Series

Books like Illuminatus: 9 series to read next

Illuminatus is satire and postmodern, about political intrigue, challenging in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Illuminatus is 8 books, 1975–1991.

The Illuminatus page →Narrow this list →

The Mouse That Roared
D. O. D. O. (Department of Diachronic Operations)
VALIS
Godhead
Jerry Cornelius
Dune
Nova Trilogy
After Such Knowledge
Schrödinger's Cat

The Mouse That RoaredSeries

seriesLeonard Wibberley6 books1955

Humor, set in mid 20th century.

“The 1955 novel uses Fenwick's mismatched ambitions to poke fun at Cold War politics and the nuclear arms race, and Wibberley kept the joke going across four more novels into the 1970s.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Mouse That Roared →

D. O. D. O. (Department of Diachronic Operations)Series

seriesNicole Galland & Neal Stephenson2 books2017

Time travel and historical fantasy, adventurous in tone.

“The young man from a shadowy government entity approaches Mel, a low-level faculty member, with an incredible offer.”
from the catalogue description of The Rise and Fall of D. O. D. O.

Start with The Rise and Fall of D. O. D. O. →

VALISSeries

seriesPhilip K. Dick4 books1981

Reflective in tone.

“The title is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System, Dick's gnostic vision of God.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with VALIS →

GodheadSeries

seriesJames Morrow4 books1994

About gods.

Start with Towing Jehovah →

Jerry CorneliusSeries

seriesMichael Moorcock, M. John Harrison, Brian W. Aldiss, Colin Greenland, James Cawthorn, James Sallis, Langdon Jones & Norman Spinrad50 books1965

Postmodern and science fiction, challenging in tone, about identity, set in late 20th century.

“Jerry Cornelius is a fictional character created by English author Michael Moorcock.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Preliminary Data →

DuneUniverse

universe78 books1963

Space opera, set in far future and other star systems.

“The desert planet, where empire runs on a single substance: the spice melange, which folds space, prolongs life, and unlocks prescience, and which exists nowhere else in the known universe.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Dune →

Nova TrilogySeries

seriesWilliam S. Burroughs3 books1961

About surveillance, set in mid 20th century.

“Across the three books, the shadowy Nova Mob, personified as viral, parasitic forces of language and image, is opposed by an equally strange Nova Police, in an allegory for how societies are manipulated through media and addiction.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Soft Machine →

After Such KnowledgeSeries

seriesJames Blish7 books1953

“After Such Knowledge is James Blish's loosely linked trilogy on the costs of forbidden or dangerous knowledge.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Doctor Mirabilis →

Schrödinger's CatSeries

seriesRobert Anton Wilson3 books1979

Postmodern and science fiction, challenging in tone, set in our world and late 20th century.

Start with The Universe Next Door →

Why these

No sales rank, no star ratings, no readers also bought.

Shared terms are not a promise that a book feels the same. Two series can be far-future political intrigue and read nothing alike — what the ranking can say is what they are about, and each card says which parts it shares.

Questions readers ask

What should I read after Illuminatus?: The Mouse That Roared — the closest match to Illuminatus on what it is about, not on what sells.
How big is Illuminatus?: Illuminatus is 8 books, 1975–1991.
Is Illuminatus finished?: Yes — 8 books, 1975–1991.

Why these

Questions readers ask

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