false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166585059m/14182.jpg 14182 1 Known in his lifetime primarily to readers of science fiction, Philip K. Dick (1928-82) is now seen as a uniquely visionary figure, a writer who, in editor Jonathan Lethem's words, "wielded a sardonic yet heartbroken acuity about the plight of being alive in the twentieth century, one that makes him a lonely hero to the readers who cherish him." Posing the questions "What is human?" and "What is real?" in a multitude of fascinating ways, Dick produced works-fantastic and weird yet developed with precise logic, marked by wild humor and soaring flights of religious speculation-that are startlingly prescient imaginative responses to 21st-century quandaries. <P>This Library of America volume brings together four of Dick's most original novels. <i>The Man in the High Castle</i> (1962), which won the Hugo Award, describes an alternate world in which Japan and Germany have won World War II and America is divided into separate occupation zones. The dizzying <i>The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch</i> (1965) posits a future in which competing hallucinogens proffer different brands of virtual reality. <i>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?</i> (1968), about a bounty hunter in search of escaped androids in a postapocalyptic future, was the basis for the movie <i>Blade Runner</i>. <i>Ubik</i> (1969), with its future world of psychic espionage agents and cryogenically frozen patients inhabiting an illusory "half-life," pursues Dick's theme of simulated realities and false perceptions to ever more disturbing conclusions. As with most of Dick's novels, no plot summary can suggest the mesmerizing and constantly surprising texture of these astonishing books. 16259 book 10 5 2007 Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s: The Man in the High Castle & The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch & Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? & Ubik total:365|5:191|4:128|3:42|2:4|1:0| 365 1601 623 80 5 2 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1984 Sun Sep 23 23:11:47 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 23 23:11:47 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu Mar 12 07:55:17 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 09:24:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Mar 31 09:14:59 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 25 15:58:09 -0800 2007 Thu Mar 06 16:10:22 -0800 2008 The Man in the High Castle
Something I both love and hate about PKD is the banality of so much of his writing. While most other alternative histories about WWII tend to focus on military maneuvers or politicians, The Man in the High Castle is mostly about the everyday lives of various everyday...more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Oct 05 07:42:58 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 05:58:17 -0700 2009
The Man in the High Castle
I have to give credit to Dick for thinking of this idea (alternate history) so early in the game. If this novel was actually written in the 1960s, WWII had barely ended 15-20 years ago. Writing about the dre...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Jan 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 14:31:57 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 14:41:13 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jun 02 07:03:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 16:18:40 -0700 2009
The Man in the High Castle: imagines an alternate history following the Allied defeat in WW2. Amazing...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 21 05:30:52 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 05:35:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Apr 18 21:09:34 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 18 21:09:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Sep 10 18:58:19 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 19:02:41 -0700 2009
I luckily have a collection which also includes A Scanner Darkly which I really enjoy...more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Nov 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 26 12:32:57 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 04 13:38:09 -0800 2009
The Man in High Castle 3 stars
This book was a bit of a snooze-fest for me until we reached a little further t...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Sep 01 06:12:46 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 21 19:35:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Mar 11 18:33:52 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 11 18:36:34 -0700 2008
As I said separately about Ubik: Ubik is the best of the novels I've read by Phil...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Apr 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Dec 28 19:36:35 -0800 2007 Tue Apr 29 11:27:46 -0700 2008
The Man in the High Castle: ***
Using the I Ching to determine the course of events and essentially have this novel write itself was a clever experiment, but it felt kind of gimmick-y to me. Luckily it still works quite well as an alternate his...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 06 12:37:12 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 16 14:19:09 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 18 20:24:45 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 18 20:25:12 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Dec 30 20:19:21 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 10 00:55:29 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Apr 23 08:26:58 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 08:39:44 -0700 2008
Three Stigmata: Dizzyingly composed commentary on reality, religion, drugs, conscription, and big business. Rather like being on drugs and en...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 06:33:30 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 09:38:35 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jun 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 10:02:37 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 10:05:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Aug 11 13:49:42 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 13:53:27 -0700 2009
The Library of America collection are beautifully crafted books that I will be proud to keep ...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=14182