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Illuminatus! #2
The Golden Apple
WAS IT LUCIFER Saul Goodman was after? He was beginning to almost believe it was.
But Goodman was a New York cop; only juries believed in fairy tales.
And this crazy case that had fallen in his lap—the Iluminatus; did it really exist, a great and dreaded secret cult, counting kings as members over the centuries, a colossus of crime and occult conspiracy?
Witchcraft or world blackmail, it was Saul Goodman's baby now, and even the President saw it his way, holding back the National Guard to give Goodman time to track down the evil behind Illuminatus—before it unleashed the anthrax plague that threatened to destroy all creatures great and small....
As weirdly wonderful as the best of Vonnegut, as suspensefully off-beat as Casteneda, here comes Part II of ILLUMINATUS, a vulture's eye view of the dark side of human comedy.
But Goodman was a New York cop; only juries believed in fairy tales.
And this crazy case that had fallen in his lap—the Iluminatus; did it really exist, a great and dreaded secret cult, counting kings as members over the centuries, a colossus of crime and occult conspiracy?
Witchcraft or world blackmail, it was Saul Goodman's baby now, and even the President saw it his way, holding back the National Guard to give Goodman time to track down the evil behind Illuminatus—before it unleashed the anthrax plague that threatened to destroy all creatures great and small....
As weirdly wonderful as the best of Vonnegut, as suspensefully off-beat as Casteneda, here comes Part II of ILLUMINATUS, a vulture's eye view of the dark side of human comedy.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
Robert Shea
59 books161 followersRobert Joseph Shea was a novelist and journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy Illuminatus!. It became a cult success and was later turned into a marathon-length stage show put on at the British National Theatre and elsewhere. In 1986 it won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award. Shea went on to write several action novels based in exotic historical settings.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
October 12, 2010
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 parts to be considered. Unlike other reviewers, I did not find the numerous asides and allusions to be distracting. If one piqued my interest, I looked it up and more often than not, learned something entirely new. Some didn't intrigue me as much, and I was happy to let them lie.
I treated the book like I treat life, following those threads which seemed, to me, to be the most fruitful, and refusing to become bogged down in the fact that I can't know everything. If a reader tried to track down every reference, they'd be going to wikipedia three and four times per page and likely lose the thread of the story entirely. The sheer volume of research behind the book is an achievement in itself, sure to keep the attention of detail-obsessed trivial pursuit players of the internet generation.
Others have also complained about the structure of the book, switching as it does in place, time, and character with no forewarning. Certainly these switches can cause a moment's uncertainty, but they hardly make following the plot impossible. The authors could have put more line breaks in, it would be a minor change. So minor, in fact, that I find it difficult to take seriously any claim that the lack of such breaks somehow ruined the story.
It was a deliberate effect by the authors, meant to impart information realistically and force the reader to take a more active role. In life, we are constantly inundated by information and it is up to us to decide what is important and where to make strict delineations. Likewise, in this book, the authors want us to take responsibility for our own parsing of data, refusing to spoon-feed it to us like so much propaganda.
The authors, themselves went through huge amounts of data to combine all of these conspiracy theories into a grand ur-conspiracy, too large and detailed to be believed and too ridiculous to be doubted. I've never had much interest in such theories, so it was nice to have them all in one place where I could enjoy them as part of a fun spy story.
I also admit a lack of interest in the beat poets, psychadelic culture, and World War II, so I'm glad to have gotten those all out of the way in the same fell swoop. This book is, at its heart, a chronicle of a certain point in American history, a certain mindset, a baroquely detailed conglomeration of the writings and ideas of the raucous sixties.
The book is at its least effective when it is taking itself seriously, particularly in the appendices. When it seems to believe in it's own conspiracies or Burroughs' bizarre understanding of history, it becomes a victim of its own joke.
It is at its best when it takes nothing seriously, least of all itself. The authors were involved in the flowering of the Discordian Movement, which has been described as a religion disguised as a joke disguised as a religion. The movement plays a large role in the text and is analyzed from all sides, but basically boils down to religion as imagined by Mad Magazine.
The revolutionary thing about Mad was not that it undermined authority, but that it simultaneously undermined itself. It's humor was the insight that you could trust no one and nothing to be the source of wisdom, but that you were perfectly justified in mistrusting everything.
Rather like the remarkable sixties series 'The Prisoner', the final message is that you must decide for yourself what is important, what is real, and what is misdirection. Also like 'The Prisoner', Illuminatus owes much to the spy books of the sixties, from their freewheeling sexuality to their ultra-modern secret bases and high-stakes secret missions. There is even an overt parody of the Bond franchise running through the books.
Unfortunately, it also seems to fall into the Boys' Club atmosphere of spy stories. Though it switches between narrators, all of them are men, and the focused sexuality of the book most often points toward women. There are moments where bisexuality, homosexuality, and feminist sexual power dynamics are explored, but these tend to be intellectual exercises while the hot, sweaty moments are by and large men acting upon women. I can enjoy porn, but I wish it were as balanced as the rhetoric to which the authors pay adherence.
