My rating:

add to my books

VALIS (VALIS Trilogy #1)

by Philip K. Dick

3.97 · rating details · 5,322 ratings · 386 reviews

The fact that what Dick is entertaining us about is reality and madness, time and death, sin and salvation -this has escaped most critics. Nobody notices that we have our own homegrown Borges, and have had him for thirty years. - Ursula K. Le Guin, New Republic

Although known during his lifetime as a writer of science fiction, and more recently as the inspirati...more

Paperback, 242 pages

Published August 3rd 2004 by Vintage Books (first published 1981)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Best Science Fiction Books

131st out of 1,969 books — 9,098 voters

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick

Best of Philip K. Dick

6th out of 34 books — 97 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 8,425)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Apr 23, 2010

Aerin rated it

Shelves: lit-ra-chur, philosophy, sciencefiction

One of the tasks of being human is to find a satisfactory answer to why we live in such an ostensibly cold and uncaring universe. Horrible things happen for no reason. Goodness is often rewarded with suffering, cruelty with success. Tragedy can strike at any time and there is nothing we can do about it. And even if we find an acceptable explanation for this chaos - through science or philosophy or religion - we then are tasked with trying to reconcile ourselves to all of it. Valis is Philip...more

like 30 likes

· see review

Jan 05, 2008

D_Davis rated it

Shelves: philip-k-dick

VALIS is truly a fascinating novel, and may be one of the most “meta” novels ever written. The novel, written by Philip K. Dick, is about Philip K. Dick, only in the narrative his name is Horselover Fat (Philip means “caretaker of horses” in Hebrew, and Dick, in shortened German form, means “fat”). So, in the book we have PKD, the author, writing about his own life as a character, named Horselover Fat, in order to put some distance between himself and the events that transpire during the narrati...moreVALIS is truly a fascinating novel, and may be one of the most “meta” novels ever written. The novel, written by Philip K. Dick, is about Philip K. Dick, only in the narrative his name is Horselover Fat (Philip means “caretaker of horses” in Hebrew, and Dick, in shortened German form, means “fat”). So, in the book we have PKD, the author, writing about his own life as a character, named Horselover Fat, in order to put some distance between himself and the events that transpire during the narrative. Fat, however, is losing touch with reality, or perhaps reality doesn’t really exist at all. Fat is in contact with God (VALIS, or ZEBRA), and suddenly learns a great deal about the universe. He also discovers that he is actually two people sharing the same body, although in two vastly different space-time continuums. Fat is living in California in 1974, and this other person, Thomas, a secret Christian trying to bring forth the downfall of the Roman Empire, is living in Rome circa 100 C.E. (A.D.).

Since we know that Fat is indeed Philip K. Dick (he states so in the first couple of chapters), and we know that Fat may be schizophrenic, or perhaps he is telling the truth, then we, the reader, must also assume that the narrator, Philip K. Dick, could be going crazy, and, in fact, he is – or again, he may be experiencing the real truth. Throughout most of the book, Dick writes of Fat in the third person, and relays the story about his life in normal fashion. Every so often though, Dick, the narrator, peaks through the fourth wall and addresses the reader in first person. However, even stranger still, sometimes Dick is a character in the story, and one who talks to Fat – Dick and Fat have conversations about what is happening to them, and Fat often discusses his Gnostic understandings to Dick in the form of a massive, mind-altering journal called an exegesis.

...

So, in VALIS, what we have is an author and a character, who may be schizophrenic, or who may be living in more than one time and one place, or who may be experiencing visitations from God, or aliens, or who may be just a complete and utter lunatic, trying to rationalize, justify, and detect just what the hell is happening to his own life. However, as good as it may be (and it is amazing) VALIS is not a book for the PKD-neophyte, but is instead a book that should be read after the reader has digested as much information about the author as possible. While sifting through legend, fact, fiction, rumor and hearsay about Philip K. Dick, one begins to wonder if any of it is true. Just how could one man be so utterly fascinating, disturbed, and creative? But then while reading VALIS, with all of this information in mind, the reader is able to connect the dots and see the connections that are present in all of Dick’s work and in his life: the rumors, legend and myth of Philip K. Dick the author are in fact true, or at least as “true” as the theories, ideas, and theology presented in the book allow themselves to be.

