Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Corgi Adult (1981), Paperback
Description
A theological detective story in which God is both a missing person and the perpetrator of the ultimate crime. The schizophrenic hero, a Dick alter-ego named Horselover Fat, begins receiving revelatory visions through a burst of pink laser light. As a coterie of religious seekers forms to explore these messages, they are led to a rock musician's estate, where a two-year old Messianic figure named Sophia confirms that an ancient, mechanical intelligence orbiting the earth has been guiding their discoveries.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ccosner
I'm giving this book five stars because I really enjoyed it, not because I'm sure you will. It was a quick and gripping read for me because I was ready for all the material, but I admire those who have been unable to get through it the first time and then kept coming back until they could finish
You should prepare to read this book. I hope that doesn't discourage you. All of these topics are a pleasure in and of themselves: Read up on gnosticism in your favorite encyclopedia. Understand the basic ideas and stories/parables of Christianity (if, for example, you weren't raised with them). Read some of Philip K. Dick's other works, or at least watch Blade Runner in order to understand what kind of SF author he is. This is not SF, but the author himself is a character in the book. Read the Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Specifically, Dostoevsky's treatment of the suffering of children. At the very least understand the term Theodicy. Read Faust. Maybe more than one version. Read something with an unreliable narrator (Lolita, or Pale Fire by Nabokov come to mind, but those can be difficult works too). The point is that you have to be used to not trusting everything the narrator says. Read something more or less autobiographical by someone suffering mental illness, say The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. For some reason, the SF movie The Man Who Fell to Earth kept coming to mind for me. There is a movie described in the book, and that's definitely NOT it, but it's the same sort of counter-culture oddball film with a rock star. Finally, look up the term 'Holographic Universe'. I think those people are out to lunch, but I find it curious that PKD had latched onto the same ideas.
The above recommendations will give you a grounding that makes VALIS even richer. You could read the book without all that, but why not go down some of the same paths PKD did first?
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the book. It's worth the effort.You should prepare to read this book. I hope that doesn't discourage you. All of these topics are a pleasure in and of themselves: Read up on gnosticism in your favorite encyclopedia. Understand the basic ideas and stories/parables of Christianity (if, for example, you weren't raised with them). Read some of Philip K. Dick's other works, or at least watch Blade Runner in order to understand what kind of SF author he is. This is not SF, but the author himself is a character in the book. Read the Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Specifically, Dostoevsky's treatment of the suffering of children. At the very least understand the term Theodicy. Read Faust. Maybe more than one version. Read something with an unreliable narrator (Lolita, or Pale Fire by Nabokov come to mind, but those can be difficult works too). The point is that you have to be used to not trusting everything the narrator says. Read something more or less autobiographical by someone suffering mental illness, say The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. For some reason, the SF movie The Man Who Fell to Earth kept coming to mind for me. There is a movie described in the book, and that's definitely NOT it, but it's the same sort of counter-culture oddball film with a rock star. Finally, look up the term 'Holographic Universe'. I think those people are out to lunch, but I find it curious that PKD had latched onto the same ideas.
The above recommendations will give you a grounding that makes VALIS even richer. You could read the book without all that, but why not go down some of the same paths PKD did first?
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LibraryThing member Banoo
I'm not sure how to rate this book. It was good, at times tedious (I'm really not into theological debates or philosophical musings)... but, I liked Horselover Fat aka Philip Dick aka the insane guy.
So take one crazy guy slightly twisted in the head due to taking too many 'uppers', let one of his
It's fiction. It's partly autobiographical. It's a crazy new religion, if I were to use religion in a general sense that's defined as why we're here and where we're going and what we should do to go where we're going.
It confused me until Eric Lampton (Eric Clapton/Peter Frampton combination, name-wise with the mind of Jim Morrison??) and Mini (Brian Eno??) came into the picture and confirmed that all of this was indeed crazy. But then, Horselover Fat came back and I was confused again.
I really don't know what I'm saying here. I really don't know how to discuss this book. I do want to read The Chronicles of Narnia. Funny thing that this book would lead me to that book. But then nothing is really funny... except for Kevin's dead cat.