Many male authors have shied away from writing female characters from the inside, despite having no compunction about getting inside them in other ways. I cannot reiterate enough the late Dan O'Bannon's insistence that the secret to writing women was writing men and then leaving out the penis.
He scripted 'Alien' without gender markers, all characters being referred to by last name, and Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of Ellen Ripley has proven one of the most realistic and unaffected of any woman in film. It was a disappointment to see Shea and Wilson so fettered by gender while simultaneously spouting the latest feminist sound bites.
In many ways, Illuminatus provides a bridge between the paranoid, conspiracy sci fi of Dick and the highly referential, multilayered stories of Cyberpunk. Conceptually, it represents a transition from Dick's characters, always unable to escape destruction at the hand of their vast, uncaring society, and Cyberpunk characters who are able to adapt to their distant, heartless society and thrive where they can. The language of Illuminatus is flashier and cooler than Dick's, but has not yet reached the form-as-function linguistic data overload of Gibson or Stephenson.
And as you might expect, the writing here is good: crisp, witty, evocative and mobile. Far from the accusations of being a text 'written on an acid trip', it is lucid and deliberate, even if it does take itself lightly. There certainly are those aspects which are inspired by psychadelic culture, including the free-wheeling structure. The authors invite comparison between moments, events, and characters which, in most other books, would be separated by the strict delineation of the page break.
But then, the surest sign of genius is the ability to synthesize new data from the confluence of apparently disparate parts, as Da Vinci did one day while studying the eddies in a stream for a painting, finding himself suddenly struck by the notion that the heart would pump blood more efficiently by forming such swirling eddies in its chamber instead of working as a simple pump. In the the past decade, internal body scanners have proven the accuracy of his small corner sketch. By inviting you to make such comparisons and synthesize your own conclusions, the book respects the potential intelligence of its reader.
But it is not all such conceptual exercises, and the lesson Cyberpunk authors learned was that a fast-paced, flashy shell can sugar even bitter pills. What delighted me was the realization that at its heart, this is a story of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.
Outside of Lovecraft and Howard, very few of the stories set in that universe are even passable, but this one comports itself ably, taking to heart the notion that an overabundance of data can break the human mind. Which dovetails nicely with the cautionary lesson of conspiracy theory: it seems vast, inexplicable beings of unimaginable power can also be human, and have cults just as Unaussprechlichen.
Overall, the series is interesting, unique, informative, humorous, and entertaining. There are moments where it bogs down, but overall, it is well structured and well written. There aren't many books where you get a fun spy story, a harrowing Cthulhu story, and a rundown of the zeitgeist of a part of American history all in one, but there's certainly this one.
Unless you're a teenager looking for a counterculture to believe in, its conspiracy mish-mash probably won't be a life-changing revelation, but it might be food for thought. Conspiracy fiction is big business these days with 'The Name of The Rose', 'Foucault's Pendulum' and 'The Da Vinci Code', while the originator of the genre gets comparatively little mention.
But this book is not designed to be easy to digest. You are not meant to internalize its message thoughtlessly. It's funny, contradictory, and self-aware, and it's hard for people who take themselves seriously to get caught up in a book that, for the most part, doesn't. I could say this book deserves to be more than a cult classic, but at its heart, this book is a cult classic, and its cultural influence will continue to seep in with or without grander acclaim.
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 parts to be considered. Unlike other reviewers, I did not find the numerous asides and allusions to be distracting. If one piqued my interest, I looked it up and more often than not, learned something entirely new. Some didn't intrigue me as much, and I was happy to let them lie.
I treated the book like I treat life, following those threads which seemed, to me, to be the most fruitful, and refusing to become bogged down in the fact that I can't know everything. If a reader tried to track down every reference, they'd be going to wikipedia three and four times per page and likely lose the thread of the story entirely. The sheer volume of research behind the book is an achievement in itself, sure to keep the attention of detail-obsessed trivial pursuit players of the internet generation.
Others have also complained about the structure of the book, switching as it does in place, time, and character with no forewarning. Certainly these switches can cause a moment's uncertainty, but they hardly make following the plot impossible. The authors could have put more line breaks in, it would be a minor change. So minor, in fact, that I find it difficult to take seriously any claim that the lack of such breaks somehow ruined the story.
It was a deliberate effect by the authors, meant to impart information realistically and force the reader to take a more active role. In life, we are constantly inundated by information and it is up to us to decide what is important and where to make strict delineations. Likewise, in this book, the authors want us to take responsibility for our own parsing of data, refusing to spoon-feed it to us like so much propaganda.
The authors, themselves went through huge amounts of data to combine all of these conspiracy theories into a grand ur-conspiracy, too large and detailed to be believed and too ridiculous to be doubted. I've never had much interest in such theories, so it was nice to have them all in one place where I could enjoy them as part of a fun spy story.
