Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Collins (1984), Paperback
Description
The theology in this novel is not an analog of any known religion. It stems from an attempt made by William Sarill and myself to develop an abstract, logical system of religious thought, based on the arbitrary postulate that God exists. Fourteen strangers came to Delmak-O. Thirteen of them were transferred by the usual authorities. One got there by praying. But once they arrived on that planet whose very atmosphere seemed to induce paranoia and psychosis, the newcomers found that even prayer was useless. For on Delmak-O, God is either absent or intent on destroying His creations.
User reviews
LibraryThing member angharad_reads
This is one of the hackier works, which always raise the question: Why do I keep reading Dick? Maybe I should stick to the famous novels which have excitingly flashy TV and drug plot elements. It's hard to predict, though, which will be stupid. Here, for example, I know it's exactly the sort of
I suspect I expect a low-brow Borges, and of course that's never quite what I get. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the existential frisson (resonates with the Black Waters anthology I also recently read), and unlike in the Nadolny I also read recently, here the ambiguity and potential different explanations for "reality" *are* the point. In that sense, this was a successful novel.
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ending plot re-twist you'd expect from the man, but still. It was almost parodic.I suspect I expect a low-brow Borges, and of course that's never quite what I get. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the existential frisson (resonates with the Black Waters anthology I also recently read), and unlike in the Nadolny I also read recently, here the ambiguity and potential different explanations for "reality" *are* the point. In that sense, this was a successful novel.
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LibraryThing member RandyStafford
My reactions upon reading this novel n 1990 -- spoilers follow.
I wasn’t particularly looking forward to reading this Dick novel since I’ve never heard it referred to as one of his major works and even Dick himself somewhat disparaged it. Nevertheless, Dick seldom disappoints, and I consider
The tale of typically Dickian messed up protagonists -- obsessed, self-absorbed, basically failures -- banded together and being killed one by one was compelling. As usual, Dick introduced the usual plot twists: first the characters believe they subjects of a military experiment, then releasees of a mental asylum who have been murdering each other (only proving they are unfit for life outside the asylum), and then the awful, depressing truth is revealed. The characters have been existing in a fantasy world created by the consensual projection -- via computer -- of their minds.
They are trapped aboard a spaceship -- and have been for 15 years, and the world of Delmak One is only one of many they have created to escape boredom and vent interpersonal hostilities. There is no escape. And, though they decry the new violence that has crept into their simulations with Delmak One -- they ultimately return to the world that is a physical manifestaion of their sickness as individuals and a group.
Only Seth Morley, the novel’s damaged and weary protagonist, is spared when the simulated religion (an obvious synthesis of world religions with a heavy doses of Gnosticism) of Delmak One is validated and the Intercessor saves him. Even then, however, his only wish is to be an unthinking desert plant.
When Dick introduced, in the novel’s second to last chapter, the reality of Delmak One being a computer directed simulation I thought he had undercut the emotional tone of the novel, especially the final, apocalyptic scenes on Delmak One. But when he reintroduced that tone with revelations as to the characters’ true situation, that tone was reestablished with an even blacker gloss.
I wasn’t particularly looking forward to reading this Dick novel since I’ve never heard it referred to as one of his major works and even Dick himself somewhat disparaged it. Nevertheless, Dick seldom disappoints, and I consider
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this one of his better novels. The tale of typically Dickian messed up protagonists -- obsessed, self-absorbed, basically failures -- banded together and being killed one by one was compelling. As usual, Dick introduced the usual plot twists: first the characters believe they subjects of a military experiment, then releasees of a mental asylum who have been murdering each other (only proving they are unfit for life outside the asylum), and then the awful, depressing truth is revealed. The characters have been existing in a fantasy world created by the consensual projection -- via computer -- of their minds.
They are trapped aboard a spaceship -- and have been for 15 years, and the world of Delmak One is only one of many they have created to escape boredom and vent interpersonal hostilities. There is no escape. And, though they decry the new violence that has crept into their simulations with Delmak One -- they ultimately return to the world that is a physical manifestaion of their sickness as individuals and a group.
Only Seth Morley, the novel’s damaged and weary protagonist, is spared when the simulated religion (an obvious synthesis of world religions with a heavy doses of Gnosticism) of Delmak One is validated and the Intercessor saves him. Even then, however, his only wish is to be an unthinking desert plant.