VALIS is fascinating because it allows the reader to glimpse the mind of an author that has removed himself from the narrative of his own life. VALIS is at once an autobiographical account of Dick’s journey to try and grasp an understanding of the universe around him, and is an equally interesting science fiction narrative that astounds the reader at every turn as it dives deeper and deeper into a world made of layers, information, spiritual conspiracy and Gnostic theology. The prose is eloquent, and the “meta” nature of the work does convey the feelings of confusion present in the author's mind. As the perspective shifts, and the walls between the reality of the novel and the reality of the author deteriorate, the reader is left feeling both entertained and enlightened.

full review @ www.genrebusters.com
(less)

like 11 likes

· see review

Nov 09, 2011

Simon rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sf-masterworks, sf

The book that profiles the author's descent into madness. He both narrates the story as himself and is also another character, "Horselover Fat", who whilst we are told he is the same person, interacts with the narrator as seperate person. Presumably indicative of PKD's own split personality disorder?

I don't know how much of this we are to take as real, or at least PKD's genuine belief as to what's real, but we can either take it as the whole world being insane with messages...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Sep 23, 2008

Matthew rated it

It's a well known fact that science fiction authors often do their best work when they're straying into quasi-religious territory (think Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, etc.). It's also well known that crazy people make the best conspiracy theorists. So when Philip K. Dick, an extremely crazy, extremely talented sci-fi author writes a book about religion-as-conspiracy, it's a safe bet that some serious head-messing is about to ensue.

Someone (I think it was Ursula LeGuin) once remar...moreIt's a well known fact that science fiction authors often do their best work when they're straying into quasi-religious territory (think Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, etc.). It's also well known that crazy people make the best conspiracy theorists. So when Philip K. Dick, an extremely crazy, extremely talented sci-fi author writes a book about religion-as-conspiracy, it's a safe bet that some serious head-messing is about to ensue.

Someone (I think it was Ursula LeGuin) once remarked that Philip K. Dick was the American version of Borges, and this observation is at least half right. Like Borges, PKD is obsessed with themes of identity, memory, time and alternate realities. But where Borges' writing is a series of extraordinarily controlled thought-experiments, Philip K. Dick is one of the least controlled writers I've ever encountered; he seems to be at the mercy of his plots, the words pouring out of him helter-skelter, and the the identity and memory that he questions is clearly his own.

Valis is arguably his best book, and in every respect it's a wild -- and disturbing -- ride. To summarize the plot almost feels like an exercise in futility, but in brief it revolves around the experiences of one Horselover Fat, aka Philip K. Dick, who is shot by God, aka an ancient satellite orbiting Earth, with a beam of pure reason in the form of a pink laser which causes him to slip in time between 1970s California and ancient Rome. But this really doesn't do justice to the weirdness and occasional startling insight of the novel.

Theologically, Valis reads a little like Gnosticism for Dummies but that's not necessarily a bad thing, since Gnosticism for Serious People probably would involve lengthy passages in Greek, Latin, Aramaic, and various fiendishly elaborate codes developed by secretive monks with too much time on their hands. At the end of the day though, what makes this book interesting isn't it's theology or even its plot, but as a portrayal of one man's struggle with the possibility of having an immediate encounter with God -- a notion that, these days, seems far stranger than any acid trip.(less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Aug 22, 2008

Sara rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

I hesitate to say this book disappointed me because it actually delighted me in a number of ways - its inventive first person/third person narrative voice, its delving into Gnostic philosophy, the funereal humor especially at play among the Rhipidon Society members. Phillip K. Dick gives his readers plenty to chew on, as usual, and the pseudo-autobiographical tone is intriguing. However, in this case I found his plot on the thin side.

Now, I like idea-driven novels. I require no ...moreI hesitate to say this book disappointed me because it actually delighted me in a number of ways - its inventive first person/third person narrative voice, its delving into Gnostic philosophy, the funereal humor especially at play among the Rhipidon Society members. Phillip K. Dick gives his readers plenty to chew on, as usual, and the pseudo-autobiographical tone is intriguing. However, in this case I found his plot on the thin side.

Now, I like idea-driven novels. I require no literary equivalent of car chases and explosions to keep me interested. I relish the mind games Phillip K. Dick plays with his reader and himself in exploring Horselover Fat's descent into (a perfectly sane, as it turns out) insanity. Perhaps what I missed in this novel, then, is not the dearth of plot, although I still stand by that assessment - it is thin the way an Aldous Huxley plot can be thin - built to convey philosophy and little else. And the plot-heavier portions of the novel, toward the end especially, seem only modestly thought-out, almost tacked on when the author realized he was almost done with his book and hadn't really told much of a story. That opinion notwithstanding, what I missed most was being taken into one of Phillip K. Dick's wonderfully crafted future worlds full of excellent detail - new powers-that-be, new slang, new drugs, old hangups.

