The Twisted Worlds of Philip K. Dick - A Reading of Twenty Ontologically Uncertain Novels (2011)

Philip K. Dick was one of the most popular science fiction novelists of the 20th century, but the contradictory and wily writer has troubled critics who attempt encompassing explanations of his work. This book examines Dick's writing through the lens of ontological uncertainty, providing a comparative map of his oeuvre, tracing both the interior connections between books and his allusive intertextuality. Topics covered include time travel, alternate worlds, androids and simulacra, finite subjective realities and schizophrenia. Twenty novels are explored in detail, including titles that have received scant critical attention. Some of his most important short stories and two of his realist novels are also examined, providing a general introduction to Dick's body of work. The game of the rat (and its players): the cosmic puppets and the game-players of Titan "The enemy that's everywhere around us": alternate worlds in Eye in the sky and Time out of joint Obscure admixtures: The man in the high castle considered as a (cold) war novel A maze of lives: Martian time-slip, Dr. Bloodmoney, and Cclans of the Alphane Moon Time travels and historical manipulation: The simulacra, Now wait for last year and The penultimate truth The android cogito: We can build you and Do androids dream of electric sheep? Psychedelic demiurges: The three stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Ubik, A maze of death and Flow my tears, the policeman said Amateur questers: VALIS and its quandaries The god from outer space: reconsidering the divine invasion A counterfactual counterculture: the transmigration of Timothy Archer. Cover......Page 1 Acknowledgments......Page 7 Table of Contents......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 1. The Game of the Rat (and Its Players)......Page 34 2. “The Enemy That’s Everywhere Around Us”......Page 66 3. Obscure Admixtures......Page 87 4. A Maze of Lives......Page 105 5. Time Travels and Historical Manipulation......Page 127 6. The Android Cogito......Page 152 7. Psychedelic Demiurges......Page 182 8. Amateur Questers......Page 218 9. The God from Outer Space......Page 243 10. A Counterfactual Counterculture......Page 261 Notes......Page 282 Bibliography......Page 304 Index......Page 312 "This book examines Philip K. Dick's writing through the lens of ontological uncertainty, providing a comparative map of his oeuvre, tracing both the interior connections between books and his allusive intertextuality. Some of his most important short stories and two of his realist novels are also examined, providing a general introduction to Dick's body of work"--Provided by publisher.