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Title: What If Our World Is Their Heaven? The Final Conversations of Philip K. Dick by Philip K. Dick, Gwen Lee, Doris Elaine Sauter, Tim Powers ISBN: 1-58567-009-X Publisher: Overlook Press Pub. Date: 02 October, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Meetings with a remarkable man
Comment: 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".
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating- It's like being in a room with Philip K. Dick!
Comment: 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.
Rating: 4
Summary: Philip K. Dick is dead, alas
Comment: ...And,if you read this book you'll realize just what a crying shame it truly is...The world was cheated out of "The Owl in daylight",a book that just might have ended up being his greatest. This book,(What if our world is their Heaven?)is simply a transcription of some tape interviews PKD made shortly before his untimely death in 1982.Of course this could be seen by the cynical as an attempt by those in the late PKD's circle of friends to somehow cash in on the mystique that surrounds this enigmatic science fiction legend,Its a quick read...not terribly lengthy...but the true genius of this book is the glimpse a hardcore PKD fan can get of two things...One,"The Owl in Daylight",still in the conceptual phase at the time of his death(Oh,why oh,why'd ya have die Phil?) Two,just how quickly this man's mind worked,especially as to regards the way he wrote a novel(ABSOLUTELY mind boggling).I will say that If you haven't read the Sutin Bio,parts of PKD's exegesis and I'd say,at least 10 or so of his key works you may not get a whole lot of enjoyment out of this book,But a real delight for the hardcore fan as well as a heartbreaking reminder of all the great books we could of had in the last 20 years if Phil was still around.
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Title: The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick : Selected Literary and Philosophical Writings by Philip K. Dick, Lawrence Sutin ISBN: 0679747877 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 30 January, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title:The Gospel According to Philip K. Dick ASIN: B000059TOP Publisher: First Run Features Pub. Date: 16 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $17.96 |
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Title: Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick by Lawrence Sutin ISBN: 0806512288 Publisher: Citadel Trade Pub. Date: June, 1991 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Deus Irae : A Novel by PHILIP K. DICK ISBN: 1400030072 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 11 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Simulacra by Philip K. Dick ISBN: 0375719261 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 14 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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