When Dick introduced, in the novel’s second to last chapter, the reality of Delmak One being a computer directed simulation I thought he had undercut the emotional tone of the novel, especially the final, apocalyptic scenes on Delmak One. But when he reintroduced that tone with revelations as to the characters’ true situation, that tone was reestablished with an even blacker gloss.
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LibraryThing member bibleblaster
Philip Dick's version of "Lost," only in Dick's world, there are no heroes (even tragic ones), just imperfectly-drawn, bumbling, confused, hurting people who are trying to make some sense out of what is going on (namely: life, virtual or otherwise). Dick is not the greatest writer, but captivating
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(to me) in that he was so far ahead of his time in exploring ramifications of virtual reality and the trouble in distinguishing virtual from "real." In Dick's world, virtual reality is not shiny, stunning, Matrix-cool; it is frayed at the edges, always on the verge of unraveling altogether and exposing more frayed edges of another reality (or virtuality) underneath. Which one are you living in? Show Less
LibraryThing member mahsdad
14 people are sent to a far off colony world on one-way rockets. None of them seem to have anything in common. The communication systems fail, just as their are learning the purpose of the colony. One by one, they begin to mysteriously kill themselves or are killed. It is a very weird story and one
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right in PKD's wheelhouse. The ending took a couple left, right and U-turns to ultimately land in a place that I could never have expected. Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
They continued on and came, at last, to a river. It seemed too wide to cross; there they halted.
‘We'll have to follow the river,’ Thugg said. He scowled. ‘I've been in this area, but I didn't see any river before.’
Frazer giggled and said, ‘It's for you, Morley. Because you're a marine
Maggie Walsh said, ‘That's a strange remark. Do you mean the landscape alters according to our expectation?’
‘I was making a joke,’ Frazer said insultingly.
Another twist on reality from Philip K. Dick. I more or less realised what was going onwhen I came across the conversation quoted above, but the oddness of the planet and events around the arrival of its inhabitants already had me thinking.
‘We'll have to follow the river,’ Thugg said. He scowled. ‘I've been in this area, but I didn't see any river before.’
Frazer giggled and said, ‘It's for you, Morley. Because you're a marine
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biologist.’Maggie Walsh said, ‘That's a strange remark. Do you mean the landscape alters according to our expectation?’
‘I was making a joke,’ Frazer said insultingly.
Another twist on reality from Philip K. Dick. I more or less realised what was going on
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LibraryThing member jezzaboogie
Well this is a tough one to talk about without giving it away. But it was one of those things where at the start it is intriguing and cool, as you go on it becomes weirder and you let yourself fall into it, you read on and learn to just go with it and enjoy, further still the worry sets in What the
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FUCK is this all about? Should I chuck this book out the window?, but you keep going because no one likes to give up (right?) and then when you do get to the end you find out what was going on and realise that Dick is an absolute genius. Not so much for the plot idea itself, but more so for the world he created and how beautifully close it was to what you didn't realise it was. Show Less
LibraryThing member drmatt
A great analogy of our existential condition. A group of individuals are assigned to work on a desolate planet, Delmak-O. During the transmission of their instructions, the transmitter breaks leaving them clueless as to the purpose of their mission. And, there is no way to return home.
LibraryThing member theboylatham
6/10.
A disparate group of misfits are sent to colonise a new planet but soon deaths in the group breed suspicion and all is not as it seems.
A disparate group of misfits are sent to colonise a new planet but soon deaths in the group breed suspicion and all is not as it seems.
LibraryThing member Michael.Rimmer
As usual, PKD plays with his characters', and his readers', perceptions of reality. Written from the points-of-view from several characters, neither they nor we are really sure which, if any of them, is experiencing what is actually happening.
A group of strangers dissatisfied with their former
All of the characters distrust each other and, one-by-one, they are dying, being murdered or taking their own lives. Is this the work of an outside agency, or is one or more members of the group responsible?
Some answers are given at the end, but more questions posed. Well, you wouldn't want it given to you on a plate, would you?
