Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson
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Book Reviews of Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy
Book Review: The Strange Changes of Schrodinger's Cat
Summary: 4 Stars
When I first encountered the Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy, it wasin the form of the original Bantam paperbacks, now out of print.
The first volume I saw, "The Universe Next Door," scared the
bejeezus out of me with its quirky way of seeing reality, so
badly that I hastily put down the book and did not explore the
works of that author again for at least five years more. The
second encounter I had was with the paperback "The Trick Top
Hat," which I bought from a used book store. It opened me up
philosophically AND sexually--it had some very explicit erotic
references. Sadly, though the full text of "The Universe Next
Door" seems to have made the journey from 3-volume paperback to
1-volume Dell softcover intact, the same cannot be said of the
erotic passages in "The Trick Top Hat." Additionally, a great
deal of the material in the original paperback "The Homing
Pigeons" does not appear in the Dell softcover . . . although
Wilson had abandoned much of the frank eroticism of the "second"
book by then.
The disappearance of these words from the newer edition, and
the subsequent ventures of Wilson into being published by other,
much less well known publishers, are as mysterious to me as the
enigmas of Rennes-le-Chateau and the life of Sir Francis Dash-
wood. The Dell trade paperback version does not really suffer
in its creative genius by losing those many passages. But it
is simply inexplicable to me why they are not there.
Book Review: Reading on the Right Side of the Brain
Summary: 4 Stars
Well, here we go again. This exasperating, drop-dead funny trilogy will either drive you crazy or confuse you mercilessly or possibly both (see below), but in any case, you were asking for it. Many of the characters--and some of the plot--of "Schrodinger's Cat" derive from "Illuminatus!", which should probably be read and well-digested before tackling the sequel.Wilson was a prophet, making fun of blue-nosed anti-porn feminists long before it was cool, but also remained firmly entrenched in the times of his writing--Nixon and nuclear destruction don't pack quite the same punch in the days of Clinton and Y2K. Using his now rather shabby-seeming understanding of quantum mechanics, he wrote one book "under the influence" of the multiple-worlds model, one in which nonlocality is the ticket, and one which presumes that reality is created by observation (guess which!). It's all great fun, but ultimately not as satisfying as its predecessor.
Book Review: Review By Graham J. Farmer
Summary: 4 Stars
Once again Robert Anton Wilson has written a novel that absolutely forces the reader to stand at attention - ready at all times for a multi-dimensional plot twist, sometimes through mirrored realities (almost!?) that humorously mock our own. His unique style effectively guides the reader into questioning his/her own thought processes and conciousness.
A few times while reading I had to remind myself to laugh - partly due to Wilson's superior intellect, evident in his writing, which had me studying each page as if hidden somewhere within was the meaning of life! However, rest assured once I got started it was a full body affair.
Always I look forward to Wilson's designs - in his novels there seems to be secret messages intricately woven within, maybe it is just me, but this type of writing is a blast to read. Literally this story will blow your mind.
Book Review: Pynchon+Adams=Wilson?
Summary: 4 Stars
This trilogy is essentially a cross between "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "Gravity's Rainbow." It is an extremely quick read, narrated with a dry humor and interpersed with various musings about the nature of reality. I can't say that the author introduced me to any new philosophical or scientific ideas. Partly this is because many of the ideas have since seeped into pop culture where they became oversimplified and degraded. For instance the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is by now old hat, and has formed the subject of several other books. Also, the similarity of human sociology with that of other primates is not really news to anybody nowadays. The trilogy's main worth therefore seems to be in the humor, a humor which is intensified by the intelligence behind it.Book Review: Everything that can happen did happen...
Summary: 4 Stars
I read the Illuminatus! trilogy about ten years ago and then accidentally came across copies of the Schrodinger's Cat trilogy at a used bookstore.
I started and can't put them down. I don't have a huge scientific background, but ther is a true theory called Schrodinger's Cat and anyone who thinks that these book are rubbish just must not know this. They perfectly embody the idea of of the cat.
And Wilson's crazy blend of fact and fiction just encouraged me to get more information about the past and science and the universe and every other thing that I could think of.
Read this book with an open mind. Or read this book and open your mind.