So perhaps a foiled expectation has disappointed me more than anything the author did or did not do, but I won't rate this book any higher than I already have. Expectations or no, I found VALIS far less compelling than I am used to finding Phillip K. Dick's novels. I think this, perversely, has to do with the fact that it purports to depict events from the author's own mental life. That should be fascinating, but in the case of VALIS it's like listening to someone describe a half-remembered dream in confused generalities that function as detail. You wish he would just stop. You've already gotten the idea as well as you ever will, but the description goes on. The nature of dreams is that they cannot be described well. Especially half-remembered ones. Dreams are experiential events. And so is Horselover Fat's insanity. So is faith. And so are human relationships, for that matter. Not that we shouldn't attempt to describe these things, but if one does so in the form of a novel, it is kinder to the reader to provide her some tangibles along with the intangibles, some details to sink her teeth into while she ponders the deeper meanings of all of the philosophy. Communicating through metaphor? Perhaps that's what I'm getting at. Otherwise, write a treatise, an essay, something meant to educate and not necessarily entertain. Phillip K. Dick usually excels in this department.

All of this said, I will still surely read The Divine Invasion.

(less)

like 6 likes

· see review

Jul 11, 2007

Josh rated it

This was certainly the most difficult PKD book I've read so far. However, I think it is my favorite after Man in the High Castle. This is the story of Horselover Fat (aka Phillip Dick) and his wild/brilliant theories of gnosticism. Of course, this mirrors the final 8 years of Dicks life and how he increasingly "lost it" in the construction of an Exigesis. This book works on at least two levels; first, as the story of a man falling apart while being totally aware of it and second, as a ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Feb 22, 2008

Karl rated it

I enjoyed it a lot. It is PKD's views on the nature of god, of course with a sci-fi bent. I loved the David Bowie stand in (Eric Lampton) and the 'Man Who Fell To Earth' references (the film VALIS) with the idea that PKD was receiving psychic messages from the film.
I found the book more interesting because of the unreliable narrator. Sometimes the book was written in the third person, sometimes the first. So, from the first chapter you realize that the narrator is PKD and he's out of his ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Oct 25, 2007

Blue rated it

Best Dick I've read, and I collected all of his novels after reading this one. It is a great story, funny and awful at the same time. Unpredictable, and complex. Experiences in a mental hospital truly realistic.
Horselover Fat is a man finding his way through a labyrinth that is reality - a multilayered series of palimpsests and maps of eras overlapping each other and throwing his perceptions into turmoil, but also allowing him to gain insight into religious experience. His journeys al...more

like 1 like

· see review

Dec 26, 2008

Samantha Brockfield is currently reading it

Guess you could say I'm a Dick-head

· see review

Nov 20, 2011

Felix Zilich rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: in-a-dream

Когда Глория Кнудсон прыгнула из окна одиннадцатого этажа, то убила этим не только себя одну. Она убила своим поступком также и Жирного Лошадника, в гостях у которого была за неделю до своей смерти. Он не смог спасти ее от суицида. Совершенно также как не смог спасти за год до этого свою жену-наркоманку. Смерть Глории Кнудсон стала спусковым крючком безумия Жирного Лошадника. Он впервые осознал, что стремление сойти с ума - иногда вполне адекватная реакция на окружающую реальность. Его заразила...moreКогда Глория Кнудсон прыгнула из окна одиннадцатого этажа, то убила этим не только себя одну. Она убила своим поступком также и Жирного Лошадника, в гостях у которого была за неделю до своей смерти. Он не смог спасти ее от суицида. Совершенно также как не смог спасти за год до этого свою жену-наркоманку. Смерть Глории Кнудсон стала спусковым крючком безумия Жирного Лошадника. Он впервые осознал, что стремление сойти с ума - иногда вполне адекватная реакция на окружающую реальность. Его заразила вполне рациональная просьба Глории дать ей умереть. Первый раз в своей жизни он понял, что безумие может быть рациональным.

Спустя месяц после этого с ним впервые заговорил Бог. Он заговорил с ним из маленького глиняного горшочка, подаренного ему знакомой юной наркодилершей. У этого Бога было имя. И Он знал Истину.

- Жирный Лошадник – это я, - скажет писатель на самой первой странице. Скажет, а спустя пару листов напрочь забудет об этом факте, позволив своему альтер-эго погрузиться в пучину безумия.
- Жирный Лошадник – это ты, - скажет ему маленькая Мессия за сорок страниц до конца книги и этим вернет его в рамки реальности.

ВАЛИС – автобиография Филиппа Дика. Почти с самой первой и до самой последней строчки это хроника его собственного безумия, его личного религиозного откровения… одним словом, всего того, что перевернуло автору жизнь и выкинуло его за пределы привычного и узнаваемого мира
Историю этого безумия вы можете прочесть здесь…
http://www.livejournal.com/users/f_ragam...
… а пока прошу вернуться к книге.

РАССКАЗЧИК. Итак, Филипп Дик и Жирный Лошадник – это одно лицо. Именно по этой причине рассказчик всегда осторожен и очень коварен. С одной стороны, этот маленький фокус нужен ему, чтобы попытаться объективно извне изучить собственные проблемы. С другой стороны, чтобы показать состояние собственного сознания. С третьей - а эта самая хитрая сторона – проиллюстрировать воплощение своих собственных слов. По ходу книги герой осознает, что является единым целым с огромной кучей народа, существующей в прошлом и будущем. При этом они не являются его реинкарнациями или чем-то подобным. Наоборот, они существуют здесь и сейчас, ибо времени и пространства попросту нет. Просто Господь заставляет вещи меняться, создавая этим у глупого человека иллюзию времени.Это очень важная и хитрая идея. Если задуматься, она дает любому автору серьезное моральное право отождествлять себя с любым из собственных героев.

МУЖЧИНЫ. В начале я собирался списать спутников Лошадника на прогрессирующее расщепление его сознания. Потом обнаружил, что это далеко не так. Остальными героями романа оказались ближайшие друзья Филиппа Дика и его самые преданные ученики. Yапример, злобный циник Кевин – это КЕВИН ДЖЕТЕР. Тот самый который потом напишет БЛЕЙД РАННЕР 2 и БЛЕЙД РАННЕР 3. Казанова-католик Томас – это ТИМ ТОМАС ПАУЭРС, один из лидеров стим-панка, чей роман “Врата Анубиса” уже неоднократно издавался на русском. (Между прочим эта книга удостоена премии имени Филиппа Дика) Вдобавок к этому пару раз мелькает на горизонте фэнтезист ДЖЕЙМС БЛЕЙЛОК. Его “Эльфийский корабль и ”Исчезнувшие гномы” лежат сейчас на прилавках всех книжных магазинов. Это реальные люди. И реальные идеи.

ЖЕНЩИНЫ. Филипп Дик был женат пять раз. Про остальных женщин даже вспоминать не станем, ведь и без этого понятно, что именно женщины оставались для него одной из главных загадок мироздания. Пролистаем его книги и увидим, что они почти всегда несут зло. Даже если не несут, то до последней страницы остаются где-то за хрустальной стеной. Странные, чуждые и почти всегда безумные. Достаточно рассмотреть женских персонажей этой книги романа, чтобы сновав этом убедиться. Глория – ее самоубийство после выхода из психушки ломает жизнь Лошадника. Стефани – юная наркодилерша кормит героя наркотой и дарит ему горшок с Богом. Шерри – католичка-мазохистка, умирает от рака и этим окончательно калечит героя. Линда – безумная жена рок-звезды, уверенная, что стала матерью Пятого Мессии. София – Пятая Мессия – бррррррр… Хмм, других женских персонажей в книге нет.

БОГ. Его Зовут ВАЛИС. Или Зебра.Ну, или типа того. (2005.05.04)(less)

· see review

Nov 19, 2011

Terry Blake rated it

Shelves: science-fiction, philosophy

VALIS: GNOSTIC SCHIZO EXISTENTIAL SF MASTERPIECE

I cannot review VALIS objectively, as it is a book that belongs to no pre-existing category, combining elements of autobiography, philosophy, science-fiction, gnostic theology, psychoanalysis,and existential self-construction. Like the newly published EXEGESIS it takes its origin in the need to understand respond to the events of February and March 1974 (which he called 2-3-74). He was irradiated by a brilliant pink light emanating from...moreVALIS: GNOSTIC SCHIZO EXISTENTIAL SF MASTERPIECE

I cannot review VALIS objectively, as it is a book that belongs to no pre-existing category, combining elements of autobiography, philosophy, science-fiction, gnostic theology, psychoanalysis,and existential self-construction. Like the newly published EXEGESIS it takes its origin in the need to understand respond to the events of February and March 1974 (which he called 2-3-74). He was irradiated by a brilliant pink light emanating from a Christian fish-symbol (ichthys) necklace worn by a young woman. He had a series of visions over the next two months, and spent the rest of his life trying to understand them.The novel splits Dick into two characters: the narrator, Philip K Dick, a moderately successful science-fiction writer; and Horselover fat his crazy illuminated friend, to whom the visions arrived, and whose life became a quest to resolve their enigma. The principal framework of explanation is a science-fictional variant of gnostic cosmology in which this universe has been constructed by a false, evil and crazy, god, which explains all the irrationality and the suffering that it contains. The world is the Black Iron Prison, and we are its suffering prisoners. The true God is outside the universe and breaking through to heal it and us in various ways, including the pink light that Dick experienced.After many surreal experiences and visions the book ends with the narrator, Philip K. Dick, sitting before the TV, watching and waiting. He is clear that this is his way of continuing the search and keeping to his mission: keeping awake and open.
I think many of us experience moments of revelatory intensity and also of intense despair at the emprisonment of our daily lives and of our very selves. I first read VALIS in 1981, when it first came out. I was all alone in a student room in a god-forsaken empty outer suburb of Paris, unable to speak French, dreaming repeatedly of being shut up in a prison that was shrinking and squashing me out of existence. I empathised with the Gnostics and their idea of this life as a prison.I read VALIS and it spoke to me instantly and deeply. My "pink light" came at a moment of extreme existential and intellectual isolation in my birthplace, in Sydney: I read Deleuze and Guattari's ANTI-OEDIPUS, and it changed my life. I left Sydney for Paris, attended Deleuze's lectures for 6 years, and finally took on French nationality and settled down as an English teacher on the French Riviera. And I'm still trying to understand what happened to me.
Dick's novel opens with the beginnings of his eventual crack-up and suicide attempt:
"Horselover Fat's nervous breakdown began the day he got the phonecall from Gloria asking if he had any Nembutals. He asked her why she wanted them and she said that she intended to kill herself."
This is no message from a divine light, but the beginning of a soul-destroying relationship with a toxic, thanatotic individual, whose name "Gloria" is an ironic mockery of her real state and aims.
The novel ends with an optimistic phonecall from Horselover Fat reporting on his quest to find the 5th Messiah:
"one day I got a phonecall from Horselover Fat: a phonecall from Tokyo. He sounded healthy and excited and full of energy, and amused at my surprise to be hearing from him."
The split between Dick and Fat continues, but it enriches his life instead of despairing it. Eros has come to win out over thanatos. After all the speculations and synchronicities, after all the encounters both toxic and salvific, there is no final explanation only a new sense of optimism and openness:
"My search kept me at home; I sat before the TV set in my living room. I sat; I waited; I watched; I kept myself awake. As we had been told, originally, long ago, to do; I kept my commission."(less)

· see review

Jul 17, 2011

Amber rated it

Shelves: 2011

Yesterday I started AND finished one of PKD's most profound works. I literally could not put it down. Painful, REAL, bittersweet, funny as hell, bizarre, brilliant, utterly profound. I always find it hard to write about a PKD experience because they are all life-altering, and I truly mean that. I think most scifi folks love his work before 1974 because it's simply FANTASTIC WRITING. Everything after 1974, I believe, is for the die-hards only. For people like me, who have not only read a lot ...more

