I enjoyed this as much as STARSHIP TROOPERS, perhaps a bit more--because of the married couples personalities. I like it when a strong Heinlein hero tI enjoyed this as much as STARSHIP TROOPERS, perhaps a bit more--because of the married couples personalities. I like it when a strong Heinlein hero talks with a strong Heinlein heroine. I wonder if RAH and his wife had similar conversations. The gritty depiction of how to handle a real alien invasion makes this worthwhile as well....more
He is not my favorite AFL player, but he has been the most interesting one to watch since I became a fan in 2011. He played in the first game I ever wHe is not my favorite AFL player, but he has been the most interesting one to watch since I became a fan in 2011. He played in the first game I ever watched, the 2010 Grand Final against St. Kilda, the one that ended in a draw, that had to be re-played the next week. This book, whether it was ghost-written or not, captures an authentic voice, a real Aussie rules player who has seen much in his 15 year career. He provides intriguing insight into his playing days as well as to the AFL in general. In reading this, I felt like Dane and I had sat down with a beer or three and he told me his story. Very fun read....more
I am not a big fan of Heinlein's short fiction. They are filled with either tons and tons of dialogue or tons of summary without actual action or a weI am not a big fan of Heinlein's short fiction. They are filled with either tons and tons of dialogue or tons of summary without actual action or a weird combination of both back and forth. It has been awhile since I read much Heinlein, and having read this and two others the past few weeks, I worry I have lost my taste for him. I have great memories of STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND and THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST and some others I read when I was younger. I am reading through his stuff that is all supposed to be in the same fictional setting, and I hope when I get to the later stuff, it is as good as I remember. These stories in this collection reflect the times of excitement of getting to the Moon. None are particularly good. The characters and their crisp dialogue is the strongest thing about them....more
This is not Keegan's best. It is my least favorite of all I have read by him, which is virtually everything. It is still worthwhile. Too much time is This is not Keegan's best. It is my least favorite of all I have read by him, which is virtually everything. It is still worthwhile. Too much time is spent on just explaining where regiments were, etc. Not enough of the face of battle, compared to his other books. I think he was trying to stay at a certain length--this book should be twice as long to really give us the details he usually gives us. This is the illustrated version, which does not have as much text as the original. I read both in tandem, which was good--the pictures are wonderful....more
This is not Keegan's best. It is my least favorite of all I have read by him, which is virtually everything. It is still worthwhile. Too much time is This is not Keegan's best. It is my least favorite of all I have read by him, which is virtually everything. It is still worthwhile. Too much time is spent on just explaining where regiments were, etc. Not enough of the face of battle, compared to his other books. I think he was trying to stay at a certain length--this book should be twice as long to really give us the details he usually gives us....more
Worth reading, but barely. This would not be worth reading unless you are a huge PKD fan. The problem is that the author has PKD as a main character iWorth reading, but barely. This would not be worth reading unless you are a huge PKD fan. The problem is that the author has PKD as a main character in this paean to PKD, and yet hardly uses him. When he is on stage in the novel, it's worthwhile. When we are forced to sit through the awkward moments like main characters Cal and Lia dealing with Cal's unwelcome erection, it's painful. I appreciate what Bishop wanted to do. I think he gets PKD. The problem is the story itself is not worthy of its subject. ...more
Intriguing biography of PKD that reads like a novel of sorts. It has some nitty gritty details and point of view speculations that the definitive bio Intriguing biography of PKD that reads like a novel of sorts. It has some nitty gritty details and point of view speculations that the definitive bio (DIVINE INVASIONS) lacks. Worth reading for anyone who loves PKD....more
I started reading this the year it was published, ages ago, but then stopped half way when I realized I was blowing the plots of half of the novels I I started reading this the year it was published, ages ago, but then stopped half way when I realized I was blowing the plots of half of the novels I had not yet read. I just finished all the PKD fiction and the Exegesis, so I picked this up again and finally just read it cover to cover. Fantastic, worthy bio of my favorite writer. The only flaw? The ending. When PKD dies, it just ends. No information about the affect on Tessa or anyone else of significance in his life. It just ends....more
This is a wonderful expansion of Paul Williams great interview with PKD in 1974. I have read much about PKD, but this book had enough unique insights This is a wonderful expansion of Paul Williams great interview with PKD in 1974. I have read much about PKD, but this book had enough unique insights to make it worth the read....more
Here my 35 year journey ends. I today have finished reading every published work by PKD. I read "The Unreconstructed M" in OMNI magazine in 1981 when Here my 35 year journey ends. I today have finished reading every published work by PKD. I read "The Unreconstructed M" in OMNI magazine in 1981 when I was a sophomore in high school, which led to THE COSMIC PUPPETS, which led to THE UNTELEPORTED MAN, which led to the rest. Today I've read his final words.
