A wonderful, brilliant novel. Erudite, fun, psychedelic, all-brow and all around awesome. Highly recommended for anyone into Detective Fiction, Metaphysical or Surreal storylines/narratives, conspiracies, Classic Literature, James Joyce, Albert Einstein, Aleister Crowley, History, etc. Put this on your TBR.

"Maybe we're just drunk, Joyce said[.]"

4/5 would fnord again.

The mystery isn't very mysterious, and the ersatz Joyce passages are tedious, though there is some amusement in the book. Go read Wilson's Illuminatus! trilogy instead, or almost anything else he's written. I love old Bob, but this is a weaker work. (Second read, ~ 17 years after the first)

A brilliant brain exercise disguised as a novel.

The mish-mash of ideas and the imagining of iconic figures in odd situations is a supremely fun read, and I'll probably reread it again some day. Love how he uses the gothic and conspiracy elements as a smokescreen for a practical guide to relativity.

I haven't read any RAW in years and this was a perfect reintroduction.

Cool read when I was a teenager.

I loved the trilogy and thought this shorter work was even better! More articulate (if you can call it that, his style often borders on gibberish) and the character development was even more compelling. Wilson's ability to weave the past, present, and future with truth, myth and hilarity is inspiring and thought provoking.

I read this in high school. I remember liking it better than the original trilogy (which was pretty entertaining), but not much more about it.

Actually more thematically and narratively cohesive than the Illuminatus! trilogy. Though in theory a prequel to that, it actually stands alone remarkably well. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...

Worth reading but not his best. Better framed if you've read a few other RAW books first.

fascinating, informative, entertaining, thought provoking, witty, wow.

Wow! Justice was done to this piece here, but not practicable. I recommend......ispyphil on ig.... where I got my first applied principle and it worked with ease. I'm feared and not intimidated anymore..... His principles on this Mask piece has kept me going. Y'all go get a copy or series from him. .... Thanks..... ispyphil!!!!

Es muy entretenido, una novela de misterio delirante, atiborrada de datos freak, con tanto personaje famoso, esoterismo cruzado y situaciones terroríficas varias. Los héroes y villanos son notables. Se vuela del diálogo interior de Joyce, al raciocinio matemático de Einstein, pasando por el ocultismo alucinado de Crowley, mientras tratas de dilucidar si la trama va de cf, fantasía, terror, misticismo, sátira, o todo a la vez. Una verdadera gozada.