History Literature / Illuminatus

* TheSeventies: Let's just say that the ''Illuminatus!'' trilogy is very much of its time, although this isn't necessarily [[TropesAreNotBad a bad thing]].

** Cecil Rhodes [[spoiler: coined the expression "Kick out the jams!"]], which later became [[HistoricalInJoke the basis for the title of MC5's classic punk song.]]

* PunnyName: too many to count, including Fission Chips, Marov Chaney, Saul Goodman and the Saure siblings (named after the German word for "Acid", which is also the S in LSD)

* SealedEvilInACan: Yog-Sothoth is imprisoned inside [[spoiler:UsefulNotes/ThePentagon]], where he's kept dormant by [[spoiler: sacrificing unto him the souls of all the Americans who die in auto accidents every year.]] It gets released near the end.

-->The error of most alleged libertarians — especially the followers(!) of the {{egregious}} Creator/AynRand — is to assume that all property(1) is property(2). The distinction can be made by any IQ above 70 and is absurdly simple. The test is to ask, of any title of ownership you are asked to accept or which you ask others to accept, ‘Would this be honored in a free society of rationalists, or does it require the armed might of a State to force people to honor it?’ If it be the former, it is property(2) and represents liberty; if it be the latter, it is property(1) and represents theft.

Also known for inspiring early-90s electronic dance musicians, TheKLF, AKA The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu. Both names are references to the books.

** There's also Timothy Leary, Adam Weishaupt, John Dillinger, [UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Adolf Hitler]], George Washington, Dutch Schultz...

* DeconstructiveParody: Of [[ConspiracyTheories Conspiracy Theories]], [[TheSixties 1960s hippie culture]], and even ''the book itself''. See [[SelfDeprecation Self Deprecation]].

-->The error of most alleged libertarians — especially the followers(!) of the {{egregious}} AynRand — is to assume that all property(1) is property(2). The distinction can be made by any IQ above 70 and is absurdly simple. The test is to ask, of any title of ownership you are asked to accept or which you ask others to accept, ‘Would this be honored in a free society of rationalists, or does it require the armed might of a State to force people to honor it?’ If it be the former, it is property(2) and represents liberty; if it be the latter, it is property(1) and represents theft.

* SealedEvilInACan: Yog-Sothoth is imprisoned inside [[spoiler:ThePentagon]], where he's kept dormant by [[spoiler: sacrificing unto him the souls of all the Americans who die in auto accidents every year.]] It gets released near the end.

* GeneralRipper: Pretty much everyone in ThePentagon is presented like this.

The trilogy comprises the books ''The Eye in the Pyramid'', ''The Golden Apple'' and ''Leviathan''. They were first published starting in September 1975, as three separate volumes, and in 1984 as an {{omnibus}}; they are now more commonly reprinted in the latter form. The trilogy won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, designed to honor classic libertarian fiction, in 1986. The authors went on to create several works, both fiction and nonfiction, that further discussed the themes of the trilogy, but no direct sequels were produced. Illuminatus! has been adapted for the stage, and has influenced several modern writers, musicians and games-makers. The [[MemeticMutation popularity]] of the word "fnord" and the 23 enigma can both be attributed to the trilogy. It remains a seminal work of conspiracy fiction, predating ''Literature/FoucaultsPendulum'' and ''TheDaVinciCode'' by decades.

-->''May Great {{Cthulhu}} rise and eat them!''

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Wilson and Shea's initial inspiration for the novel was the wide range of ConspiracyTheorist nutbars of all persuasions whose letters they read as editors for ''{{Playboy}}''.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: George Dorn's dogs.]]

* {{Postmodernism}}: While the book is frequently categorized as Postmodern literature, Postmodernism is deconstructed and parodied throughout. Whether that qualifies as TakeThat or SelfDeprecation depends on how much of the authors' MindScrew you feel applies; however, Creator/RobertAntonWilson has published more direct deconstructions of Postmodernism (e.g. ''Maybe Logic''), so it's more likely to be the former than the latter. (Then again, the authors were apparently pretty big fans of ThomasPynchon and JamesJoyce, so take that how you will).

* As Himself: Timothy Leary shows up a few times, and he and Wilson were friends in real life.

* AnachronicOrder: The story, [[MindScrew if you really wanna call it that]], jumps back and forth between plot threads as well as points in time in a seemingly random fashion, with the narrator even recounting events that [[CallForward haven't happened yet]]. Surprisingly though, it's easy enough to keep track of when compared to, say, [[Literature/GravitysRainbow Gravity's Rainbow]].

** Given the [[ShownTheirWork massive amount of research]] that went into the trilogy, not to mention its [[UnrealiableNarrator contradictory]] [[MindScrew nature]], this could count as [[FridgeBrilliance Fridge Brilliance]]. Whether or not it's intentional, though...

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters

* HippieVan: Subverted and Lampshaded when Hagbard Celine criticizes George Moon's VW, pointing out that a bunch of hippies in a VW Microbus will be stopped and searched EVERY time, while a white guy in a suit driving a BMW will never be stopped by the police. This is Hagbard's method of choice for drug transportation, and George admits he never dares have anything on him when he's in his VW.