The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick

The Gollancz SF Masterworks series contains no less than fourteen books by Philip K. Dick. A often heard criticisms of the series is that they can't possibly all represent the best of what the genre (or Dick himself) has to offer. I think there may be some truth to that and unless I develop a real taste for Dick's work, I don't think I'll read them all. The Man in the High Castle is generally accepted as one of his better novels however, he got the 1963 Hugo for it for one thing, and the idea behind it appealed to me. This novel is the last in the original Masterworks series. It says number 72 on the cover but it should be 73. Gollancz relaunched the series with a new design, reprints of some of the titles and a number of new additions after this book.

The Man in the High Castle is set in an alternate 1962 where Japan and Nazi Germany have won the second world war and divided the world between them. The list of atrocities the Nazis committed is even longer than the one in our world and includes among other things, the depopulation of Africa and the creation of Lebensraum by exterminating most of the Slavic peoples. The US is split in three nations, the west is a Japanese controlled puppet-state, the East coast is run by Germany and the mountain states are something of a buffer. An out of the way place neither of the the superpowers is much interested in. After Hitler's health and last shreds of sanity gave out, Bormann ran Germany as the new Führer. News of his death unleashes a power struggle in that could disturb the uneasy peace between Japan and Germany.

Dick follows a number of characters all located in the American west, giving us an idea of what a totalitarian and marginalized US society might look like. We see the story though the eyes of a number of ordinary people and small players in the machines of government of both Japan and Germany. One of the things I found fascinating about the novel is how he American characters adapted to the Japanese culture being dominant. Although none of them seem entirely comfortable with it, the ones that come into regular contact with the Japanese are constantly aware of the cultural difference. Antiques dealer Robert Childan is a particularly good example of this. He has acquired a certain insight into the Japanese way of thinking but it is clearly incomplete, leading him to constantly doubt his own judgement.

Another clear example of the influence the eastern way of thinking has gained in the US is the wide spread use of the ancient Chinese Book of Changes, the I Ching. Several of the characters us it to divine the future and help them make decisions. Dick himself also used its predictions to plot his novel, leading to a number of irrational, or perhaps I should say surreal changes of direction in the story as the characters try to wrap their mind around the cryptic text of the oracle. At one point in the novel, the I Ching even suggests that Germany and Japan have lost the war. One of many points in the novel that makes the reader and characters question the reality of what they are experiencing. Reality and (false) perception were also quite important in the only other book by Dick I've read: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

The I Ching is not the only book that deeply influences the major characters. Dick employs the story within a story and has the characters read a novel in which the author describes a world where Germany and Japan have lost the war. It is of course quickly banned in German held areas of the world and this makes the book even more interesting. The history in this book, titled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, deviates from the one we know as well, creating a second alternative history in the book. In effect, the author is having the characters ask the reverse 'what if' question. When reading this, it pays to have a general knowledge of the period.

One of the things that struck me about the novel, and in my opinion contributes in large measure to the realistic feel of this alternative history, is the ease with which the characters push away the knowledge of the atrocities being committed in various parts of the world. It's something of a mild discomfort for some of them, sometimes they even wonder if the world would actually have been better if the Axis powers had lost the war (surely the communists would have taken over!). Other characters, part of the groups specifically targeted by the Nazis, also seem to have gotten used to the dark cloud hanging over them. It's frighting what people will ignore as long as they are able to get on with their own everyday lives.

With its many twists and turns,The Man in the High Castle is not a particular easy read. It's quite a strange story really, with an unexpected, open ending. Maybe it suffers a bit from the fact that lots and lots of alternative world war II histories have been published after it. I enjoyed reading it but I don't think I see the masterwork many other readers seem to feel it is. Then again, it is a deceptively deep novel, perhaps one reading is not enough to do it justice. I may have to give it another go in a year or so.

Book Details
Title: The Man in the High Castle
Author: Philip K. Dick
Publisher: Gollancz
Pages: 249
Year: 2009
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-575-08205-2
First published: 1962

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick

Time for another read in my project to get better acquainted with the science fiction classics. This book is part of Gollancz' SF Mastworks series, a collection in which Dick seems to be a bit overrepresented with fourteen out of a total of seventy-three titles. The 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is generally considered one of Dick's best books and the title intrigued me, so when I came across this copy on my last visit to the book store I couldn't resist. It's the first book by Philip K. Dick I have read so I didn't quite know what to expect. It is not a happy read but it does contain a number of thought-provoking ideas. I can see why this book is mentioned as being on of the highlights of 1960s science fiction.

In 1992 the world has been thoroughly destroyed by nuclear warfare. Life on Earth has become scarce, many species are now extinct. In response to this crises a large part of the remaining population has opted for life in one of the colonies elsewhere in the solar system. Not everybody has left of course. Those deemed to be too damaged by radiation are excluded from emigration and there are a number of less affected people who have elected to stay. To entice people to emigrate to the new colonies androids are made available to them for free. The androids used to be quite primitive but recently have progressed to the point where they are very hard to distinguish from normal people. Androids have no rights whatsoever, they are property. Once in a while one rebels, kills it's owner, runs away and makes it back to earth. It is the job of men such as Rick Deckard to protect the general public and 'retire' these renegades.

The book makes the reader ask themselves what quality, if any, is unique to a human being. The sophisticated androids Deckard is hunting are very hard to recognize. He is very good at picking up the subtle signs but he still needs the aid of a test based on empathy and involuntary reactions of the human body to be certain. Ironically, given the nature of the questions there is a good chance you and I would fail it. His experiences with the latest model of android are making Deckard question the morality or retiring these beings. In a world were life hangs on by a thread, where owning a real live animal is a status symbol, killing is the ultimate crime.

The novel captures the psychological pressure on Deckard very well. With his ability to detect androids pushed to the limit and the accuracy of his test in question, he gets slightly paranoid halfway through the book. Dick cleverly puts Deckard and the reader off balance on at least two occasions by making us guess if a character is an android or not. To contrast the near-humanity of androids Dick introduces the minor story line of John R. Isidore, a man who is so severely affected by radiation that he does not pass the IQ test required to be allowed to emigrate. He is special, or, in less flattering terms, a chickenhead. Barely regarded as a human, he is very much abused by the few people around him and almost smart enough to realize it. The way society treats the alien but hard to recognize androids and the obviously human but looked down upon Isidore is another stab at our own humanity.

In a way Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is very much a novel of it's time. It explores ideas, moral issues and consequences of advances in technology but does not really excel at character development. If you're used to more recent science fiction it may be hard to care for any of the characters. They serve a function in the novel, illustrate a point, but it is hard to really identify with them. What makes this book special is the way Dick uses that emotional distance in the book, Deckard suspects he may not be in prime psychological health. His lack of emotion when killing androids is very much part of the way the author makes the reader question his humanity.

I guess it comes down to whether you can appreciate Dick's point without easy to identify with characters to hold on to. He managed to drag me in to the story by creating a very paranoid atmosphere early on in the book and it didn't let me go. That may not work for everybody though. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a pretty quick read, in a way Dick makes his point efficiently. I can see why Hollywood saw a good movie in it, although the amount of rewriting that went into producing a script for Bladerunner seems a bit excessive given the source material. This book quite convinced me to add some more of Dick's books to my to read list.

Book Details
Title: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Author: Philip K. Dick
Publisher: Gollancz
Pages: 210
Year: 1999
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-85798-813-0
First published: 1968