Funny, raunchy, trippy and absolutely fantastic. 'Chariots of the Gods' by Erich von Däniken 6. 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' by Anonymous 5. 'Behold a Pale Horse' by Milton William Cooper 4. Though it is strange and bizarre it is also very entertaining to a very high degree. 'The Illuminatus Trilogy' by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson 3. Really crazy stuff going within the pages! Jumping from one character to another, seemingly going back and forth through time, viewed through different perspectives ect. While there is a clear narrative this book is all over the place. So that's the simple premise of the story, but as it begins things get really weird! But it might not be easy as it involves one of the oldest conspiracies known to man. So now its up to Goodman to piece together this mystery. And not only that the editor himself has gone missing.

So where to begin with this massive book? Well for the most the plot of this sprawling story follows New York detective Saul Goodman as he investigates the bombing of the offices of a radical magazine run by the editor Joe Malik. The popularity of the word 'fnord' and the 23 enigma can both be attributed to the trilogy.I have finally completed reading of what I think is the most interesting and weird work of science fiction, 'The Illuminatus Trilogy' by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Illuminatus! has been adapted for the stage, as an audio book and has influenced several modern writers, artists, musicians, and games-makers. The authors went on to write several works, both fiction and nonfiction, that dealt further with the themes of the trilogy, but they did not write any direct sequels. In 1986 the trilogy won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, designed to honor libertarian science fiction.

In 1984 they were published as an omnibus edition and are now more commonly reprinted in the latter form. The parts were first published as three separate volumes starting in September 1975. The trilogy comprises three parts which contain five books and appendices: The Eye in the Pyramid (first two books), The Golden Apple (third and part of fourth book), Leviathan (part of fourth and all of fifth book, and the appendices).

It is thematically dense, covering topics like counterculture, numerology, and Discordianism. The narrative often switches between third- and first-person perspectives in a nonlinear narrative. 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 Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.

The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea