I have only read a handful of Philip K. Dick's books, mostly his earlier science fiction novels and stories, and I didn't enjoy them nearly as much as I enjoyed this. It's an excellent character study with an incredible amount of depth, and on top of that it is very tragic in a subtle, believable way.

I admire Dick here for taking and exploring nearly every possible angle when it comes to beliefs in God, rationalism, and intellectualism. Timothy Archer's theology and his search for the root and the truth of Christianity is his passion and the driving force behind the events of this book. I am not Christian, but I found Archer's philosophies and beliefs and his way of seeing the world compelling. Angel, as a foil to Archer, is also fascinating because I can relate so well to her - she is smothered in higher education and literature, but is no closer to any real answers than anyone else, and I believe Barefoot is right near the end when he describes her as "starving." She, and all the characters, are tragically fallible.

The very ambiguous ending leaves me quite unsatisfied, though - it lacked a firm resolution and my questions were not answered. I imagine, though, that that was part of the point, although I am not sure what the point "is." I don't think Dick simply wanted to paint a picture of his late friend James Pike, or even a tragic picture of the bishop's life. The ending complicates things and leaves me thinking there was something more he wanted to say, almost a completely different story he wanted to tell. I can't quite parse the events well enough to figure out what that thing is.