I also admit a lack of interest in the beat poets, psychadelic culture, and World War II, so I'm glad to have gotten those all out of the way in the same fell swoop. This book is, at its heart, a chronicle of a certain point in American history, a certain mindset, a baroquely detailed conglomeration of the writings and ideas of the raucous sixties.
The book is at its least effective when it is taking itself seriously, particularly in the appendices. When it seems to believe in it's own conspiracies or Burroughs' bizarre understanding of history, it becomes a victim of its own joke.
It is at its best when it takes nothing seriously, least of all itself. The authors were involved in the flowering of the Discordian Movement, which has been described as a religion disguised as a joke disguised as a religion. The movement plays a large role in the text and is analyzed from all sides, but basically boils down to religion as imagined by Mad Magazine.
The revolutionary thing about Mad was not that it undermined authority, but that it simultaneously undermined itself. It's humor was the insight that you could trust no one and nothing to be the source of wisdom, but that you were perfectly justified in mistrusting everything.
Rather like the remarkable sixties series 'The Prisoner', the final message is that you must decide for yourself what is important, what is real, and what is misdirection. Also like 'The Prisoner', Illuminatus owes much to the spy books of the sixties, from their freewheeling sexuality to their ultra-modern secret bases and high-stakes secret missions. There is even an overt parody of the Bond franchise running through the books.
Unfortunately, it also seems to fall into the Boys' Club atmosphere of spy stories. Though it switches between narrators, all of them are men, and the focused sexuality of the book most often points toward women. There are moments where bisexuality, homosexuality, and feminist sexual power dynamics are explored, but these tend to be intellectual exercises while the hot, sweaty moments are by and large men acting upon women. I can enjoy porn, but I wish it were as balanced as the rhetoric to which the authors pay adherence.
Many male authors have shied away from writing female characters from the inside, despite having no compunction about getting inside them in other ways. I cannot reiterate enough the late Dan O'Bannon's insistence that the secret to writing women was writing men and then leaving out the penis.
He scripted 'Alien' without gender markers, all characters being referred to by last name, and Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of Ellen Ripley has proven one of the most realistic and unaffected of any woman in film. It was a disappointment to see Shea and Wilson so fettered by gender while simultaneously spouting the latest feminist sound bites.
In many ways, Illuminatus provides a bridge between the paranoid, conspiracy sci fi of Dick and the highly referential, multilayered stories of Cyberpunk. Conceptually, it represents a transition from Dick's characters, always unable to escape destruction at the hand of their vast, uncaring society, and Cyberpunk characters who are able to adapt to their distant, heartless society and thrive where they can. The language of Illuminatus is flashier and cooler than Dick's, but has not yet reached the form-as-function linguistic data overload of Gibson or Stephenson.
And as you might expect, the writing here is good: crisp, witty, evocative and mobile. Far from the accusations of being a text 'written on an acid trip', it is lucid and deliberate, even if it does take itself lightly. There certainly are those aspects which are inspired by psychadelic culture, including the free-wheeling structure. The authors invite comparison between moments, events, and characters which, in most other books, would be separated by the strict delineation of the page break.
But then, the surest sign of genius is the ability to synthesize new data from the confluence of apparently disparate parts, as Da Vinci did one day while studying the eddies in a stream for a painting, finding himself suddenly struck by the notion that the heart would pump blood more efficiently by forming such swirling eddies in its chamber instead of working as a simple pump. In the the past decade, internal body scanners have proven the accuracy of his small corner sketch. By inviting you to make such comparisons and synthesize your own conclusions, the book respects the potential intelligence of its reader.
But it is not all such conceptual exercises, and the lesson Cyberpunk authors learned was that a fast-paced, flashy shell can sugar even bitter pills. What delighted me was the realization that at its heart, this is a story of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.
Outside of Lovecraft and Howard, very few of the stories set in that universe are even passable, but this one comports itself ably, taking to heart the notion that an overabundance of data can break the human mind. Which dovetails nicely with the cautionary lesson of conspiracy theory: it seems vast, inexplicable beings of unimaginable power can also be human, and have cults just as Unaussprechlichen.
Overall, the series is interesting, unique, informative, humorous, and entertaining. There are moments where it bogs down, but overall, it is well structured and well written. There aren't many books where you get a fun spy story, a harrowing Cthulhu story, and a rundown of the zeitgeist of a part of American history all in one, but there's certainly this one.
Unless you're a teenager looking for a counterculture to believe in, its conspiracy mish-mash probably won't be a life-changing revelation, but it might be food for thought. Conspiracy fiction is big business these days with 'The Name of The Rose', 'Foucault's Pendulum' and 'The Da Vinci Code', while the originator of the genre gets comparatively little mention.
