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Author | Robert Anton Wilson |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | science fiction |
Published | 1981 (Dell Publishing) |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
ISBN | 0-440-50306-X (1990 edition) |
OCLC | 21615729 |
Masks of the Illuminati is a 1981 novel by Robert Anton Wilson, co-author of The Illuminatus! Trilogy and over thirty other influential books. Although not a sequel to the earlier work, it does expand information on many of the topics referred to in the trilogy.
The novel features numerous real-life historical figures in its narrative, including a first person description of reality by scientist Albert Einstein and Irish author James Joyce, while the plot involves English author and occultist Aleister Crowley, British nobles, the Loch Ness Monster and mystical experiences.
The plot revolves primarily around the description by a young English gentleman, Sir John Babcock, of his initiation into the Argenteum Astrum. Ancestors of Sir John are major characters in The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles.
Greg Costikyan reviewed Masks of the Illuminati in Ares Magazine #9 and commented that "Masks of the Illuminati is an essentially minor work by a master, but for all of that makes amusing and thoughtful reading. Those unacquainted with Wilson's work would do well to pick up a copy." [1]
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."
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction–influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, related to the authors' version of the Illuminati. The narrative often switches between third- and first-person perspectives in a nonlinear narrative. It is thematically dense, covering topics like counterculture, numerology, and Discordianism.
Valis is a 1981 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, intended to be the first book of a three-part series. The title is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System, Dick's gnostic vision of God. Set in California during the 1970s, the book features heavy auto-biographical elements and draws inspiration from Dick's own investigations into his unexplained religious experiences over the previous decade.
The Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy is a trilogy of novels by American writer Robert Anton Wilson consisting of Schrödinger's Cat: The Universe Next Door (1979), Schrödinger's Cat II: The Trick Top Hat (1980), and Schrödinger's Cat III: The Homing Pigeons (1981), each illustrating a different interpretation of quantum physics. They were collected into an omnibus edition in 1988.
Demon Princes is a series of five science fiction novels by Jack Vance, which cumulatively relate the story of Kirth Gersen, a man trained by his grandfather to exact revenge on five notorious interstellar crime bosses, collectively known as the Demon Princes, who carried the people of his village off into slavery during his childhood. Each novel deals with his pursuit of one of the five Princes.
The Illuminati Papers is a collection of essays and other works by Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1980 (ISBN 1-57951-002-7).
Founded by Adam Weishaupt in Bavaria in 1776, the Illuminati have been referred to in popular culture, in books and comics, television and films, and games. A number of novelists, playwrights and composers are alleged to have been Illuminati members and to have reflected this in their work. Early conspiracy theories surrounding the Illuminati have inspired various creative works, and continue to do so.
The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles is a series of three novels by Robert Anton Wilson written after his highly successful The Illuminatus! Trilogy and his 1981 Masks of the Illuminati. His co-author from the first trilogy, Robert Shea, was not involved in this series, providing only a praising blurb.
The Face is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance, the fourth novel in the "Demon Princes" series. It was published in 1979, nearly twelve years after the third.
The To the Stars trilogy is a series of science fiction novels by Harry Harrison, first published in 1980 (Homeworld) and 1981. The three books were re-published in an omnibus edition in 1981.
Sword of the Lamb is a science fiction novel by American author M. K. Wren published by Berkley Books in 1981.
Systemic Shock by Dean Ing is the first novel in his Quantrill trilogy and is a science fiction thriller set in the mid-1990s. After the Soviet Union collapses, as a consequence of the events described in General Sir John Hackett's book The Third World War (1978) in August 1985, China and India form a "Sino-Ind" coalition and launch a devastating nuclear attack on America.
Wheels Within Wheels is a novel by F. Paul Wilson published in 1978.
Watchtower is a fantasy novel by American writer Elizabeth A. Lynn published in 1979.
All Darkness Met is a novel by Glen Cook published in 1980.
The Devil's Game is a novel by Poul Anderson published in 1980.
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Last Communion is a novel by Nicholas Yermakov published in 1981.
Dale Aycock is an American author of science fiction.