Secret Ascension: Or Philip K. Dick Is Dead, Alas [Paperback]

Michael Bishop (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Tor Books (June 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812531574
• ISBN-13: 978-0812531572
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,091,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Michael Bishop Doing PKD, April 24, 2002

By 

miles@riverside (Indio, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Ascension: Or Philip K. Dick Is Dead, Alas (Paperback)

Here the author set out to write his own Philip K. Dick novel. The characters resemble Philip Dick characters (my favorite is the guy with the obsession for Frank Miller DAREDEVIL comics): the protagonists are alienated misfits, the antagonists are mostly government authorities and wealthy people. The setting involves an oppressive regime in a slightly alternate world that nonetheless strongly resembles the contemporary United States. Paranoia genuinely bubbles out of the plot, and of course weird, metaphysical stuff happens toward the end of the story.

Philip Dick and his novels are subjects of discussion among the characters. PKD himself appears in the story ("Horsy Stout"), as he does in his own novels RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH and VALIS; although here he's more in the background.

Most of the novel retains the eerie, bleak, surreal edge that you can find in many PKD novels. I didn't like the ending quite as much as the first 90% of the story; but I can say that many of the PKD novels tend to disintegrate toward the end as well (e.g., DO ANDROIDS DREAM and PALMER ELDRITCH). But the ending to this one is harder to take seriously. And the whole thing's a bit too long (340 pages), considering that most of the PKD novels run to about 200 pages and never exceed 300 (not his science fiction).

On the whole, it's an entertaining psuedo-Dick novel. I haven't read anything else by Michael Bishop, but he certainly has done competent work with this story, I think.

3.0 out of 5 stars For PKD Fans in Search of Closure, May 25, 2000

By 

D. Sloan (PORTLAND, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secret Ascension: Or Philip K. Dick Is Dead, Alas (Paperback)

First, a confession: I became a "Dickhead" last year, and ended up reading every single title ever published by Philip K. Dick. Once I finished the last book (including the Selected Letters), I was looking for some form of closure so I could get on with my life and read other authors. I found that closure in "The Secret Ascension."

Obviously written by a fan of PKD's work and personality, Bishop writes a book that is funny and imaginative, while mimicking, in a form of tribute, the style of PKD.

While the actual delivery of the story lacks the power of PKD's writing, there are many funny moments and tidbits of PKD for fans to enjoy. Bishop employs the multiple narrative technique and the breakdown of commonplace reality that fans of PKD expected with each novel.

The ending is quite satisfying, with a respectful nod to PKD's contribution to our "koinos cosmos." A must-read for any true PKD fan.