>>I think Foucault's Pendulum was the forerunner. It was written in 1988.
>
>I've read it a couple times. It's not an easy read. The vocabulary is a bit beyond my everyday use and I have a hard time understanding some of the cultural differences from what I know. Overall, I like it, but it's almost like reading Faulkner.

It's all the names, histories, cross indices etc that makes it hard for me. I can't keep all of it straight.

The only book I've ever read that was more difficult than that was Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, but I truly did love that one. I read it twice, but I don't think I have the fortitude to read it a third time - regardless that it needs it.