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Summary: a welcome quake
Review: an elegantly written, richly articulated and sweeping novel more akin to Umberto Eco than Dan Brown (making The Da Vinci Code look like Dr. Seuss).Interests in conspiracies, magic, religious persecution, and philosophical enlightenment will be more than satisfied in this timeless work. The updated cover design looks wonderful and it's nice to be reminded what a talented novelist Wilson has always been.
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Summary: the best books ever written
Review: i read these books all of them that bob has ever written i recieved ascreensaver a few years ago and was breezing through it because it was of famous art works. THERE TO MY SURPRISE IS A PORTRAIT OF SIGISMUNDO (SP) CEILIENE (sp) like i said its been a few years but they changed my life and many ways of perception
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Summary: Will he ever finish it
Review: I've been waiting for Nature's God, the last book in this series for several years. The whole series is fascinating, as much for the characters as the historical backdrop. It's been almost 10 years since I read the Earth Will Shake, but I still remember it as if I read it yesterday.
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Summary: This is the best book I've read in years... actually, ever.
Review: I've never had an author play with my mind like this author can. He will have you laughing one second and then make you think so hard the next that you're brains just turn to mush. The techniques used by Robert Anton Wilson throughout this book are amazing. You can't help but love reading it. I just finished volume one today and I intend to find a copy of volume two tomorrow.
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Summary: What more could one possibly look for in a great novel?
Review: In Naples, Italy, in 1764, fourteen year old Sigismundo Celine witnesses the murder of his Uncle Leonardo, on Easter, while he's about to perform the mass. This begins the coming of age story of young Sigismundo, in wanting to prove his manhood, discovering the world is far more sinister than he was lead to believe. Sigismundo adventures into the world of music from unknown Johann Sebastian Bach, befriends the Monster, the wunderkind Wolfgang Mozart, he even meets the hermetically inclined Dr. Frankenstein - or one of them. All the while, everyone from the Freemasons, the Rossi, Alumbrados, the Carboni, and even the MAFIA want seem to want him to 'learn their secret handgrips and join their very own special conspiracy' (pg. 134). The characters are brilliantly entertaining, from Sigismundo himself who is 'the most brilliant young musician in all Italy since Antonio Vivaldi, in the estimation of only the two people whose opinions mattered, himself and Uncle Pietro' (pg. 14), to clever Uncle Pietro who spares him time and time again, naïve Maria whom Sigismundo is hopelessly in love with - and terrified of, to Sir John ('"Yes," Sir John said wearily, with a strange, crooked grin. "I do not know what to believe. I have read too much and traveled too far. Certitude belongs to those who have only lived in a place where everybody believes the same thing"' (pg 315). The chapter headings loosely follow cards of the Tarot (the Fool, the Empress, the Magician, the Priestess, the World, the Hanged Man, the Devil), but out of order. Obviously influenced by Aleister Crowley, Masonic ritual and occult thought with Wilson's characteristic 'maybe logic' philosophy evident even in this early work. Any fan of the any branch of Illuminati or secret society lore will immediately find this book appealing. Brilliantly written, clever, funny, and with more than a hint of intrigue, what more could one possible look for in a great novel.
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Summary: Fantastic setup for things to come
Review: My friend got me interested in The Illuminati a while back. So I went out and bought three books: The Illuminatus Trilogy, Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy and The Earth Will Shake. I just started reading the books starting with The Earth Will Shake and I must say that it is fantastic. I haven't read the other two volumes yet but I have the feeling that the entire point to this book was to introduce the characters and Wilson does it very well. He is definatly building up to something huge. I can't wait until I get a hold of the other two volumes.
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Summary: Dante on acid.
Review: Out of print? Philistines! A wonderful, rampaging romp through Renaissance Italy. It's got sex, drugs, political intrigue, swashbuckling duels, the occult and philosophy. What more could you want? A definite progression on from the original Illuminatus trilogy. This is Wilson at his best.
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Summary: Dear Bob, why have you abandoned us?
Review: Robert Anton Wilson has proven to be capable of extraordinary talent with this series. Mixing fiction with non-fiction he weaves one of the most satisfying yarns published. The Earth Will Shake, The Widows Son and Natures God are a type of writing that I had previously not encountered through Wilson. This series is actually very inspiring, and written in such a dramatic way I am convinced it would make a most excellent movie. But, at the end of the series, the reader sees reference to the fourth book "The World Turned Upside Down", and alas, it is non-existant. Whatever reason Bob has for abandoning us devout readers of this series (I have read all three books three times and stolen much wit and demeanor from them) I urge you, dear Bob, please don't leave us hanging! Your Friend, Joey Bridges
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Summary: The Illuminatii illuminated
Review: The Historical Illuminatus Trilogy is Robert Anton Wilson at his most poetic. Combining the essential elements of his other works, (religion, politics, intrigue, mind-control, and the supposed differences between them) he weaves a tale of dashing and daring adventure, describing the growing pains of a young man destined to change the world, mostly against his own desires. Set amidst a vast backdrop of historical events, such as the French, Irish & American revolutions, scientific progress & religious intolerence, with a delightful dollop of sex 'n' drugs 'n' classical music, it's a wonderful series that beautifully suggests, if not illustrate clearly, how we have come to live in the world we see around us. The eternal question of what is good and evil is eloquently dealt with in these glorious books. Read, enjoy, devour the wisdom of R. A. Wilson, and he WILL change your life. Forever. And that is a very long time!
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Summary: One of the great novels in all of literary history!
Review: This book is the rarest of things: a novel with numerous diverse and well developed characters that is also a great work of philosophy and history. It takes a historical setting fairly far distant from us (Italy in the 1700s), and makes the people easily comprehensible to a modern audience. It is among other things the most painless history course (not just a single lesson) I ever had. It is full of page turning action and mystery which also introduces and ties together numerous philosophical and religious movements and controversies, most notably the Freemasons. But it is not just about dead people, for the issues and movements Wilson describes still reverberate today. We're so far away from these events, yet so close. The conflicts and passions of these characters, and their senses of wonder and mystery about the world around them and above them are, if I may indulge a cliche, both timely and timeless. This novel is one of the greatest novels in literary history. Sigismundo and several other characters will live on in your mind, as unforgettable as Huck Finn or Odysseus. And even the sequel novels in the series are indispensable
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