A group of strangers dissatisfied with their former
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lives are transported to a colony world in one-way spaceships with a promise of finding fulfillment. Depending on what information can be believed, the colony has been set up by God, ultra-intelligent aliens, Earth's military forces or as a psychological experiment.All of the characters distrust each other and, one-by-one, they are dying, being murdered or taking their own lives. Is this the work of an outside agency, or is one or more members of the group responsible?
Some answers are given at the end, but more questions posed. Well, you wouldn't want it given to you on a plate, would you?
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LibraryThing member michaeladams1979
Some of the more interesting concepts I�êve read in a PKD book. The shared visions combined with the constructed religious system and tangible deities were very interesting.
LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
This was another one of Philip K. Dick's novels that, for me, fell a little flat. The plot was loosely constructed and seemed to be based more on ramblings and theological reasoning, which were not overtly developed or conceptualized. The characters felt like cardboard characters and the dialogue
2 stars.
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was neither appealing nor revealing. Overall, it was a disappointing read.2 stars.
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LibraryThing member DanTarlin
This is a quick Sci Fi read, just 200 pages, and it moves fast. It tells a bizarre story of a group of 14 people sent mysteriously to a new planet to form a colony. The book parenthetically alludes to the religion of the distant future, with various parts of the deity appearing to people in person
As soon as the protagonist, Seth Morley, arrives on the planet, colonists start being murdered mysteriously. The book moves quickly after that.
I found the book written in sort of a slapdash manner, without adequate explanation. It's written in 1970, so the technology descriptions are kind of silly as read today (computer components described as having magnetic tape!), but that's kind of fun.
The good news is that the ending does wrap things up reasonably well, with a pretty cool twist, which rescues it from a lower rating in my book.
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for some reason. The explanation is annoyingly thin.As soon as the protagonist, Seth Morley, arrives on the planet, colonists start being murdered mysteriously. The book moves quickly after that.
I found the book written in sort of a slapdash manner, without adequate explanation. It's written in 1970, so the technology descriptions are kind of silly as read today (computer components described as having magnetic tape!), but that's kind of fun.
The good news is that the ending does wrap things up reasonably well, with a pretty cool twist, which rescues it from a lower rating in my book.
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LibraryThing member write-review
Which Do You Prefer: Real or Virtual?
Virtuality as a concept has a long and somewhat murky history. By the 1950s, film producer, writer, and cinematographer Morton Heilig gave it a form we would recognize with the invention of the Sensorama (1962). Primitive and bulky, it did do much of what modern
In A Maze of Death, fourteen colonists separately take one-way rockets to the planet Delmak-O. Each has a specialty, such as economist, geologist, physician, and theologian. They prove a disparate group which readers might view as either independent types or decidedly uncooperative, though the bunch seems to understand that to survive they must pull together. At the start, they share a hope they can muster the unity they need as they await instructions and guidance as to their mission on Delmak-O. Unfortunately, just as they gather to hear the message, the transmission dissolves into static. They are on their own. They attempt to organize a couple of times but each time their efforts fail. What’s more, they start killing each other off.
While they appear a disparate bunch, they find they all share one thing; that is a tattoo reading Persus 9. (Readers, what follows reveals the major plot twist of the novel, without which the novel makes little sense.)
Turns out, they are the crew of a spaceship, Persus 9. During their mission, they experienced a major malfunction that has left them abandoned in space. In order to preserve their resources and, presumably, their sanity, they enter into a suspended state for extended periods and exist in a virtual world created by agreement. Delmak-O is just one in a long line of virtual worlds they have generated and by consensus the worst of all the worlds, so far.
Even more interesting, the VR device appears to have developed something of a memory, being the repository of a religion that has evolved over the span of VR worlds, canonized in a book familiar to all, How I Rose From the Dead in My Spare Time and So Can You. This religion mimics the belief systems of the major faiths and Nordic mythology, particularly incorporating counterparts to the Trinity. In the end, the real and the virtual conflate when one character, while contemplating mass murder of the crew because of his personal despair over their situation, receives a message from the Intercessor. It’s a message that appears in different forms in The Divine Invasion, that each must choose his own path.
You’ll find the novel surprisingly engaging and, for Dick, a bit superficial from the plotting viewpoint. But the questions of what’s real and illusory; what’s better, real or virtual; is our paranoia justified? These are bedrock Dick themes, and maybe questions you yourself ask.