But this book is not designed to be easy to digest. You are not meant to internalize its message thoughtlessly. It's funny, contradictory, and self-aware, and it's hard for people who take themselves seriously to get caught up in a book that, for the most part, doesn't. I could say this book deserves to be more than a cult classic, but at its heart, this book is a cult classic, and its cultural influence will continue to seep in with or without grander acclaim.
May 19, 2021
This book practically reviews itself.. no wait thats not right, it actually reviews itself :P
“Listen to this: ‘a pair of nursery Nietzsches dreaming of a psychedelic Superman.’ And this: ‘a plot that is only a put-on, characters who are cardboard, and a pretense of scholarship that amounts to sheer bluff.’ But this is the crusher; listen: ‘a constant use of obscene language for shock effect until the reader begins to feel as depressed as an unwilling spectator at a quarrel between a fishwife and a lobster-pot pirate.’ Don’t you think that will get quoted at all the best cocktail parties this season?”
“I suppose so. The book’s a real stinker, eh?”
“Heavens, I wouldn’t know for sure. I told you yesterday, it’s absurdly long. Three volumes, in fact. Boring as hell. I only had time to skim it. But listen to this, dear boy: ‘If The Lord of the Rings is a fairy tale for adults, sophisticated readers will quickly recognize this monumental miscarriage as a fairy tale for paranoids.’ That refers to the ridiculous conspiracy theory that the plot, if there is one, seems to revolve around. Nicely worded, wouldn’t you say?”
There's really no point leaving a gap between volumes of this, there's no gap in the story and its really just more of the same. Just great stuff, lots of weird fiction references if you know your Lovecraft, Machen, Bierce you'll be in good stead. Lot of good philosophising too its not all sex and Lloigors.
But the character and time switches are discombobulating to say the least. I think this made me stoned, can books do that? ;) ..no really, after a long reading session.. cause there arn't many chapter breaks... i was feeling just a tad woozy but wasn't going to mention it, till my cat came in.. his fur is SO soft you guys! I mean thats the softest fur ever... omg... definitely a little stoned... :lol
Proper review after volume 3.
“Listen to this: ‘a pair of nursery Nietzsches dreaming of a psychedelic Superman.’ And this: ‘a plot that is only a put-on, characters who are cardboard, and a pretense of scholarship that amounts to sheer bluff.’ But this is the crusher; listen: ‘a constant use of obscene language for shock effect until the reader begins to feel as depressed as an unwilling spectator at a quarrel between a fishwife and a lobster-pot pirate.’ Don’t you think that will get quoted at all the best cocktail parties this season?”
“I suppose so. The book’s a real stinker, eh?”
“Heavens, I wouldn’t know for sure. I told you yesterday, it’s absurdly long. Three volumes, in fact. Boring as hell. I only had time to skim it. But listen to this, dear boy: ‘If The Lord of the Rings is a fairy tale for adults, sophisticated readers will quickly recognize this monumental miscarriage as a fairy tale for paranoids.’ That refers to the ridiculous conspiracy theory that the plot, if there is one, seems to revolve around. Nicely worded, wouldn’t you say?”
There's really no point leaving a gap between volumes of this, there's no gap in the story and its really just more of the same. Just great stuff, lots of weird fiction references if you know your Lovecraft, Machen, Bierce you'll be in good stead. Lot of good philosophising too its not all sex and Lloigors.
But the character and time switches are discombobulating to say the least. I think this made me stoned, can books do that? ;) ..no really, after a long reading session.. cause there arn't many chapter breaks... i was feeling just a tad woozy but wasn't going to mention it, till my cat came in.. his fur is SO soft you guys! I mean thats the softest fur ever... omg... definitely a little stoned... :lol
Proper review after volume 3.
October 5, 2019
This one kept up the insanity of the first installment in spades. It's hard to even know how to describe these books. Everything from the plot to the narrative structure to the characters just defies any sort of normal convention. It's as much Joyce on acid as it is Douglas Adams on a conspiracy theory kick. Thought-provoking, hilarious, ridiculous—really excited to finish out the trilogy soon.
January 7, 2018
"Belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude, one stops thinking about that aspect of existence." Cosmic Trigger Volume I: Final Secret of the Illuminati
Above pretty summarizes it all. To read Robert Anton Wilson highly recommend I. All of it.
Sometimes you can die from laughter:
August 12, 2014
what's kind of amazing about these books is that amidst all the insanity there's actually some very interesting insight into human nature, politics, sociology, and history.
December 20, 2016
Who thought I could care so much about Atlantean conspiracies and the death of JFK? The obsession with masculinity and cuckolding by alternate races is satirized so hard in these novels within novels that I want to give this book to a modern American Nazi and watch their head explode.
November 10, 2020
Хотя на самом деле, конечно, то, что началось в шутку, и имеет больше шансов остаться в веках. Дискордианство как учение вполне держит воду до сих пор (в отличие, например, от пастафарианства, которое осталось пародийной религией и не выходит за рамки студенческого юмора).
