(7) ROBERT ANTON WILSON –

PROMETHEUS RISING (1983)

Rivalling Terence McKenna as the most trippy entry in my top ten – indeed, Robert Anton Wilson might well be summed up by his own fictional creation “Operation Mindf**k” in the Illuminatus Trilogy.

To quote his bio from Wikipedia, “Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic…not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything”.

He was also recognized within Discordianism – that Western zen – “as an Episkopos, pope and saint”, something which permeates both his philosophical and fictional writings, the latter of course including the Illuminatus Trilogy which went a long way towards earning him this entry (as well as earning its own place in my Top 10 SF Books).

Not to mention he was an editor for Playboy magazine, something which earns my respect and indeed reverence alone – which only increases from the book he wrote while editor, Ishtar Rising or at it was originally titled, The Book of the Breast, apparently originating from a bet that he could write a whole book on, well, breasts. In fairness, it’s a little deeper than just a book about breasts – and almost earned this spot.

Although it was a close call with Ishtar Rising or Book of the Breast, I ultimately had to go with his Prometheus Rising for this entry. I’m a fan of icebergs – as in the meme representing ever deeper and wilder layers to something – and this book might well be styled as an iceberg of the human mind or consciousness, taking the reader on a progressively deeper and wilder trip through Timothy Leary’s “eight-circuit model of consciousness”.

Indeed, the whole of Wilson’s writings might be regarded as one iceberg or another, or perhaps one big iceberg – a hoot as you go tripping through ever deeper levels.

RATING: 4 STARS****

A-TIER (TOP TIER)