Philip K. Dick official site [and PKD related discussion / questions]
12-03-03, 01:00 PM
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Philip K. Dick official site now online
http://www.philipkdick.com
A fascinating site. I found his notes and letters very touching.
I am just beginning to get familiar with his large canon of work. Can you recommend a good book to begin with?
A fascinating site. I found his notes and letters very touching.
I am just beginning to get familiar with his large canon of work. Can you recommend a good book to begin with?
12-03-03, 01:57 PM
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It's deja vu all over again!
[
] .... a great site and one which I always intend to revisit more often!
Your question is a difficult one because PKD wrote (perhaps) four or five different kinds of fiction, to my way of thinking, although his obsessions/themes permeated nearly all of his work....
First there is the out-and-out non-SF material. Confessions of a Crap Artist was published (by an enthusuiast) during his lifetime although all the rest was posthumous. I believe it had been rejected and sat in a drawer for 30 years before someone took the "risk"! I'd take a look at that one and try out the rest of that block if you like it. From later on The Transmigration of Timothy Archer is also less sf-nal than his other material....
Some of his stuff, particularly in the early days is perhaps fairly described as "intelligent pulp". I think much of it is great. It has been a long time since I read it so I don't really know what to recommend.... to dip your toes in further, there are the collected short stories. These have all been gathered together in to five volumes.
Despite the crackpot reputation, there is a cerebral aspect to much of his work. Shifting realities came to the fore as time went on: a paranoia perhaps caused by ingesting too many amphetamines when PKD was writing against the clock! You could try the deservedly award-winning The Man in the High Castle.
Continuing with the near-omnipresent themes of identity (What is real? What is human?) consider Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Martian Timeslip or say, <A HREF="http://www.sfsite.com/01b/nw96.htm" target=blank">Now Wait for Last Year.
And, then, of course, there are the Valis books. Most "normal" is Radio Free Albemuth, an interesting read. Right after this you can read the alternative version, VALIS itself and/or another take on things The Divine Invasion!
Not to mention the best PKD books Dick never wrote namely:
] .... a great site and one which I always intend to revisit more often!Your question is a difficult one because PKD wrote (perhaps) four or five different kinds of fiction, to my way of thinking, although his obsessions/themes permeated nearly all of his work....
First there is the out-and-out non-SF material. Confessions of a Crap Artist was published (by an enthusuiast) during his lifetime although all the rest was posthumous. I believe it had been rejected and sat in a drawer for 30 years before someone took the "risk"! I'd take a look at that one and try out the rest of that block if you like it. From later on The Transmigration of Timothy Archer is also less sf-nal than his other material....
Some of his stuff, particularly in the early days is perhaps fairly described as "intelligent pulp". I think much of it is great. It has been a long time since I read it so I don't really know what to recommend.... to dip your toes in further, there are the collected short stories. These have all been gathered together in to five volumes.
Despite the crackpot reputation, there is a cerebral aspect to much of his work. Shifting realities came to the fore as time went on: a paranoia perhaps caused by ingesting too many amphetamines when PKD was writing against the clock! You could try the deservedly award-winning The Man in the High Castle.
Continuing with the near-omnipresent themes of identity (What is real? What is human?) consider Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Martian Timeslip or say, <A HREF="http://www.sfsite.com/01b/nw96.htm" target=blank">Now Wait for Last Year.
And, then, of course, there are the Valis books. Most "normal" is Radio Free Albemuth, an interesting read. Right after this you can read the alternative version, VALIS itself and/or another take on things The Divine Invasion!
Not to mention the best PKD books Dick never wrote namely:- Philip K Dick is Dead Alas - Micheal Bishop
- The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon
- Double Helix Fall - Neil Ferguson
- The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula Le Guin
- The Space Merchants - Fred Pohl & C M Kornbluth
12-03-03, 08:30 PM
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I am quite used to 'far out/challenging' fiction--I'm probably going to dive in the deep end and read VALIS first. I'm sure I'll want more when I finish with that...
05-03-04, 01:25 PM
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DVD Josh: as well as the official site that is mentioned in this thread [into which I've merged your question] there is further discussion / information here at DVDTalk in an earlier thread: Philip K. Dick.
In days past you might have had some joy in the newsgroup(s) that included his name but I doubt that they are now much used. Instead, you might do worse than checking here: http://www.philipkdickfans.com/main.htm and trying the forums there and the page full of article links.
In days past you might have had some joy in the newsgroup(s) that included his name but I doubt that they are now much used. Instead, you might do worse than checking here: http://www.philipkdickfans.com/main.htm and trying the forums there and the page full of article links.
09-07-04, 01:42 PM
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I'm re-reading Flow My Tears the Policeman Said for the first time since I was a teenager (in the 70s). This book is GREAT!
Most of my experience with Dick is that his ideas are great, but you have to work to get past the writing. This book keeps sucking me in when I want to set it down and do something else. A search online turned up the tidbit that FMTTPS was the first time a book went through multiple drafts. Usually, Dick gave the first draft a once-over and published that. It shows.
I enjoyed The Zap Gun and The Three Stigmata of Eldritch Palmer when I read them years ago, but could never bring myself to read them again. What other Dick books are good reads?
Most of my experience with Dick is that his ideas are great, but you have to work to get past the writing. This book keeps sucking me in when I want to set it down and do something else. A search online turned up the tidbit that FMTTPS was the first time a book went through multiple drafts. Usually, Dick gave the first draft a once-over and published that. It shows.
I enjoyed The Zap Gun and The Three Stigmata of Eldritch Palmer when I read them years ago, but could never bring myself to read them again. What other Dick books are good reads?
09-08-04, 08:27 AM
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For my part, I just started the Collected Short Stories, Vol. 1. I've read about the first five stories and they're purty good. Beyond Lies the Wub made me laugh.
The first two novels of his that I've been tentavely planning to read are The Man in the High Castle, and of course, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
The first two novels of his that I've been tentavely planning to read are The Man in the High Castle, and of course, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