С точки же зрения эстетики второй том еще больше напоминает песни Боба Дилана из тех, что подлинне'е (и по'длиннее). И здесь содержится еще несколько очень полезных анарходиректив.
Среди хайлайтов второго тома, конечно, "фнорды", и надо сказать, что статья об этом слове в вики - типичный фнорд, только этого никто до сих пор почему-то не заметил. Ну или не говорит вслух, но нам-то чего бояться, хотя на фнордах построена вся медиасфера вокрг нас сейчас. Почти полвека назад мир был устроен идеалистичнее, и это еще была диковина.
Из чарующий глупостей (еще в первый раз заметил, но уж запишу): самой большой бякой у русских авторы считают не то, что принято считать, а МВД. Именно эта организация шпионит за всем миром и чинит саботаж.
И кстати: местами заглядываю в имеемый русский перевод и должен сказать, что там, как минимум, прощелканы все шутки, пропала вся стилистическая лихость и звонкость и текст традиционно превратился в какую-то унылую жвачку - ну и бог весть что еще не угадано. По-хорошему, трилогию надо бы перевести заново, конечно; надеюсь, свежий переводчик "Кота Шрёдингера" справится со своей работой лучше.
С точки же зрения эстетики второй том еще больше напоминает песни Боба Дилана из тех, что подлинне'е (и по'длиннее). И здесь содержится еще несколько очень полезных анарходиректив.
Среди хайлайтов второго тома, конечно, "фнорды", и надо сказать, что статья об этом слове в вики - типичный фнорд, только этого никто до сих пор почему-то не заметил. Ну или не говорит вслух, но нам-то чего бояться, хотя на фнордах построена вся медиасфера вокрг нас сейчас. Почти полвека назад мир был устроен идеалистичнее, и это еще была диковина.
Из чарующий глупостей (еще в первый раз заметил, но уж запишу): самой большой бякой у русских авторы считают не то, что принято считать, а МВД. Именно эта организация шпионит за всем миром и чинит саботаж.
И кстати: местами заглядываю в имеемый русский перевод и должен сказать, что там, как минимум, прощелканы все шутки, пропала вся стилистическая лихость и звонкость и текст традиционно превратился в какую-то унылую жвачку - ну и бог весть что еще не угадано. По-хорошему, трилогию надо бы перевести заново, конечно; надеюсь, свежий переводчик "Кота Шрёдингера" справится со своей работой лучше.
May 28, 2016
The hardest thing about this book was 'picking up all the threads' where the last book left off after a few months passing in between. (Then again, I think it's so dense that trying to read all three books in a row would present other challenges.) Once I checked a few names, though, it wasn't too hard to get everything back in order. As in order as you can get anything in these books.
This book seems a little heavier on plot, with some of the major events finally coming together in a coherent fashion, even if there's still relatively little of it for a full-length novel. And there do still seem to be some extraneous bits. The first book actually makes more sense after reading the second one.
But what really keeps me invested is the philosophy. Every now and then the novel hits on a concept that blows me away. It often strikes eerily close to home with current issues, despite having been written in the 70's. I really think it's those eye-opening, forward-thinking moments that keep bringing me back. When you least expect it, this book makes you think about the world you live in and, perhaps, re-evaluate the way you view it.
This book seems a little heavier on plot, with some of the major events finally coming together in a coherent fashion, even if there's still relatively little of it for a full-length novel. And there do still seem to be some extraneous bits. The first book actually makes more sense after reading the second one.
But what really keeps me invested is the philosophy. Every now and then the novel hits on a concept that blows me away. It often strikes eerily close to home with current issues, despite having been written in the 70's. I really think it's those eye-opening, forward-thinking moments that keep bringing me back. When you least expect it, this book makes you think about the world you live in and, perhaps, re-evaluate the way you view it.
October 22, 2020
3.74 rating overall (just cuz its fun, or wait, should it be a multiple of 5?). A little easier to follow than the 1st one, but still times where you have to put the book down and step back a second and rethink what you just read lol. On to #3
March 21, 2018
This should be on badreads.com
April 11, 2014
Pretty incredible how this book tends to hork up whatever subject has been independently on my mind, or the minds of those I spend my time with.
"Privilege implies exclusion from privilege... in the same mathematically reciprocal way profit implies loss. If you and I exchange equal goods, that is trade: neither of us profits and neither of us loses. But if we exchange unequal goods, one of us profits and the other loses. Mathematically. Certainly. Now, such mathematically unequal exchanges will always occur because some traders will be shrewder than others. But in total freedom--in anarchy--such unequal exchanges will be sporadic and irregular. A phenomenon of unpredictable periodicity, mathematically speaking.