Virtuality as a concept has a long and somewhat murky history. By the 1950s, film producer, writer, and cinematographer Morton Heilig gave it a form we would recognize with the invention of the Sensorama (1962). Primitive and bulky, it did do much of what modern
Show More
VR headsets do now. Even in its early conceptual stages, VR fascinated and began to appear in science fiction, witness Ray Bradbury’s short story “Veldt,” (1951), with its smart house and VR nursery (inspiration for Disney’s Smart House (1999). For Philip K. Dick, it proved the perfect literary device for his constant questioning of and speculation about what is and isn’t real. He employed it often in his short stories and novels. In A Maze of Death (1970), it is the prominent literary trope as Dick ponders the meaning of reality and which might make for a better existence, the real or the virtual. For a man who regularly dropped out of reality, exploring its nature is perfectly logical. In A Maze of Death, fourteen colonists separately take one-way rockets to the planet Delmak-O. Each has a specialty, such as economist, geologist, physician, and theologian. They prove a disparate group which readers might view as either independent types or decidedly uncooperative, though the bunch seems to understand that to survive they must pull together. At the start, they share a hope they can muster the unity they need as they await instructions and guidance as to their mission on Delmak-O. Unfortunately, just as they gather to hear the message, the transmission dissolves into static. They are on their own. They attempt to organize a couple of times but each time their efforts fail. What’s more, they start killing each other off.
While they appear a disparate bunch, they find they all share one thing; that is a tattoo reading Persus 9. (Readers, what follows reveals the major plot twist of the novel, without which the novel makes little sense.)
Turns out, they are the crew of a spaceship, Persus 9. During their mission, they experienced a major malfunction that has left them abandoned in space. In order to preserve their resources and, presumably, their sanity, they enter into a suspended state for extended periods and exist in a virtual world created by agreement. Delmak-O is just one in a long line of virtual worlds they have generated and by consensus the worst of all the worlds, so far.
Even more interesting, the VR device appears to have developed something of a memory, being the repository of a religion that has evolved over the span of VR worlds, canonized in a book familiar to all, How I Rose From the Dead in My Spare Time and So Can You. This religion mimics the belief systems of the major faiths and Nordic mythology, particularly incorporating counterparts to the Trinity. In the end, the real and the virtual conflate when one character, while contemplating mass murder of the crew because of his personal despair over their situation, receives a message from the Intercessor. It’s a message that appears in different forms in The Divine Invasion, that each must choose his own path.
You’ll find the novel surprisingly engaging and, for Dick, a bit superficial from the plotting viewpoint. But the questions of what’s real and illusory; what’s better, real or virtual; is our paranoia justified? These are bedrock Dick themes, and maybe questions you yourself ask.
Show Less
LibraryThing member write-review
Which Do You Prefer: Real or Virtual?
Virtuality as a concept has a long and somewhat murky history. By the 1950s, film producer, writer, and cinematographer Morton Heilig gave it a form we would recognize with the invention of the Sensorama (1962). Primitive and bulky, it did do much of what modern
In A Maze of Death, fourteen colonists separately take one-way rockets to the planet Delmak-O. Each has a specialty, such as economist, geologist, physician, and theologian. They prove a disparate group which readers might view as either independent types or decidedly uncooperative, though the bunch seems to understand that to survive they must pull together. At the start, they share a hope they can muster the unity they need as they await instructions and guidance as to their mission on Delmak-O. Unfortunately, just as they gather to hear the message, the transmission dissolves into static. They are on their own. They attempt to organize a couple of times but each time their efforts fail. What’s more, they start killing each other off.
While they appear a disparate bunch, they find they all share one thing; that is a tattoo reading Persus 9. (Readers, what follows reveals the major plot twist of the novel, without which the novel makes little sense.)
Turns out, they are the crew of a spaceship, Persus 9. During their mission, they experienced a major malfunction that has left them abandoned in space. In order to preserve their resources and, presumably, their sanity, they enter into a suspended state for extended periods and exist in a virtual world created by agreement. Delmak-O is just one in a long line of virtual worlds they have generated and by consensus the worst of all the worlds, so far.