like 1 like

· see review

May 28, 2011

Matthew Fitzgerald rated it

It's strange to have somehow stumbled upon a sloppy bootleg copy of "Radio Free Albemuth" years before reading through this novel. And I'm somewhat chagrined to find that I enjoyed that book so thoroughly - it's bold and epic dash into a surreal, dystopian future that would make Kafka weep, with a profound and unapologetically dark ending - and felt pretty lukewarm with Valis on the whole. Valis feels so much more grounded in mundane reality, with a lot of ... well, people, just hangin...moreIt's strange to have somehow stumbled upon a sloppy bootleg copy of "Radio Free Albemuth" years before reading through this novel. And I'm somewhat chagrined to find that I enjoyed that book so thoroughly - it's bold and epic dash into a surreal, dystopian future that would make Kafka weep, with a profound and unapologetically dark ending - and felt pretty lukewarm with Valis on the whole. Valis feels so much more grounded in mundane reality, with a lot of ... well, people, just hanging out and pontificating on philosophy and religion. Fat's break with reality is so heartbreakingly sad that at first it's funny, and while the dark narration at the begging of the novel offers a lot of cynical, mocking laughs, it's soon smothered by the aforementioned glut of hanging out and weighed down by Dick's myriad and aimless mystical and/or spiritual tangents. I liked the structure of the book, of the reality coming apart at the seems for Horselover Fat, and the schizophrenic narrator who is both a character, narrator, and Fat himself. That fractured and unreliable narrative was intriguing, but ultimately, the many references to a host of different religions and philosophies, and the blunt intrusions of Fat's exegesis (which may have some deep profound resonance that I honestly couldn't be bother to ferret out), threw off any kind of narrative momentum. Once "Sophia" is revealed, I anticipated this finally leading somewhere that was rewarding, but that train is promptly derailed. The book seems to really just unravel toward the end, with a long post-Sophia denouement that seems return the characters to their "normal" lives, waiting for something ... and as a reader, I wanted that thing to come in this book, for Dick to use what he'd written as a springboard for something that might at least try to answer all the questions that had been raised, and not have this thing merely hinted at in the final lines.

I just really don't know about this book. Dick's exploration into metaphysical theories from around the globe creates a fascinating mix when he tries to thread them all together and unite them as different expressions of the same VALIS awakening. He tackles questions about life and spirituality, about humanity and what it means to be, and he attempts to do it all while combining thoughts and traditions of the devine from around the world. Dick accomplishes this with a deftness that you almost don't even appreciate as you're just going along for the ride, trying to follow what you can and seeing how it all fits together. But really, when you step back from all the interesting bits, you get a novel that has some brilliant ideas and fascinating insight, but falls far short of Dick's on standards for telling a compelling story.(less)

like 1 like

· see review

May 25, 2011

Robert B. Miller added it

Read by Rich, Spring 2007:
"The intended reading audience for this book I would have to assume is adult, as it is by far the most difficult read I've done for this class all semester. This was not intentional, I was simple watching a movie based on one of Dick's books--there are several of them, such as "Blade Runner," "Total Recall," "Paycheck," and "Minority Report"--and I decided I wanted to read some more of his stuff. How this book ended u...more

· see review

Jul 28, 2010

Eric rated it

Shelves: sci-fi, philosophy

Late in his life PK Dick suffered from an epiphany. This book was his attempt to make sense of it.

I didn't much care for the story of Horselover Fat (the most ridiculous name I've ever seen), but it was told with great style. Dick frequently has religious and spiritual components to his stories, which are evidenced in this novel. Dick shares with us a quest through the gnostics and the caballists to find truth--of a sort.

SPOILERS

Th...more

· see review

Apr 28, 2010

Andrew Yoder rated it

Shelves: fiction

This was one of the most fascinating and bizarre books of fiction I've ever read. It's an incredibly mind-bending read and look into the troubled but brilliant mind of the Author himself, Phillip K. Dick.

Be warned: one Amazon reviewer (giving it 5 stars) called it "the Feel Bad book of the century!" Depending on your emotional response to dark themes of madness, existential anxiety and death - this may be true.

VALIS is part of a trilogy of books including Th...more

· see review

Nov 04, 2009

Tyler rated it

3.5 Stars, really.

What the book accomplishes best is making you feel mad yourself, with the constant flip flopping philosophy and the frantic nature of the character themselves. It's pretty masterful writing/author intent there, making you feel mad just by making YOU scramble as much as the characters. And the fact that really, the debates in this are quite accurate to a lot of net debates I've seen concerning religion adds some credibility to how people act.

Very little h...more

· see review

Oct 06, 2009

David Shaw rated it

Shelves: philip-k-dick

Well, I don't really know where to start in terms of a review for this book. But I can definitely attest to this being one of the most challenging pieces of literature out there. At least of the post-modern era. I would also have to note this as being one of the most complex reads, not to say it doesn't make sense, but mainly of the intricacy of its design.

