Philip K. Dick: VALIS and Later Novels: A Maze of Death / VALIS / The Divine Invasion / The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (Library of America No. 193) [Hardcover]

Philip K. Dick (Author), Jonathan Lethem (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2009

In 2007, Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s became the fastest selling title in The Library of America's history. The 2008 companion volume, Five Novels of the1960s & 70s, broke series records for advance sales. Now comes a third and final volume gathering the best novels of Dick's final years, when religious revelation, always important in his work, became a dominant and irresistible theme.

In A Maze of Death (1970), a darkly speculative mystery that foreshadows Dick's final novels, colonists on the planet Delmak-O try to determine the nature of the God-or "Mentufacturer"-who plots their destiny. The late masterpiece VALIS (1981) is a novelistic reworking of "the events of 2-3-74," when Dick's life was transformed by what he believed was a mystical revelation. It is a harrowing self-portrait of a man torn between conflicting interpretations of what might be gnostic illumination or psychotic breakdown. The Divine Invasion (1981), a sequel to VALIS, is a powerful exploration of gnostic insight and its human consequences. The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (1982), Dick's last novel, is by turns theological thriller, roman à clef, and disenchanted portrait of late 1970s California life, based loosely on the controversial career of Bishop James Pike-a close friend and kindred spirit.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 864 pages
• Publisher: Library of America (July 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598530445
• ISBN-13: 978-1598530445
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great sample of Dick's later novels built to last., August 30, 2009

By 

Dallas Fawson (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Philip K. Dick: VALIS and Later Novels: A Maze of Death / VALIS / The Divine Invasion / The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (Library of America No. 193) (Hardcover)

Let me start off by saying this is not for people new to Dick: if you want to get one of the LOA volumes to see if you like him, get one of the first two volumes, four novels of the sixties or five novels of the sixties and seventies. This one is more for people who are already a fan and want to become acquainted with his later, weirder writings. A Maze of Death and The Divine Invasion are closer to his traditional stuff, but VALIS and Transmigration are much different. They're just as good as his other stuff, but not very good as starting points. However, if you've read and enjoyed him, it's very interesting to see his religious views (or lack of) in VALIS, and to see he can write something other than Sci-Fi with Transmigration.
I highly recommend buying this collection: It would be cheaper than buying the individual novels and because of the marvelous binding it will surely last.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading, September 9, 2009

By 

D. Merrill - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philip K. Dick: VALIS and Later Novels: A Maze of Death / VALIS / The Divine Invasion / The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (Library of America No. 193) (Hardcover)

Philip K. Dick spent most of his life relegated to cult status, often with most of his novels out-of-print. I remember trying to find his work in the 70's and 80's. Back then it seemed far-fetched, paranoid and dystopian in nature, but awesome just the same. Today a lot of his work seems drawn from the headlines of current newspapers and each year his work is held in higher esteem. Yes, we've reached the point of critical overload, where, if you haven't read some of his work, you should. Dick is essential reading for the 21st century.

I'm not sure if I completely agree with the previous reviewer about the need to start with one of the previous volumes. With few exceptions, you can't go wrong with any of Dick's novels. And none of the exceptions are present in any of the Library of the Americas volumes. Perhaps the best idea is to pre-order the box set. If you've never read him before, you are in for a real treat. I envy you. Enjoy!

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly Dick's greatest works, August 12, 2010

By 

Jack Tripper (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philip K. Dick: VALIS and Later Novels: A Maze of Death / VALIS / The Divine Invasion / The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (Library of America No. 193) (Hardcover)

The three Library of America editions of Philip K. Dick's work contain all of his his best material, with only a few notable exclusions. Valis and Later Novels, however, just might contain his very best. Besides Maze of Death, published in 1970, the others are his three final novels before he died in 1982. Sometimes referred to as the Valis Trilogy, these three loosely connected novels represent a huge leap forward in terms of Dick's writing ability. They show him struggling with the events that shaped his life beginning in February of '74, in which he had a deeply spiritual "invasion of the mind," which Dick attributed at various times to God, aliens, the Soviets, and even a future version of himself.

Valis is Dick's attempt to explain what exactly happened to him in that time period. Structured within a semi-autobiographical framework, it is a mind-bending extrapolation of nearly everything going on in Dick's head at the time, and is considered by many, including me, to be his masterpiece. It even includes dozens of actual passages from the Exegesis, his reflections on the events of '2-3-74,' as Dick referred to it. Although people new to him may want to start with something else, every fan should read this and then proceed to be awe-struck.

The Divine Invasion takes these same ideas about God, or Valis, but structures them around a more traditional, futuristic framework. Of the four novels in this collection, this is probably my least favorite. It's still definitely worth a read, and works a lot better when read directly after Valis. There are definitely some great ideas here, unfortunately it doesn't always quite work.

The Transmigration of Timothy Archer can very well be considered one of Dick's 'straight' novels, the first he'd written since the late '50's, and unfortunately his last. This is one of Dick's most beautiful novels, based on his real-life relationship with the semi-famous Bishop Pike, and features many of the same themes that permeate Valis and The Divine Invasion, although they are much more toned down and based in reality here.

Maze of Death was published four years prior to his experiences in '74, and the only reason I can think of as to why it's included is that there's definitely a religious bent to it. It sort of serves as a springboard for his later works. Plus, it's one of Dick's greatest novels, and absolutely had to be included somewhere in these LOA releases. Maze features many of the same concepts as his previous novel, Ubik, in that there are a group of people trapped in a world that may not be what it appears at first to be. Suffice to say, if you like Ubik, you should definitely like this as well. It is perhaps my favorite pre-'74 work of his.

The book itself is absolutely beautiful, with great annotations and a chronology of Dick's life at the end. The typeface is smaller than the Vintage trade paperbacks, but in my opinion not much smaller than your average mass-market paperback. As an example of the print size, the stories here are about 20 pages shorter than their Vintage counterparts.

All in all, this is definitely a collection all Philip K. Dick fans should purchase. Though a newer fan may want to start with one of the previous two releases from LOA, anybody familiar with his style should have no trouble comprehending anything here. And once you turn the final page, you just may see the world a little differently than you did before.