What If Our World Is Their Heaven? The Final Conversations of Philip K. Dick [Hardcover]

Philip K. Dick (Author), Gwen Lee (Author), Doris Elaine Sauter (Author), Tim Powers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2001

In the field of science fiction, the work of Philip K Dick is unparalleled. His novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? became the classic science-fiction film Blade Runner. His short story, "The Minority Report," was recently adapted for the screen by Stephen Spielberg and stars Tom Cruise. Dick’s appeal and influence has reached the world over, creating the standard for the literary science fiction novel.

In November of 1982, six months before the author's death, journalist Gwen Lee recorded the first of several in-depth discussions with Philip K. Dick that continued over the course over the next three months. These extraordinary interviews are filled with the wit and aplomb characteristic of Dick's writing, helping make What If Our World Is Their Heaven? not only an engaging read, but a unique and compelling historical document. It will be a must read for anyone interested in the field of science fiction.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With his Hugo Award-winning The Man in the High Castle (1962), Philip K. Dick commenced his reign over literary sci-fi, presiding with innovative, philosophical narratives. At 53, the cult figure was verging on Hollywood celebrity with Blade Runner, adapted from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968), but he died in 1982, before the film's release. Sauter, whose introduction describes their friendship, introduced him to Lee, who recorded Dick weeks before his death. After 18 years, these transcripts bring fresh insights notably, into the imaginative biotech plot line of the unwritten The Owl in Daylight. (Lawrence Sutin culled the novel's prospectus from Lee's tapes for his Dick biography, Divine Invasions.) Dick also discusses music, writing, philosophers and his 1974-1975 mystical visions, when the revelation of his son's undiagnosed birth defect "down to anatomical details" saved the child's life. He lived to see 20 minutes of Blade Runner scenes, and responds enthusiastically and extensively to features like the "400-story police building that dominates the landscape" and the punk rock extras ("these are not actors. Nobody looks that sinister. Except the people who are that sinister"). Several misspelled names are a minor annoyance amid the exuberant thought processes ricocheting around this book, deemed in a foreword by SF novelist Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates) a "vivid portrait" of a writer who chose creative intensity over healthy blood pressure, and ultimately "killed himself" through overwork for his art. (Mar. 19) Forecast: Fans will rejoice. Dick's ever-growing reputation will get a big boost from the forthcoming film version of his 1956 story "Minority Report," starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg (filming begins in March).
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Author of numerous novels, short stories, and other works, including Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968), basis of the movie Blade Runner, and "I Can Remember It for You Wholesale," basis of Total Recall, Dick is known worldwide as a science fiction master. Shortly before his death, on March 2, 1982, journalist Lee, a longtime friend of Dick's, recorded several interviews with him. Among the topics discussed were details of Dick's writing process, his thoughts on Blade Runner (which he never got to see as a finished film), and preliminary plot and background information about the novel he was writing, The Owl in Daylight. Dick's fans will enjoy seeing how he formulated his ideas and reading about his never-finished novel. At times a bit repetitious, as extemporaneous interviews are wont to be, Lee's conversations with Dick provide a unique glimpse of one of sf's pantheon writers. Bryan Baldus
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover; 1 edition (January 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158567009X
• ISBN-13: 978-1585670093
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,121,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Meetings with a remarkable man, April 24, 2003

By 

Royce E. Buehler "figvine" (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What If Our World Is Their Heaven? The Final Conversations Of Philip K. Dick (Paperback)

Two things were always true with Philip K. Dick: first, that whenever you looked in the direction in which he waves his wand, nothing was as it seems. And second, that whenever you looked at the magician himself, what you saw was what you got.

In this collection of transcripts of taped interviews, made with Dick during what turned out to be his last weeks on earth, we are treated to the unedited, off-the-cuff ramblings of the master. Are they worth it? They are, on at least four counts.

The first pleasure is just hearing his voice again. The second is learning various little bits that we didn't know before: about his reactions to seeing the first rushes of _Blade Runner_, which was just going into editing (he was pleased and enthusiastic, and not at all put out that the whole Mercerism theme was excised.) And about the book he was planning to begin next, The Owl in Daylight. The third pleasure is watching his creative process unfold as he massages the material for _The Owl_, plotting it and composing it right before our eyes. And the fourth is the confirmation that he is as quirky, as compassionate, as obsessed, as unpredictable, as brilliant, when speaking ad libitum as he was in his written work. What we saw in his novels turns out to be what his friends always got.

Other major themes include his 1974 "pink light" experience, and his relationship with the characters in his last novel, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer.

For the completist fan, this short book is a delightful find, and one worth snapping up quick since there's no telling how long it'll be in print. But for those with only a few PKD novels under their belts, and a curiosity about what made him tick, there's a far more indispensable volume to check out first, namely the extracts from his diaries which were published in 1991 as "In Pursuit of Valis: Selections from the Exegesis".

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating- It's like being in a room with Philip K. Dick!, July 27, 2002

By 

AMC "scifiali" (Atlanta, Ga) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What If Our World Is Their Heaven? The Final Conversations of Philip K. Dick (Hardcover)

Reading this book is like sitting down to a one-on-one conversation with Philip K. Dick. His unique and surprisingly upbeat personality shines though more here than in any biography. Despite personal trials and delusions Philip K. Dick retained a sense of humor and it's fascinating to hear that come through in his own words. I appreciate the fragmented sentences and "and um's" left intact because they truly convey the atmosphere of being in a room listing to Philip K. Dick. One of the most interesting things about reading this book is seeing Philip K. Dick's momentum and thought progression as he plots out a story idea (tragically one that he never had time to finish.) His interpretation of the well-known interferences in his life from either extraterrestrial or divine sources is fascinating but somewhat brief, it seems not to overshadow his existence, but merely become another accepted aspect of it. This book brings this sci-fi legend into human terms. For those interested in Philip K. Dick's personality this book is probably the most authentic and enlightening available.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Astoundingly little content for the price, February 14, 2007

By 

Tevis Fen-Kortiay (Bloom county) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What If Our World Is Their Heaven? The Final Conversations Of Philip K. Dick (Paperback)

PKD is fascinating as always, but at $17 I expect a lot more than 20 pages worth of content clumsily spread across 200 pages via narrow paper, wide margins, huge type, blank pages and double-spacing. This is a magazine article pretending to be a book! For your best bang-for-buck PKD insights, save your pennies for Sutin's excellent Divine Invasions.