"The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" (1965) was the last Philip K. Dick novel I read this summer, and I liked it the most.I will paraphrase excerpts from the wikipedia page's "Plot introduction":
The setting is some time in the 21st century. Global climatic disruption has rendered Earth inhabitable and to cope with this humans have colonized throughout the solar system. No one wants to be a colonist since it's hard and boring so the UN has to draft people to become colonists. Colonists entertain themselves by playing with "Perky Pat" dolls and accessories manufactured by P.P. Layouts. The real attraction of Perky Pat is using the layouts with Can-D, an illegal hallucinogen that allows the user to "translate" into Perky Pat (if the user is female) or her boyfriend Walt (if male), allowing colonists to experience an idealized version of life on Earth in a collective unconscious hallucination. P.P. Layouts employs several "precogs" to determine if new Perky Pat accessories will be popular. Barney Mayerson, a precog, is the protagonist of this novel.
The plot gets a bit bizarre towards the end of the book, and a few parts are unconvincing, but on the whole I really enjoyed this book.
I am intrigued by your reviews to read a couple of these Dick books. A few years ago, I read the book (forget the title) that was the basis for Blade Runner and thought it was pretty interesting, so I guess I'm ready for more Dick books. of the ones you describe, this one and Valis seem most appealing to me.
ReplyDeleteI believe Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was the basis for Blade Runner. I would like to read more Philip K. Dick books too!
ReplyDeleteRecommendations for Philip Dick books (some are very bad and should be avoided, so here are a few that are good):
ReplyDeleteDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
A Scanner Darkly
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
UBIK
VALIS
Probably in that order. It helps if you know something about gnostic christianity. Reading the wikipedia article is probably fine (and is about all I know about the topic).
That being said, almost all of Dick's ouevre is worth reading in my opinion, even the books that are highly flawed (this happens when you write them in a week on a speed binge). A lot of his novels are variations on a theme, so he's best appreciated in toto, I think.
regrettable, i only have one "good" book left to read (UBIK). But I will check out his others at some point.
ReplyDeleteThere are many other good ones these are just some.
ReplyDeleteColin, thanks for your advice and recommendations - I'll put a couple of these (and the Wikipedia on gnostic christianity) high on my "to read" list.
ReplyDelete