This was the 5th book I've read of Dick's, and probably the best, although each of his works are brilliant in their own unique w...moreWell, I don't really know where to start in terms of a review for this book. But I can definitely attest to this being one of the most challenging pieces of literature out there. At least of the post-modern era. I would also have to note this as being one of the most complex reads, not to say it doesn't make sense, but mainly of the intricacy of its design.

This was the 5th book I've read of Dick's, and probably the best, although each of his works are brilliant in their own unique way.

A stimulating metaphysical inquest into the mystery of an almighty presence or presences, mixed with a battle to comprehend one's own sanity.
I think that serves as the most succinct summary.

Not to mention, Dick has the uncanny ability to mix in material of a heavily serious or existential nature with poignant and clever humor.

Plot-wise, the book (and his books) are designed well enough to maintain your interest. In the case of 'VALIS', the first half of the book introduces the main character, Horselover Fat, and his growing desire to commit suicide. The narrator, Horselover Fat's dual personality--Philip--establishes early on that he will refer to Horselover in the 3rd person even though Philip and Horselover are the same person. Thus, distinguishing the fact that Fat is insane and chooses Philip to be the conscious voicing of this fact.

In addition, the rest of the 1st half mainly follows Philip explaining how Horselover Fat has been working on his 'exegesis' manuscript. This 'exegesis' was not only to serve as an inquest to ratiocinate his cosomogonic beliefs, but as a response to a 'theophanic' experience that endowed him with prophetic knowledge.
To explain within his 'exegesis' Horselover formulates his own theories surrounded by references to historical philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Parmenides, Paracelsus, to more modern thinkers such as Schopenhauer, and Carl Jung. All in all, really heavy and metaphysically-laden introspection and detective work. That is, all his arguments have a progressive logical connection to his ultimate findings ; whether in reality they hold true, it would be quite profound to conceive in the idea.

To know specifically what I am talking about, you'll have to find out for yourself. READ VALIS!!!(less)

· see review

Sep 27, 2009

Tony rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

Dick, Philip K. VALIS. (1981). ***. Right off, I have to admit that this was a difficult book to read. It represented a new direction for the author, one away from science fiction to what I would describe as metaphysics. This novel was the first in a trilogy, that was later completed with “The Divine Invasion,” and “The Transmigration of Timothy Archer.” Most critics believe that it is in large part autobiographical, and represents Dick’s attempt to describe and/or define some mystical ex...more

· see review

Sep 19, 2011

Tony rated it

Starts out with a bang...in fact, in classic fashion, with a combination Don Quixote/Alice in Wonderland narrator (sort of like Vonnegut with a lot more edge). But then starts to take itself much too seriously and becomes caught up in that goofy movie and all that tractate stuff. Unfortunately, since it's so autobiographical you can't really give it the benefit of the (science fictional) doubt, but are forced to consider realistically the notion of time displacements and Black Iron Prisons and...more

· see review

Sep 20, 2008

Felicity rated it

Recommends it for: P.K. Dick fans, those interested in Gnostic-derived fiction

Shelves: fiction, novel, science-speculative-fiction

3.5 stars

VALIS is an enjoyable book, but very front-loaded with theology and philosophical background. It's fascinating and easy to read, but doesn't keep you turning pages. This is probably due to the way the narrative is explicitly 'broken' or irrational through the protagonist. Pretty gutsy choice. The story is intriguing, the dialogue often wry and funny, and some of the twists rather unexpected. Horselover Fat's personal theology is strangely appealing.

like 1 like

· see review

Nov 18, 2010

Hobbes rated it

This was a very strange entry, a bit too much for my tastes. The book it is told from the point of view of ... well it's revealed eventually but honestly quite a bit of confusion is cast on it so by the time I got there I didn't much care any more. This is a story of religious discovery I suppose, one where the discoveries are every bit as weird as you'd think they would be. Weirder actually.

Clearly quite a bit of research and making-stuff-up went into the final product. I am not a...more

like 1 like

· see review

Dec 09, 2008

Chi Chi rated it

I quite enjoyed this book, although I wasn't really prepared for what a straight-up philosophy book it is.

· see review

Oct 03, 2011

Doug Pohlner rated it

This was a veritable whirlwind of humanities and social sciences.

