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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A mature, humane book, July 11, 2000
Philip Dick, like most science fiction writers, wrote enough action-oriented novels and stories to satisfy die hard genre fans, but anyone who has read Dick's work carefully knows that he came to be less concerned with action-adventure and more with very human issues. In Martian Time Slip, teaching androids are used in schools, one character is suspected of being able to see into the future, and, of course, the backdrop is Mars. Dick, though, uses this science fiction setting to explore aspects of the human condition, such as isolation, suffering, greed, hopelessness and cruelty, through the eyes of a number of characters who are all rendered with compassion despite their obvious shortcomings. The basic plot revolves around the efforts of Arnie Kott, a bullish big fish in a small pond, to determine if an autistic child named Manfred Steiner can see the future. It is then Kott's intention to use that knowledge to further his own self interests. Drawn into this story are several others that Kott needs to carry out his plan, and it is through their perspectives, their personal struggles that may not even peripherally relate to Kott's scheme, that the novel derives its impact. One section of the book, in fact, recounts a single evening from four different points of view. It's an amazing display of technique that seems a natural development in the telling of the story and manages to challenge the reader's own opinions about the characters involved. The novel's background detail is convincing as well, from the way Mars' relatively few surviving aboriginal inhabitants are portrayed as a race doomed long before humanity arrived, now lingering until probable eventual extinction, to the desolate nature of Mars itself and the attitudes and practices that have been transplanted from Earth. Much like the excellent Dr. Bloodmoney, which would appear the following year (1965), Martian Time-Slip is an ensemble story in a landscape that offers little hope aside from the comfort and love of other living beings which, I would like to believe, is what Dick is saying is the only hope of any consequence.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
intriguing, March 19, 2001
Martian Time-Slip takes place on a Mars which has been rather poorly colonized by a desperate race of humans. Water is scarce on mars, and what few settlements exist are very close to one of the few canals. Plumbers, waterworkers, and repairmen are very valuable and in demand, since getting replacement equipment from Earth is very expensive. Jack Bohlen is a repairman, and a "recovered" schizophrenic. Jack is contacted by Arnie Kott, a businessman who is involved in land speculation. He seems to believe that a schizophrenic boy can somehow see into the future (slip in and out of TIME) on Mars, and Jack can help Arnie communicate with the boy, by building a machine that will translate the boy's gibberish speech into something Arnie can understand. Arnie would like to make a killing in land speculation, with Jack's help. Add to this: there is an aboriginal race of humans on Mars called the Bleekmen, who resemble Africans of very materially primitive societies. They wander the vast deserts of Mars, impoverished and disenfranchised, but hold the mystical keys to this time travel. It's a strange and beautiful novel. Action Sci-Fi fans beware. This novel takes a long time to get going. The first 80 or 100 pages are taken up with that stuffy writing goal called "character development," and you won't get many shoot-em-up scenes with spaceships etc. This novel is pretty typical of Philip K. Dick in that it's more cerebral than it is visceral. I found the first half of the novel fascinating but slow going, myself. After I was halfway through, I spent all of my spare time reading it until I was done. If you like Philip K. Dick, you ought to read Martian Time-Slip.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another modest Phil Dick mind grenade, February 18, 1999
By A Customer
Dick is the only author whose works literally force me to put the book down from time to time, for fear that reading one more sentence will send me to the insane asylum forever. Not Stephen King, Clive Barker, or even H.P. Lovecraft can approach the depth of cosmic horror which Dick so modestly invites us to stare into. And yet, there is no pretension here; Dick sympathizes with his innocent protagonists, giving us a straightforward account of their daily struggles to lead normal lives. This is one of the most heartbreakingly hilarious SF novels ever written, with plenty of mind grenades that will detonate in your head long after you've finished the book.
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