This book is PKD's analysis of his own fiction. I suggest you read it after reading everything else he wrote. It made me want to re-read UBIK and DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? and VALIS and many more. Instead of that, first I'll read ONLY APPARENTLY REAL and DIVINE INVASIONS, then I'll re-read the PKD canon and see how far I get before I can't read anymore....more
And so ends my reading of PKD's fiction. I have read it all now. This book is a fitting ending to my journey. It has all the things one can love aboutAnd so ends my reading of PKD's fiction. I have read it all now. This book is a fitting ending to my journey. It has all the things one can love about PKD without any sf in it. As with all the non-sf by him, it is better than at least half of his sf. He was right. I am convinced he was right, his publishers were wrong, and most of his readers are wrong. He wrote better realistic fiction than he did sf on a regular basis. I still like his sf better, at least his really good sf, but if I have to close my eyes and hope I get his best work and I have to pick from a pool of his sf or his non-sf, I am grabbing from the non-sf pile.
This novel stands out in that he really gets fully into the head of a much older character than he covered in other novels, and it's the head of a Nixon-lover. I like most of the earlier non-sf better than this because he gives the women very short shrift in this one. It does permit him to focus on the two main male characters, but I think he got his world across better when he let his women speak more. The Greek wife character in this book, based on his second (?) wife is hilarious, almost as funny as Lumky. She speaks in such a funny way, and I am betting it is just like his wife talked.
On to the only published work by him I have not read yet--THE EXEGESIS.
[UPDATE]
I just read some reviews by other GoodReads users. Ugh. I cannot believe people criticize this book because it does not have characters they like. Why are you reading PKD if you want characters you can like? You are reading the wrong thing. Some reviewers even talk about one of the characters being a protagonist, others about his plot structure, etc. You don't PKD if you are going to criticize him based on all the other fiction you have read. You just won't get it. This is why some see him as a genius (tortured, crazy, sometimes hateful, yes, but aren't most geniuses extreme in some way like this?). I don't agree with everything he seemed to propose. I don't feel comfortable when I read his fiction. I don't read PKD for any of the traditional reasons. I read him because he is not like other writers, he did not go to college, he did not adhere to the conventions of American fiction, or even any other country's fiction. I read him because his dialogue is unreal, because he has characters that contradict themselves, because he talks about things that make me feel alienated.
Anyway, not defending him. I came upon his writing in 1981 before BLADE RUNNER and all the other movies, before the entire world cast its gaze upon him. Before it was cool to like PKD. When it was not cool. I like him because his mental patterns match mine in his fiction. I don't always think about what his characters do, but I can tell by the way he narrates that I think like he did. Not the content--the process, the manner. This is why I read PKD and like his fiction. If he wrote a straight plot with likable characters and traditional polished narrative, I would probably not like him. If you need those things, seek elsewhere....more
In finishing this, I finally understand why I like the dialogue in a PKD non-sf novel--it's like listening to my parents argue when I was young. They In finishing this, I finally understand why I like the dialogue in a PKD non-sf novel--it's like listening to my parents argue when I was young. They would fight all the time, as all parents do. They tried not to do it in front of me, but they did, frequently. So why would I like books that remind me of that trauma? I have no idea. Like I have no idea why PKD is my favorite writer. They were my parents. They were my childhood. I could see both sides of the arguments, even if I usually would side with one over the other. They both were wrong and they both were right in virtually every argument. It's like life. I guess that is why I like PKD, even though the association is a negative one. It reminds me of real life, real memories, and my way of thinking of things and experiencing them.
What made this non-sf novel unique is the main characters are ten years apart--the young male protag falls for the older female protag. Another feature of this book is the character of Lumky. He is hilarious. He is so funny. He says the things I imagine that PKD would say when he was high or tight. Lumky is a sort of parody of a PKD character, a PKD character unbound, with all the foibles and sensibilities, but with absolutely no filter. I laughed out loud at some of the things Lumky said, and I don't think I have ever laughed out loud at any PKD book I have read.
I love this novel for its details. All the fine details of the Japanese typewriter. My favorite part is when Bruce is taking it apart and analyzing how it works. He thinks like I think when I have a new tool or gadget or toy. I imagine it is scenes like that which put off the professional reviewer and most readers. It's scenes like that which made his non-sf stuff not able to be published while he was alive. It's scenes like that which make me love PKD.
So on to the last fiction book I have never read by PKD--HUMPTY DUMPTY IN OAKLAND....more
In the past three days, I have read GATHER YOURSELVES TOGETHER, VOICE FROM THE STREET, and now PUTTERING ABOUT IN A SMALL LAND. All three of these booIn the past three days, I have read GATHER YOURSELVES TOGETHER, VOICE FROM THE STREET, and now PUTTERING ABOUT IN A SMALL LAND. All three of these books have painful realism. All three are better than more than half of PKD's sf, and I love his sf. I think his non-sf did not take off and do well when he was alive because it was both too real and too weird at the same time. People like realism or they like weird, but they do not tend to like both at the same time. To those who say his non-sf is amateurish...you are just wrong. Just because PKD does not adhere to the conventional method of storytelling does not make him amateurish. It made him a genius. A tortured genius, to be sure.