"You will observe, instead, a mathematically smooth function, a steady profit accruting to one group and an equally steady loss accumulating for all others. Why is this? Because the system is not free or random, any mathemetician would tell you a priori. Well, then, where is the determining function, the factor that controls the other variables? ...the Great Traidition. Privilege, I prefer to call it. When A meets B in the marketplace, they do not bargain as equals. There is no more Free Market here than there is on the other side of the Iron Curtain."
UGH THIS BOOK IS SO FUN TO READ. Excited for the 3rd installment...
"Privilege implies exclusion from privilege... in the same mathematically reciprocal way profit implies loss. If you and I exchange equal goods, that is trade: neither of us profits and neither of us loses. But if we exchange unequal goods, one of us profits and the other loses. Mathematically. Certainly. Now, such mathematically unequal exchanges will always occur because some traders will be shrewder than others. But in total freedom--in anarchy--such unequal exchanges will be sporadic and irregular. A phenomenon of unpredictable periodicity, mathematically speaking.
"You will observe, instead, a mathematically smooth function, a steady profit accruting to one group and an equally steady loss accumulating for all others. Why is this? Because the system is not free or random, any mathemetician would tell you a priori. Well, then, where is the determining function, the factor that controls the other variables? ...the Great Traidition. Privilege, I prefer to call it. When A meets B in the marketplace, they do not bargain as equals. There is no more Free Market here than there is on the other side of the Iron Curtain."
UGH THIS BOOK IS SO FUN TO READ. Excited for the 3rd installment...
January 2, 2015
I think I'm more into it than I was with the first book. I'm gathering that it's a kind of whirlwind of ideas, perspectives, and theories to the end of both or either seeing what sticks in the reader's mind or teaching "agnosticism in all things" like I think the author said about it once. There's without a doubt an authorial stance during that uncharacteristically direct fuck-you to Ayn Rand towards the end, but other times it's harder to discern between speaker and author. If there was any character that Shea & Wilson find more sympathetic or closer to the truth than others, it's probably Hagbard Celine, but even he doesn't seem to have it all figured out. I guess what i'm looking for more than anything else is redemption or character growth to orient myself, but Illuminatus is a series that disorients the reader intentionally, as far as I understand it. There's definitely effort put into making this thing very difficult to "solve", with the modernist stream of consciousness, the postmodernist romantic irony, and the tremendous amount of semi-esoteric references to history, literature, and the occult. They had to be aware that most of this would go over their readers' heads. So, if the mission statement is to run me through the gauntlet of organize chaos, it's successful to some degree.
June 14, 2017
This book, like the other two in the trilogy, is a mess. Other reviewers have mentioned that there is more plot in this one than in the first volume. If so, I didn't notice it. If you go looking for a plot in this you'll work harder than the two authors did.
What there is is exposition. Tons of it, and full of contradictions. There is also satire, pornographic passages, and descriptions of drug use. The satire is sometimes pretty good. Ayn Rand and Ian Fleming are both targets, more for their writing style than for their opinions.
I found the books entertaining enough to keep reading, but the end result of reading them didn't add up to much. The books are supposedly about the Bavarian Illuminati and you'll read at least ten different conflicting descriptions of who they are and what they're up to.
What there is is exposition. Tons of it, and full of contradictions. There is also satire, pornographic passages, and descriptions of drug use. The satire is sometimes pretty good. Ayn Rand and Ian Fleming are both targets, more for their writing style than for their opinions.
I found the books entertaining enough to keep reading, but the end result of reading them didn't add up to much. The books are supposedly about the Bavarian Illuminati and you'll read at least ten different conflicting descriptions of who they are and what they're up to.
May 26, 2019
Proti prvnímu dílu trochu méně chaosu (nebo si zvykám?) a sexuální atletiky, pořád je to ale solidní trip, kouř z ganji je snad ještě hustší než v jedničce. Na protější zeď rozhodně nedohlédnete :)
Pochutnají si ti, kteří mají rádi Lovecrafta - počtete si v Necronomiconu, dozvíte se, kde schovává americká vláda Yog Sototha a čím ho krmí, potkáte Tsathogguu a dozvíte se i ledacos jiného. A samozřejmě pokračuje hloubkový kurs diskordiánského náboženství.
Ať žije Eris. Ať žije Discordia. Fnord?
Pochutnají si ti, kteří mají rádi Lovecrafta - počtete si v Necronomiconu, dozvíte se, kde schovává americká vláda Yog Sototha a čím ho krmí, potkáte Tsathogguu a dozvíte se i ledacos jiného. A samozřejmě pokračuje hloubkový kurs diskordiánského náboženství.
Ať žije Eris. Ať žije Discordia. Fnord?
June 3, 2012
In the second book, things start to coalesce into a plot. It's not a strong plot. It's more of a hallucination's version of a plot. Normally I wouldn't like a book without a clear direction with well-crafted mounting tension, but this was such a fun ride - like talking to a crazy manic uncle that you visit in the asylum.
I'm on to the third book. Wish me luck.
I'm on to the third book. Wish me luck.
