Customer Reviews

The Earth Will Shake: A Novel

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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.

I read this book back in the late 80's when it was printed by a mass-market publisher (Signet, I think) containing two abridged volumes; The Earth Will Shake and The Widow's Son. I loved it then and was never able to find Nature's God. Now I have all 3 books. After re-reading this edition, I've enjoyed it twice as much!! There is still yet an unpublished forth book, "The World Turned Upside Down" and we're all awaiting this gem to be published. Earth Will Shake is a coming of Age novel set in the enlightenment era where a murder happens in church during an Easter mass. From that point on it's a roller coster ride of wicked but serious fun. You are enlightened by the sheer weight of the subject matter that continues to this day. In these works you meet diverse characters who are historically real. I.e., the young Mozart, Count Cagliostro and Casanova, just to name a few. Dan Brown though entertaining, is comparatively an amateur hack when writing about the Illumniati (see for yourself and read this. You won't be disappointed). When the Da Vinci Code got ALL the attention, there was no mention of this work and I find that a sad reality though parr for the course in these "shaky" times. Remember, "reality is what you can get away with"...

In the early 1980's, I lived in San Francisco. I knew actual members of the OTO, mysterious avant garde musicians, punk rockers and performance artists, bicycle messengers, typesetters, cabinet makers and optical laser artists. My life was going to hell on drugs and alcohol. I regret not a moment of it, but several things got me through the bad time. One was a book by Robert Anton Wilson called THE COSMIC TRIGGER. He somehow manages to mix mysticism and skepticism and pragmatism and wit. This Robert Anton Wilson is a metaphysician, good for the angst that might take your very life.

He had also written the famous ILLUMINATI! trilogy, the Schrodinger's Cat series,but had not yet started the series that begins with this very book.

This book is a prequel to the Illuminatus trilogy, in exactly the same way that Neil Stephenson's QUICKSILVER preludes CRYPTONOMICON, only in a much more profound vein.

Meet Sigismundo Celine (obviously the ancestor of the pirate Hagbard Celine we meet in Wilson's earlier/later tale) he is Parsifal, and his tale begins with the death of his father, or not his father, but then he kills his own father. Get out your secret decoder ring, kids--Wilson was on a deeper plane here than either Dan Brown, the aforementioned Stephenson, or even George Lucas--yet mining much of the same territory.

Magic and Madness. Sin and Redemption. Conspiracies and Initiation. If you are smart enough to read this book--the next one is a real doozy--certainly the best book Wilson ever wrote.

Then there was a break of more than a decade. Every time I heard Wilson on the radio (KPFK in the dead of night--he has a fan base out here in California)I would call and beg him for the third book. When it did arrive it was excellent but had lost the wind, somehow. Possibly it was me. Readers are half the reading.

But these books are the REAL MAGILLA. If you understand what RAW is saying here--it will enter your mind like a virus and it will change you. This is not just fiction. You are warned.

Sixteen years ago I appeared in a play by Robert Anton Wilson called WILHELM REICH IN HELL. It was in a small nightclub in Long Beach--but I got to meet the great man. As Tim Leary once said of him, Wilson was glowingly sane. (or was that what wilson said of leary???) The proof is on the page, and this one waits for YOU.

(Robert Anton Wilson--if you read this review, please write us the fourth book. I have read nearly every word you have ever written, even magazine articles and this is the one to leave us gasping--if you can't, I understand. We face tomorrow unafraid and carry the meme of freedom. Persevere.

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!

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

This series of books I believe is the best thing that Wilson has ever done, and he still hasn't finished it yet. I believe that he might not be either. This series of books sparked off my interest in history and actually made it fun to peek between the edges of history and find some of the most interesting figures. I have to admit that this series changed my reality-tunnel (as Wilson calls it). This book is something of a coming-of-age story that has a similar feel to Araby, the short story in James Joyce's book "Dubliners." As he is a big fan of Joyce's, it may not be unintentional. The second is the action-adventure book, and the third is the more spiritual side. All of them have these elements, but the strong themes stuck out for me as I just detailed. After you read this series, research it...it is amazing what you find. So much of this is true that it is staggering that Wilson pulled all this together. Plus, the Masonic initiation scene is very true to reality that you wonder how he got away with writing about it.

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

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.

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.

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 Masonic related tales to be discovered and 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 can actually be very inspiring, and it's written in such a dramatic way I am convinced it would make an excellent movie. Yet, 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 from them) I urge you, dear Bob, please don't leave us hanging, finish the fourth book! More! More! Your Friend, Joey