Recent Comments
Jim Nolan on Your Appointment Will Be … Jim Nolan on The World She Wanted ethicsplayground on Stand-By John on The Hanging Stranger tashqueedagg on The Unreconstructed M
Category Archives: Politics
Eye in the Sky (1957)
Introduction Eye in the Sky was originally published by Philip K. Dick in 1957. It tells the story of a small group of people accidently thrown into a proton beam deflector. This allows some of them to impose their reality … Continue reading
Posted in Afterlife, Bureaucracy, Childhood, Cold War, Family, Knowledge, Mental Illness, Philip K. Dick, Politics, Power, Religion, Science, Sexuality, Technology, Work
Tagged eye in the sky, philip k dick, power, religion, science, security state, suubjectivity, technology
1 Comment
Philip K. Dick’s Philosophy of History: Part One
Part One: The Promise of the Frontier Not much has been written about Philip K. Dick’s philosophy of history as revealed in his fiction. On the one hand, this is surprising because from the beginning of his career Dick was … Continue reading
Posted in Alien Life, Bureaucracy, Cold War, Empire, Philip K. Dick, Politics, Posthumanism, Space Exploration, Technology, war
Tagged frontier, history, philip k dick, stagnation
1 Comment
The Cosmic Puppets (1957)
Introduction The Cosmic Puppets was originally published by Philip K. Dick 1957. Its plot centers on the mystery of a middle-aged man–Ted Barton–realizing that the town of his childhood has completely changed. As he investigates, he learns that the town … Continue reading
Posted in Alien Invasion, Childhood, Family, Humanism, Knowledge, Philip K. Dick, Politics, Power, Religion, Time Travel, Urban Issues
Tagged marriage, memory, philip k dick, the cosmic puppets, urban development, urban planning, youth, zoroastrianism
9 Comments
The World Jones Made (1956)
The World Jones Made was published in 1956 and was part of his first batch of novels penned in the mid-1950s, including Vulcan’s Hammer (not published until 1960), Dr. Futurity, The Cosmic Puppets, and Solar Lottery. It is the first … Continue reading
Posted in Alien Invasion, Alien Life, Cold War, Humanism, Knowledge, Philip K. Dick, Politics, Posthumanism, Power, Supernatural Abilities, Transhumanism
Tagged adolf hitler, alien invasion, expansion, frontier, mutants, philip k dick, posthumanism, pre-cog, transhumanism, world jones made
4 Comments
Vulcan’s Hammer (1960)
Vulcan’s Hammer is one of Philip K. Dick’s least appreciated novels. Published between Time Out of Joint and The Man in the High Castle, readers have often pointed out that this novel is more like his earlier undeveloped tales than … Continue reading
Posted in Bureaucracy, Empire, Humanism, Mental Illness, Philip K. Dick, Politics, Posthumanism, Power, war
Tagged automation, computers, government, philip k dick, resistance, security state, surveillance, the man who japed, vulcan's hammer
5 Comments
“No Laughing Matter”: Media, Morality and Resistance in The Man Who Japed
Philip K. Dick’s early novel The Man Who Japed is quite prescient in describing how morality and the media intersect as a tool of power. As the novel opens, we are given some very recognizable Orwellian imagery. Government institutions are … Continue reading
Posted in Bureaucracy, Empire, Humanism, Philip K. Dick, Politics, Religion, Sexuality, Urban Issues
Tagged allen purcell, calvinism, man who japed, media, morality, morec, philip k dick, resistanace
2 Comments
The Man Who Japed
Introduction The Man Who Japed was published in 1956 and is Dick’s second science fiction novel, after Solar Lottery. It was originally published by Ace Books, in a volume with E. C. Tudd’s The Space Born. This was a common … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Bureaucracy, Consumerism, Empire, Mental Illness, Philip K. Dick, Politics, Power, Religion, Sexuality, Space Exploration, Suburbia
Tagged conformity, individualism, morality, philip k dick, social control, the man who japed
7 Comments
Rautavaara’s Case
Story Background “Rautavaara’s Case” was originally published in Omni in October 1980. It can now be found in The Eye of the Sibyl and Other Classic Stories by Philip K. Dick on pp. 375–383. Plot Summary Beings from Proxima report … Continue reading
The Exit Door Leads In
Story Background “The Exit Door Leads In” was originally published in Rolling Stone College Papers in Fall 1979. It can now be found in The Eye of the Sibyl and Other Classic Stories by Philip K. Dick on pp. 315–331. … Continue reading
Posted in Bureaucracy, Childhood, Humanism, Knowledge, Philip K. Dick, Politics, Power
Tagged conformity, education, philip k dick, resistance, science fiction, the exit door leads in
1 Comment
The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out of Its Tree
Story Background “The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out of Its Tree” was written in 1977, but not published in Dick’s lifetime. It appeared first in the Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick. It can now be found in The Eye … Continue reading
Philip K. Dick Review 