October 1, 2012
You perhaps need to be a conspiracy buff to really appreciate these books. I personally do not buy into conspiracy culture, and differ politically with both Shea and Wilson. Still, I find this trilogy to be one of the great science fiction epics of the twentieth century. This is basically Pynchon without all the pretentiousness.
July 27, 2016
The Golden Apple lacks the zaniness of the first volume, so i cant score the second installment as high. It is by no means bad, but its not as edited as a "book" as much - just progression
Most of this book is the "secret history of the world" as told from multiple perspectives. Its a good gimmick that keeps the reader guessing.
Most of this book is the "secret history of the world" as told from multiple perspectives. Its a good gimmick that keeps the reader guessing.
May 11, 2021
DNF. The first book was the most entertaining of messes. The second is… more of the same… only less entertaining and more of a mess. The novelty has worn out, I don't do acid, and life's too short. Still, the trilogy gave us The KLF, and I'll always be grateful for that. Just not grateful enough to read all of it.
January 16, 2019
A continuation of the first book: essentially, it is literally the same story as the first and continued on without pause. Fun read, dense and, for whatever reason, every time I go out in public with it, people talk to me.
March 2, 2020
More bizarre adventures from behind the veil. This book goes into greater detail explaining the symbology seen throughout the first book, and gives the detailed history of Atlantis and their civil wars.
November 29, 2008
I'm having a lot of trouble getting through these. A lot of pal's of mine love them though, so I'll motor through.
November 24, 2017
By the second book it follows a more linear story line, though still confusing as hell. Much more enjoyable if you're looking for more to grasp onto.
February 9, 2018
About the same as "The Eye in The Pyramid".Layers on layers of conspiracy.
November 5, 2018
Swirly whirly and fun. If you like stuff that's pretty trippy, this is up your alley. If not, maybe not?
December 13, 2018
Really good. The whole series is really starts to mess with your head. There are a ton of characters, so I sometimes have a difficult time distinguishing them.
October 21, 2020
It's out there and I'm not really sure where there is, but I enjoyed it.
February 13, 2021
The story and action really ramped up in the sequel. Can't wait to read the ending!
March 22, 2023
Το δεύτερο μέρος της τριλογίας βάζει σε μια σχετική τάξη (αν μπορεί να ειπωθεί αυτή η λέξη για αυτό το βιβλίο και εδώ γελάμε) στο χάος του πρώτου μέρους. Το απόλαυσα περισσότερο γιατί είχα ήδη εξοικειωθεί με την παράνοια του πρώτου και το πήρα απόφαση να κάτσω αναπαυτικά απολαμβάνοντας την μεγαλοφυή παράνοια των συγγραφέων χωρίς να σκοτίζομαι ιδιαίτερα να παρακολουθήσω τις άπειρες αναφορές και τους πάμπολλους χαρακτήρες της πλοκής (στη λέξη πλοκή ξαναγελάμε). Το συνιστώ ανεπιφύλακτα, θα ήταν άλλωστε κρίμα αφότου μυηθήκατε με το πρώτο να τα παρατήσετε σαν τίποτα αργόσχολοι. Πάμε για το τρίτο λοιπόν και τελευταίο μέρος αυτού του τρίπ.
Τριπ είναι και η συνταγή που ακολουθεί για φάβα. Σε μπώλ βάζουμε 200gr φάβα, ρίχνουμε από πάνω καυτό 1 lt καυτό νερό και ανακατεύουμε με ξύλινη κουτάλα μέχρι να σκουρύνει το νερό, σουρώνουμε και αφήνουμε στην άκρη.
Κόβουμε 1 καρότο, 1 κρεμμύδι και 1 σκελίδα σκόρδο σε φέτες και τα βάζουμε σε κατσαρόλα. Προσθέτουμε 2 κ.σ. ελαιόλαδο, πιπέρι, αλάτι, 1 πρέζα ζάχαρη και 2 φύλλα δάφνης.
Βάζουμε την κατσαρόλα σε δυνατή φωτιά και σοτάρουμε τα λαχανικά 2-3 λεπτά μέχρι να ξανθύνουν χωρίς να πάρουν πολύ χρώμα.
Έπειτα ρίχνουμε τη φάβα στην κατσαρόλα, ανακατεύουμε με μία ξύλινη κουτάλα και σβήνουμε κατευθείαν με τον ζωμό (1.2lt νερό και 1 κύβος λαχανικών). Προσθέτουμε και 1 κ.γ. ή 1 κλαδί δεντρολίβανο.
Βράζουμε σε χαμηλή φωτιά, ανακατεύοντας συνέχεια, μέχρι να εξατμιστεί το νερό και να μαλακώσει η φάβα.
Αφαιρούμε από τη φωτιά, αφαιρούμε το δεντρολίβανο (αν είναι κλαδί) και τα φύλλα δάφνης.
