Sunday, November 23, 2008

Philip K. Dick: A Day In The Afterlife





Yet despite these shortcomings, Dick embodies everything that I like about sci-fi, for while his characters and their interactions may be lacking, the worlds in which they dwell and the societies that run them are superbly realized. The conflicts which arise in these worlds are fantastic, oftentimes absurd, and yet they mesh flawlessly with the reality that he created. It was these aspects that defined the genre for Dick and, in turn, it was these aspects that he poured most of his efforts.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember a funny oddity about Philip K. Dick from the Hour25 (kpfk) radio show back in the early 90's:

Phil Dick's had an old beat-up antique briefcase that always had broken latches: therefore a brown extention cord was wraped several times around the enitre briefcase to keep it closed!!

Anonymous said...

"...while his characters and their interactions may be lacking..."

That's news to me!

Mac said...

News to me as well. Even though I appreciated the tone of the piece (hence linking to it), I would argue that Dick's people made more sense than his futures.

Want proof? Read his mainstream novel "Mary and the Giant." Wow.

Anonymous said...

I read VALIS for the first time last year, I don't know why it took so long to get to it. My brain hurt for a week after reading it though and I'm not sure I've ever recovered fully. It's hard to imagine what Dick's internal dialogue must have been like, perhaps he attempted to use the drugs to quiet it.

Michael

Mac said...

"VALIS" is a winner. I recommend its unofficial companion, "Radio Free Albemuth."