The literary allusions are numerable, but be especially familiar with the Arthurian legends if you intend to tackle this. History (especially Greco-Roman, there's also an emphasis on Alexander the Great's Indian invasion). While we're talking about Greco-Roman, be familiar with their mythologies, brush up on your Latin and your Koine, Platonic thought is paramount, and the Pre-Socratic philosophic movements all bare th...more

· see review

Oct 24, 2011

Graham Scala rated it

One of the most confounding and rewarding works by a consistently confounding and rewarding author. Semi-autobiographical account of alien intelligence beamed by lasers into the protagonist/author's mind? Check. Intimations of said intelligence permeating the fabric of human history? Check. Suggestions that ideas of time and space are illusory? Oh yeah.

It's easy to get sucked in, and the suggestion that much of this actually happened to Dick (by his own account at least) lends...more

· see review

Sep 19, 2010

Kristine rated it

I never would have started this book and most definitely would NOT have finished it if it wasn’t for one of my book clubs. I know Philip K. Dick is considered some sort of sci-fi genius, but I literally had to set page goals for myself every day in order to plod through. About 2/3 of the way through the book, several characters see a movie that makes no sense. That’s how the entire book felt – confusion about whether the narrator was in first or third person (the author is both Horselover Fat ...more

· see review

Sep 13, 2009

David Gary-Orbarry rated it

A fabulous and gnarly read...this book took me a couple of goes to read, as it kept getting requested back to the library by other cheapskates. Super dense and weighty with abstract/weird/philosophical flights of fancy...the novel is basically a continuous expounding on the narrator's (the narrator's split personality that is) paranoid religious and paranormal concepts and experiences. This might sound a touch 'in-dense' but the garble is lightened by a lot of humor, and Dick serves up intellect...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jul 07, 2011

Michael rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

I hated the first two chapters of this book, but after that the story began to grow on me. If you Ignore the narrator at the beginning you should have little trouble. The book pretends to be a psychological piece. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a far better psychological piece. Maybe insane person piece would be a better term. The Work also pretends to be Science Fiction, It is only Science Fiction in the vaguest sense, unless you consider it to be a soft-science piece. What the work is is a...more

· see review

Jan 25, 2012

Brian Ferguson rated it

Mind-bending and mind-expanding, VALIS causes one to think deeply about life, existence, religion, and what is or is not real. VALIS postulates that the reality we perceive, and live in, is not the true reality. That we are living in a hologram and that most of it is insane. We live in a "black iron prison." The only way out is to receive information (gnosis) by revelation from the "plasmate" (Holy Spirit) to wake us from our amnesia (amanesis).

I enjoyed contemplati...more

· see review

Jan 31, 2011

David rated it

Vast Active Living Intelligence System. This is the concept that Dick conjures up in this book. VALIS is the first book in the final trilogy that he was able to finish before he died. It is not the first PKD book that I have read, but it has inspired me to seek out more of his works. At this time I do plan on reading the following two books in this trilogy, The Divine Invasion and The Transfiguration of Timothy Arthur.

The main character is Horselover Fat, a man who is increasingly lo...more

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 280 281 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Philip K Dick: VALIS Group Read (Spoilers)	28	25	Jan 01, 2012 09:08am
First of a Trilogy??	2	29	Feb 23, 2011 04:03pm

combine
Other Editions (36)

More editions...

Genres

Science Fiction

202 users

Philosophy

23 users

Religion

22 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

16 users

Fantasy

11 users

Novels

11 users

Speculative Fiction

9 users

Literature > American

8 users

Literature

8 users

Religion > Gnosticism

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928 and lived most of his life in California. He briefly attended the University of California, but dropped out before completing any classes. In 1952, he began writing professionally and proceeded to write numerous novels and short-story collections. He won the Hugo Award for the best novel in 1962 for The Man in the High Castle and the John W. Campbell Memo...more

More about Philip K. Dick...

Books by Philip K. Dick

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About VALIS

4 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from VALIS

“It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.” — 2,500 people liked it

“There is no route out of the maze. The maze shifts as you move through it, because it is alive. ” — 35 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved VALIS

Philip K Dick

419 members

last activity Feb 08, 2012 05:45pm

shelf: read

Flight 815-ers Unite

257 members

last activity Jan 26, 2012 09:41am

shelf: read

title link	preview: VALIS
avg rating	preview: VALIS Goodreads rating: 3.97 (5322 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216377.VALIS?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255642705m/216377.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216377.VALIS?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]VALIS by Philip K. Dick[/url]

VALIS (VALIS Trilogy #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website