Comments on: Philip K. Dick: Time Out of Joint http://dfan.org/blog/2009/09/12/philip-k-dick-time-out-of-joint/ Sun, 13 May 2012 04:23:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Darius K. http://dfan.org/blog/2009/09/12/philip-k-dick-time-out-of-joint/comment-page-1/#comment-5525 Darius K. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:49:02 +0000 http://dfan.org/blog/?p=1217#comment-5525 I agree with Iain: his flawed or less famous works are a lot of fun. I can barely remember Galactic Pot Healer, except that it was a fun read. And there's something about PKD's writing style that makes me able to breeze through his books in a single sitting. Another *fantastic* PKD book is Ubik. I agree with Iain: his flawed or less famous works are a lot of fun. I can barely remember Galactic Pot Healer, except that it was a fun read. And there’s something about PKD’s writing style that makes me able to breeze through his books in a single sitting.

Another *fantastic* PKD book is Ubik.

]]> By: Iain http://dfan.org/blog/2009/09/12/philip-k-dick-time-out-of-joint/comment-page-1/#comment-5475 Iain Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:33:13 +0000 http://dfan.org/blog/?p=1217#comment-5475 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is where I started too, and it's great. You probably won't go far wrong if you read his most famous novels -- Man in the High Castle, Palmer Eldritch, Flow My Tears. His short stories are great too; the five-volume collected stories gives you a great feeling for the arc of his career. But looking at my bookshelf, man, I love almost all the novels, and I think I may like the flawed ones like Time Out of Joint even better. (That wasn't one of my suggestions, was it?) The particular charm of that one for me is the skewed depiction of the 50s lifestyle; it's directly capturing the zeitgeist, whereas he usually does it indirectly (or accidentally). My personal favourite is probably The Zap Gun. What I most love about Dick are the insane moments of left-field genius where the gears of the plot grind like crazy and the whole thing goes off in a bizarre new direction, and he pulls it off a bunch of times in that one short novel. Clans of the Alphane Moon and The Game-Players of Titan are great fun too for the same reason. And Valis, come to think of it. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is where I started too, and it’s great. You probably won’t go far wrong if you read his most famous novels — Man in the High Castle, Palmer Eldritch, Flow My Tears. His short stories are great too; the five-volume collected stories gives you a great feeling for the arc of his career.

But looking at my bookshelf, man, I love almost all the novels, and I think I may like the flawed ones like Time Out of Joint even better. (That wasn’t one of my suggestions, was it?) The particular charm of that one for me is the skewed depiction of the 50s lifestyle; it’s directly capturing the zeitgeist, whereas he usually does it indirectly (or accidentally).

My personal favourite is probably The Zap Gun. What I most love about Dick are the insane moments of left-field genius where the gears of the plot grind like crazy and the whole thing goes off in a bizarre new direction, and he pulls it off a bunch of times in that one short novel. Clans of the Alphane Moon and The Game-Players of Titan are great fun too for the same reason. And Valis, come to think of it.

]]> By: Maclaine http://dfan.org/blog/2009/09/12/philip-k-dick-time-out-of-joint/comment-page-1/#comment-5391 Maclaine Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:38:16 +0000 http://dfan.org/blog/?p=1217#comment-5391 Yes, read Valis, but don't read it first. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is as good a place to start as any (it's where I started). The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is also great. Then tackle Valis. Yes, read Valis, but don’t read it first. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is as good a place to start as any (it’s where I started). The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is also great. Then tackle Valis.

]]> By: Tom DePlonty http://dfan.org/blog/2009/09/12/philip-k-dick-time-out-of-joint/comment-page-1/#comment-5326 Tom DePlonty Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:17:34 +0000 http://dfan.org/blog/?p=1217#comment-5326 Goodness. Read the Valis trilogy. Philip Dick is much, much more than a speculative fiction author. Goodness. Read the Valis trilogy.

Philip Dick is much, much more than a speculative fiction author.

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