Ρίχνουμε την φάβα σε πολυμηχάνημα με μαχαίρια, προσθέτουμε το ξύσμα και το χυμό 1 λεμονιού, 4 κ.σ. ελαιόλαδο κ��ι χτυπάμε μέχρι να γίνει πουρές.
Σερβίρουμε με κρεμμύδι, λίγο ελαιόλαδο και ρίχνουμε φρέσκο θυμάρι ή ρίγανη.
Τριπ είναι και η συνταγή που ακολουθεί για φάβα. Σε μπώλ βάζουμε 200gr φάβα, ρίχνουμε από πάνω καυτό 1 lt καυτό νερό και ανακατεύουμε με ξύλινη κουτάλα μέχρι να σκουρύνει το νερό, σουρώνουμε και αφήνουμε στην άκρη.
Κόβουμε 1 καρότο, 1 κρεμμύδι και 1 σκελίδα σκόρδο σε φέτες και τα βάζουμε σε κατσαρόλα. Προσθέτουμε 2 κ.σ. ελαιόλαδο, πιπέρι, αλάτι, 1 πρέζα ζάχαρη και 2 φύλλα δάφνης.
Βάζουμε την κατσαρόλα σε δυνατή φωτιά και σοτάρουμε τα λαχανικά 2-3 λεπτά μέχρι να ξανθύνουν χωρίς να πάρουν πολύ χρώμα.
Έπειτα ρίχνουμε τη φάβα στην κατσαρόλα, ανακατεύουμε με μία ξύλινη κουτάλα και σβήνουμε κατευθείαν με τον ζωμό (1.2lt νερό και 1 κύβος λαχανικών). Προσθέτουμε και 1 κ.γ. ή 1 κλαδί δεντρολίβανο.
Βράζουμε σε χαμηλή φωτιά, ανακατεύοντας συνέχεια, μέχρι να εξατμιστεί το νερό και να μαλακώσει η φάβα.
Αφαιρούμε από τη φωτιά, αφαιρούμε το δεντρολίβανο (αν είναι κλαδί) και τα φύλλα δάφνης.
Ρίχνουμε την φάβα σε πολυμηχάνημα με μαχαίρια, προσθέτουμε το ξύσμα και το χυμό 1 λεμονιού, 4 κ.σ. ελαιόλαδο κ��ι χτυπάμε μέχρι να γίνει πουρές.
Σερβίρουμε με κρεμμύδι, λίγο ελαιόλαδο και ρίχνουμε φρέσκο θυμάρι ή ρίγανη.
January 6, 2022
This played up everything that made the first Illuminatus book great. Particularly loved the anti-Ayn Rand chapters. And the scene where George tripped on the Alamout Black hash was enthralling, I didn't want it to end.
"What would you think of a man who not only kept an arsenal in his home, but was collecting at enormous financial sacrifice a second arsenal to protect the first one? What would you say if this man so frightened his neighbors that they in turn were collecting weapons to protect themselves from him? What if this man spent ten times as much money on his expensive weapons as he did on the education of his children? What if one of his children criticized his hobby and he called that child a traitor and a bum and disowned it? And he took another child and sent it out into the world to attack neighbors? What would you say about a man who introduces poisons into the water he drinks and the air he breathes? What if this man not only is feuding with the people on his block but involves himself in the quarrels of others in distant parts of the city and even in the suburbs? Such a man would clearly be a paranoid schizophrenic, with homicidal tendencies."
"What would you think of a man who not only kept an arsenal in his home, but was collecting at enormous financial sacrifice a second arsenal to protect the first one? What would you say if this man so frightened his neighbors that they in turn were collecting weapons to protect themselves from him? What if this man spent ten times as much money on his expensive weapons as he did on the education of his children? What if one of his children criticized his hobby and he called that child a traitor and a bum and disowned it? And he took another child and sent it out into the world to attack neighbors? What would you say about a man who introduces poisons into the water he drinks and the air he breathes? What if this man not only is feuding with the people on his block but involves himself in the quarrels of others in distant parts of the city and even in the suburbs? Such a man would clearly be a paranoid schizophrenic, with homicidal tendencies."
October 31, 2022
DNF
After about a hundred pages in this second part, the only interesting part was the second meta-self-review, which described my thoughts exactly: dull, convoluted, not funny etc. The humorous passages and intelligent observations that kept me going throughout the first part had all but disappeared. Books like these can sustain their momentum only for as long as they keep the reader smiling and thinking.
Introducing a new boring character was not the way to go.
Perhaps I'll pick it up again in a few years, when I need to empty my mind.
After about a hundred pages in this second part, the only interesting part was the second meta-self-review, which described my thoughts exactly: dull, convoluted, not funny etc. The humorous passages and intelligent observations that kept me going throughout the first part had all but disappeared. Books like these can sustain their momentum only for as long as they keep the reader smiling and thinking.
Introducing a new boring character was not the way to go.
Perhaps I'll pick it up again in a few years, when I need to empty my mind.
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