The Cosmic Puppets [Mass Market Paperback]

Philip K. Dick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 1955

One of Dick's earlier works, The Cosmic Puppets is his only pure fantasy novel. Millgate, Virginia -- it should have been the sort of town where nothing ever changes! As Ted Barton is driving through Baltimore, on vacation with his wife, he is seized with an irresistible urge to head into the Appalachian Mountains and visit the town where he was born -- Millgate, Virginia. But when Barton finds his way into the little valley he grew up in, he is in for a deep shock. The town called Millgate is there all right: but it is a town he has never seen before. It is a town where Ted Barton had died of scarlet fever at the age of nine!

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The greatest American novelist of the second half of the 20th century' Norman Spinrad 'A great philosophical writer' Independent 'The most brilliant sci-fi mind on any planet' Rolling Stone --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

'The most brilliant Sci-Fi mind on any planet' - Rolling Stone --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Berkley (May 5, 1955)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425062767
• ISBN-13: 978-0425062760
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,027,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dick's most accessible work, this is the Twilight Zone, October 1, 2005

By 

Eric San Juan (Brick, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Cosmic Puppets: A Novel (Paperback)

The Cosmic Puppets is a very interesting Philip K. Dick (most are), in some ways because it doesn't feel quite like most of his other work. This one felt more like an episode of The Twilight Zone than the heady science fiction he is known for. Children with strange powers, things not being as they seem (a frequent Dick theme), and a strange mystery that unfolds into something large beyond scope (again, a frequent theme), as god clashes against god.

The story opens with the main character, Ted Barton, visiting the town he grew up in. Only now ... it's different. Something is wrong. He finds that he NEVER EXISTED in this town's history. Things only get stranger from there.

The Cosmic Puppets leaves you with as many questions as it does answers, but was a very satisfying read. The situation Dick creates is engrossing and fascinating, and the pacing is lightning quick. Probably among the most accessible PKDick books I've read to date, perfect for a casual fan or someone new to this man's startling body of work, The Cosmic Puppets comes highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Masterpiece, September 20, 2005

By 

Jerry Engelbach (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cosmic Puppets (Paperback)

THE COSMIC PUPPETS originally appeared as half of an Ace Double Novel -- those 35¢ paperbacks that contained two complete stories back-to-back. The publisher considered it mere pulp.

But it continued the ironic comment-on-the-genre style that Dick was developing in his early work and that reached maturity by 1962 in what was up to that time Dick's favorite book (he told me so himself in a letter in 1966), THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE.

Dick's work has to be taken as a whole. Irony is the theme. If you're looking for witless kicks, avoid Dick and bore yourself with those god-awful space operas that presume to pass for serious sci-fi these days.

Dick is a genius with a highly original voice, one whose evolution can be traced back to Hammett, Hemingway, and Chandler, up through Van Vogt and Heinlein. THE COSMIC PUPPETS, while admittedly not his most fulfilling work, contains many of those fascinating elements that make up his unique signature.

Frankly, I found it hard to put down.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars First incarnation of the grand theme, January 16, 2000

By 

Andrew Laundy (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cosmic Puppets (Paperback)

Anybody who knows Philip K. Dick knows that most of his writing constitutes something of a quest to probe the nature of reality. 'The Cosmic Puppets' is where it all began.

Ted Barton is the seminal Dick protagonist, drifting cynically between earth-shattering events, estranged wives and dark-haired girls, with only slightly more than a casual regard for anything secondary to his central motivation - truth.

Unfortunately it took PKD twenty years (and quite a few short stories and minor novels) before he finally reached his epiphany with 'A Scanner Darkly'. 'The Cosmic Puppets' lacks the literary impact, depth of character and cohesion (Dick did have his own peculiar sense of cohesion)that would later convey Dick's real ambition. However, this book remains a useful starting point for anyone captivated by this brilliant man's unique imagination.