Even more interesting, the VR device appears to have developed something of a memory, being the repository of a religion that has evolved over the span of VR worlds, canonized in a book familiar to all, How I Rose From the Dead in My Spare Time and So Can You. This religion mimics the belief systems of the major faiths and Nordic mythology, particularly incorporating counterparts to the Trinity. In the end, the real and the virtual conflate when one character, while contemplating mass murder of the crew because of his personal despair over their situation, receives a message from the Intercessor. It’s a message that appears in different forms in The Divine Invasion, that each must choose his own path.
You’ll find the novel surprisingly engaging and, for Dick, a bit superficial from the plotting viewpoint. But the questions of what’s real and illusory; what’s better, real or virtual; is our paranoia justified? These are bedrock Dick themes, and maybe questions you yourself ask.
Virtuality as a concept has a long and somewhat murky history. By the 1950s, film producer, writer, and cinematographer Morton Heilig gave it a form we would recognize with the invention of the Sensorama (1962). Primitive and bulky, it did do much of what modern
Show More
VR headsets do now. Even in its early conceptual stages, VR fascinated and began to appear in science fiction, witness Ray Bradbury’s short story “Veldt,” (1951), with its smart house and VR nursery (inspiration for Disney’s Smart House (1999). For Philip K. Dick, it proved the perfect literary device for his constant questioning of and speculation about what is and isn’t real. He employed it often in his short stories and novels. In A Maze of Death (1970), it is the prominent literary trope as Dick ponders the meaning of reality and which might make for a better existence, the real or the virtual. For a man who regularly dropped out of reality, exploring its nature is perfectly logical. In A Maze of Death, fourteen colonists separately take one-way rockets to the planet Delmak-O. Each has a specialty, such as economist, geologist, physician, and theologian. They prove a disparate group which readers might view as either independent types or decidedly uncooperative, though the bunch seems to understand that to survive they must pull together. At the start, they share a hope they can muster the unity they need as they await instructions and guidance as to their mission on Delmak-O. Unfortunately, just as they gather to hear the message, the transmission dissolves into static. They are on their own. They attempt to organize a couple of times but each time their efforts fail. What’s more, they start killing each other off.
While they appear a disparate bunch, they find they all share one thing; that is a tattoo reading Persus 9. (Readers, what follows reveals the major plot twist of the novel, without which the novel makes little sense.)
Turns out, they are the crew of a spaceship, Persus 9. During their mission, they experienced a major malfunction that has left them abandoned in space. In order to preserve their resources and, presumably, their sanity, they enter into a suspended state for extended periods and exist in a virtual world created by agreement. Delmak-O is just one in a long line of virtual worlds they have generated and by consensus the worst of all the worlds, so far.
Even more interesting, the VR device appears to have developed something of a memory, being the repository of a religion that has evolved over the span of VR worlds, canonized in a book familiar to all, How I Rose From the Dead in My Spare Time and So Can You. This religion mimics the belief systems of the major faiths and Nordic mythology, particularly incorporating counterparts to the Trinity. In the end, the real and the virtual conflate when one character, while contemplating mass murder of the crew because of his personal despair over their situation, receives a message from the Intercessor. It’s a message that appears in different forms in The Divine Invasion, that each must choose his own path.
You’ll find the novel surprisingly engaging and, for Dick, a bit superficial from the plotting viewpoint. But the questions of what’s real and illusory; what’s better, real or virtual; is our paranoia justified? These are bedrock Dick themes, and maybe questions you yourself ask.
Show Less
LibraryThing member GlennBell
This is a really strange and dark story. The scenario unfolds with a group of 18 colonists on a planet with no understanding of their purpose and no outside contact. As people start getting killed, there is an effort to explore and understand the planet. The remaining colonists interact with what
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appears to be people conducting an experiment with them. The plot rapidly changes to the whole story is merely a computer simulation in virtual reality. The personnel are actually on a spaceship stranded with little hope for contact. The story ends with the personnel going back the same simulation scenario possibly without the main character Seth Morley. The story touches on futility, hostility, religion, and sanity. Although intriguing, I found it depressing and confusing. Show Less
LibraryThing member A.Godhelm
More mind bending PKD but far from one of his best.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1970-07
1968-10-31 (manuscript)
Physical description
192 p.
ISBN
0586058974 / 9780586058978