Customer Reviews

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)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

I did not know about this author until recently. Dick combines an often cynical atmosphere in his stories with a little hope for a better world creeping in. He has a hope that some savior will save us from this corrupt world. His characters are often unhappy, but he adds a touch of sardonic humor to their situations. His settings are often in neurotic and narcissistic California.

I give 4 stars to A Maze of Death which has the theme of what is a dream and what is reality? Even though the characters live in a futuristic, high tech world, they still are not happy and they still have dangers and tragedies to deal with. These characters of the future have not improved their characters along with their technology.

I give Valis 5 stars because of its great, unforgettable character, Horselover Fat, which is Dick's mentally ill alter ego. I still find it amusing that Dick says that the one thing Horselover Fat should not do is help people because they will drag him down into their hole. Another funny statement was that he had befriended two bitches enamored with illness and death who are determined to drag other people who care about them into the grave with them. But towards the end of the story the clouds break up and glimmer of hope appears. But is this true hope or just madness?

I give The Divine Invasion three stars because it was only good in a few places and the plot jumps from two different scenes that eventually merge, which I found confusing at first. It is the failed sequel to Valis, in my opinion. I thought the humor fell flat, the theme was trite and hokey, and the cynicism too cold.

I give The Transmigration of Timothy Archer five stars because of its penetrating look into dynamics of relationships and its examination of the sick side of California life, although I got a little tired of the neurosis and narcissism of the characters, wishing to find someone who was normal and happy. It is Dick's biography of his friend who is an ultra-liberal Episcopalian priest. The priest dies, the priest's son commits suicide, the priest's lover dies, his lover's son is schizophrenic, and the priest's faith is dying. Dick puts himself in the place of the priest's daughter-in-law to tell the story. The sad parts were moving; Dick puts his emotions on the surface in this novel.

The book gives a short biography of Dick, which shows that he was addicted to amphetamines and was somewhat mentally ill. He lived until he was fifty four and burned through three marital relationships. His novels have been turned into movies such as Total Recall and Blade Runner.

These last efforts by P. Dick are worthy of his best and vary in depth and setting, plot and characters which show his mastery as a novelist and writer, not just in science fiction.