Welcome to Theory Thursday, where we take a look at the best Fictional narratives delving into some real mystery!
This week we take a read with The Illuminatus! Trilogy (1975) by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.
The appeal of stories about hidden plans, from Franz Kafka to Thomas Pynchon, is truly captivating. These tales attract readers eager to discover ‘what really happened’. The brilliance and mystery in these plots are impressive!
These novels explore conspiracy theories both “real” and fictional, showing how history blends with fiction and speculation can supplement fact.
One Goodreads reviewer wrote, ” 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.”
Another Goodreads reviewer said: “Honestly, the high rating on this book comes mostly from nostalgia and gratitude. It saved my soul. I read the Illuminatus! trilogy right after discovering Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged in high school, as a bright and somewhat creative geek in a small class. It’s like being injected with strong live cultures after your immune system has been wiped out by radiation.”
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
This collection, featuring “The Eye in the Pyramid,” “The Golden Apple,” and “Leviathan,” is a key work in cult fiction and postmodern conspiracy theory. The authors, former Playboy editors, were inspired by reader letters filled with odd plots and wild ideas. They used these theories to create a novel that mixes various conspiracies, especially about the Illuminati, forming a playful and chaotic tapestry of countercultural elements. They even included their own made-up religion, Discordianism.
“The Eye in the Pyramid,” “The Golden Apple,” and “Leviathan” are a unique collection that captures cult-fiction and postmodern conspiracy theory. Written by former Playboy associate editors, this book is inspired by quirky letters from readers filled with strange plots and conspiracies. Shea and Wilson skillfully weave these ideas together, focusing on the mysterious Illuminati. The outcome is a fun and chaotic blend of counterculture, featuring intertextual references, and they even introduce their own religion called Discordianism.
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Discordianism was founded in the late 1950s with the publication of the “Principia Discordia.” It hails Eris, the Greek goddess of discord, as the central mythological figure. Discordians are often also known as Erisians.
The religion stresses the value of randomness, chaos, and disagreement. Among other things, the first rule of Discordianism is that there are no rules.
From the Publisher of The Iluminatus!
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. They tackle all the coverups of our time–from who really shot the Kennedys to why there’s a pyramid on a one-dollar bill.
From the Inside Flap
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. They tackle all the coverups of our time–from who really shot the Kennedys to why there’s a pyramid on a one-dollar bill.
From the Back Cover
Filled with sex and violence across time and space, the three books of “The Illuminatus” are partly imaginative. They address various coverups of our era, including who truly shot the Kennedys and the reason for the pyramid on the one-dollar bill.
About the Author
Robert Shea was the co-author of the Illuminatus! trilogy with Robert Anton Wilson and the author of six other novels including Shike, All Things Are Lights, The Saracen, and Shaman. He died in 1994.
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