If you need characters you can like, look elsewhere. If you cannot empathize with any of his characters, then you probably cannot truly empathize with any real people either. There has to be a protagonist and an antagonist, right? Wrong. Not in PKD fiction. His characters are both at the same time. Do you feel like you are the protagonist of your own life? Then you live in a fantasy world. You treat life like fiction. I would put this and all of his other non-sf that I have read up there with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, and more, and even put it beyond them. They adhered to convention. PKD just spilled his guts and how he thought. I have never read any fiction by anyone and felt like I knew the read person more. It is not always pleasant. It is not always neat. PKD fiction is honest and sincere and crazy like the writer.
This book and the two before it I read surprise me. I had no idea how things would turn out chapter to chapter. The characters unfolded like real people and bounced off each other like real people. I will admit that all the adultery and preoccupation with romantic (not the right word, but it is the word my world uses for this stuff now) relationships is getting a bit much. PKD was clearly obsessed with the male-female relationship, which is why he himself married so much. I do not go to a book like this for answers. I go to it because I understand how these characters think because they think in patterns like I do. The content is not the same, but the method of their madness suits my mental pathways. I find this both comforting and discomforting at the same time, which is why I love PKD.
I have found I enjoy PKD's non-sf more than most of his sf. This book is so sad and powerful and compelling. This is as good as any mainstream fictionI have found I enjoy PKD's non-sf more than most of his sf. This book is so sad and powerful and compelling. This is as good as any mainstream fiction I have read, and better than most. Why did PKD have trouble getting his non-sf published? He confronted harsh realities without shrinking from its truth. I'm amazed by his powerful voice at such a young age. Those who read this and are put off by the main character's bad behavior need to know that PKD was condemning him....more
I am stunned. Yes, this is not PKD sf, but it's far better than half the novels he wrote, sf and otherwise. It has the PKD quirks and strange observatI am stunned. Yes, this is not PKD sf, but it's far better than half the novels he wrote, sf and otherwise. It has the PKD quirks and strange observations of life I love in his writing. This is the most polished work I've read by him so far, with only five more left to read, and this was his first novel we know of. It's as good as anything F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote and similar in theme. It's PKD's GREAT GATSBY....more
I know PKD always wanted to just write non-SF and have it published. When I started this book, I thought it was his last SF that he wrote. It is publiI know PKD always wanted to just write non-SF and have it published. When I started this book, I thought it was his last SF that he wrote. It is published by Pocket Books in their "Timescape" imprint, so it has to be either fantasy or SF, right? All the lists on the Internet list it as one of his SF books. Guess what!? Surprise! It's not SF at all. Not at all. Not one bit. It's completely mainstream, as much as anything else he wrote.
I love this, that this is true. That the world views and lists and publishes this as SF, and yet there is not any SF in it. It feels like a personal triumph for PKD. He was known as such a strange writer, and this, his last novel he wrote, gets published and widely circulated by a major publisher, and it is sold as SF, but is not. This is so wonderful and so PKD.
So about the novel. I loved it. As a Jesus freak born again Christian who believes Jesus was both God and man, this is an interesting read. One could posit this as PKD's debunking of Christianity. There are certainly parts of it that could be taken that way out of context because, even though it is fiction, it is clearly very autobiographical. However, if one takes Angel Archer as the mouthpiece of PKD, one does not know PKD. AA is some sort of strange amalgam of him and one (maybe several) of his wives, probably Tessa. This book cogently and coherently captures all that PKD asked in any of his fiction. What makes us human? What makes us not machines? What is the difference between our perception of reality and reality itself? This book comes as close as any of his to answering those questions. The answers are too subtle to be captured by any out of context quote I could give. The closest I can come to summing it up is that there is perception, there is reality, and at times the reality is changed by our perceptions and vice versa.
What makes this book stand out so much? First, it is first person narration. PKD rarely did this. I cannot even recall at this time any of his novels that use this. I am sure a few do, if I dig back through them, but it is a rare, rare thing for PKD. Secondly, and even more significantly, possibly more significant than anything else regarding the structure and style of this book, the narrator is female! The main character is female! Yes, the book is largely about Timothy Archer, but he is not the main focus, truly. His influence on Angel and the other characters dominates the plot, to be sure, but the thrust of this book all comes from a female persona, and one that PKD pulls off amazingly well.
I am a bit sad to finish this book since it is the last fiction PKD wrote. I only have one SF novel of his left to read (RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH) and then seven other books to finish (two short story and four non-SF novels and the EXEGESIS) and then I have finished my reading of PKD....more