoyed revisiting this series. Wilson is such a talented writer and that talent manifests itself best in his characters. He makes up awesome stories about interesting, compelling characters. And all the cool historical tie ins are the icing on the cake. And, while I could have done with more action and less philosophy, all in all, it's tough to put these books down.

The sad thing is that Wilson died before he could write the fourth book, The World Turned Upside Down. Be warned; loose ends are not tied up at the end of Nature's God! It's a little frustrating.

Nature's God is a super interesting and mostly fun read.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this series when it originally came out in the 80's and somehow never came across the 3rd book since it came out several years later. So recently after finding the first 2 in a used bookstore I bought this one online and reread the whole series. I was hoping this one would complete the entertaining story, but it turns out the series was meant to go on for 2 more books that sadly were never written due to Wilson's untimely death. Still his work is always worth reading and he throws more ideas onto a page than most people deal with in entire novels. Of the three, this was the quickest read and also the least concerned with really moving the story along. If you're a fan of his philosophy and wordplay you'll enjoy it, even if it leaves you wishing for more that will never come.

[Alethea Hammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my least favorite books by one of my most favorite authors. At times, he seems to forget what century he's writing about and his language becomes way too modern in style. Other times, the book really soars and provides a lovely climax to the other two books in this trilogy.

[Derek Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anticlimactic and premature end to the story! Still good fun but it just peters out and that's horribly disappointing.

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

compared to the first two books of the trilogy this one is rather weak.

[Buzz Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The brillinace of this work was the way the historical foot notes gradually through out the book became longer and actually funnier than the story itself.

[Thibault · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disjointed, hardly bob's best read, he was probably flying high writing it, less fun reading it, i think i will re-read illuminatus triology instead!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read that uses actual history as it's back drop and weaves a very entertaining story, inspired by theories of the Free Masonic influence on the course of history.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome! I was pulled in from the first page, couldn't put it down, reached the end, and raced to the next book.

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 3 out of 5]