And one more thing... my number 714 was mentioned in this book. That's cool. Maybe I'll go to India now. Something needs to be found.
So take one crazy guy slightly twisted in the head due to taking too many 'uppers', let one of his
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girl friends jump out of a window, let his wife leave with the kid, kill off another one of his girl friends and then set the poor guy on a course trying to figure out just what we humans are and where are we going. Oh, and be sure to throw in a pink laser beam containing mysterious information and aim it at his brain, and surround him with a handful of other wacky characters. Dip into Greek mythology, gnosticism, Christianity, and an unexplained dead cat... well, it's explained how it died but not the why it died, well, according to little Sophia, the new messaih, the why is because it was stupid. Put all of this together, bring a sane, stable mind to the table (yourself I'm assuming, but I may be wrong) and watch yourself unravel.It's fiction. It's partly autobiographical. It's a crazy new religion, if I were to use religion in a general sense that's defined as why we're here and where we're going and what we should do to go where we're going.
It confused me until Eric Lampton (Eric Clapton/Peter Frampton combination, name-wise with the mind of Jim Morrison??) and Mini (Brian Eno??) came into the picture and confirmed that all of this was indeed crazy. But then, Horselover Fat came back and I was confused again.
I really don't know what I'm saying here. I really don't know how to discuss this book. I do want to read The Chronicles of Narnia. Funny thing that this book would lead me to that book. But then nothing is really funny... except for Kevin's dead cat.
And one more thing... my number 714 was mentioned in this book. That's cool. Maybe I'll go to India now. Something needs to be found.
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LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
If you're a Philip K. Dick fan, you'll recognize his ongoing questions about reality and identity in here. I will say right up front that this book is NOT for everyone. If you want a tight plotline & answers to every question, don't pick it up. If you want a book where you seriously do not have to
Another thing: if you are not familiar with the work of Jung, Mircea Eliade, or the Nag Hammadi gospels, this book may throw you. So beware. And if you are above "conspiracy" type novels, then stop reading right now. And, if you can't stand postmodern literature, then you may not like this one.
It's so difficult to give you the details in a nutshell, because this book has so much depth that trying to even capture the flavor of it is impossible. It's a book that's felt by the reader or not. But I'll try my best in case someone is interested enough to try it.
Horselover Fat is a man with some serious mental issues, and we meet him after he lands in the Orange County mental hospital in Southern California. Not only did he try to commit suicide and fail, but he has been bombarded with a pink light that he knows is God (which he calls Zebra) and it came to him in a flower pot given to him by a friend. He sets forth a series of theories (exegeses) and begins his search for what he thinks is the fifth savior --and his friends sort of play along all the while thinking he's totally freakin' nuts. However, one of his friends goes to see a movie called Valis at a local theater, and one by one all of Horselover Fat's theories start to make sense.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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think about what you're reading, then this is not for you. If you're ready for a challenge not only in your reading, but in your thinking, then you're going to absolutely love this book. The book is funny in an ironic sort of way, tragic in a human sense and just downright excellent. Another thing: if you are not familiar with the work of Jung, Mircea Eliade, or the Nag Hammadi gospels, this book may throw you. So beware. And if you are above "conspiracy" type novels, then stop reading right now. And, if you can't stand postmodern literature, then you may not like this one.
It's so difficult to give you the details in a nutshell, because this book has so much depth that trying to even capture the flavor of it is impossible. It's a book that's felt by the reader or not. But I'll try my best in case someone is interested enough to try it.
Horselover Fat is a man with some serious mental issues, and we meet him after he lands in the Orange County mental hospital in Southern California. Not only did he try to commit suicide and fail, but he has been bombarded with a pink light that he knows is God (which he calls Zebra) and it came to him in a flower pot given to him by a friend. He sets forth a series of theories (exegeses) and begins his search for what he thinks is the fifth savior --and his friends sort of play along all the while thinking he's totally freakin' nuts. However, one of his friends goes to see a movie called Valis at a local theater, and one by one all of Horselover Fat's theories start to make sense.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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LibraryThing member RobertDay
I was having immense trouble with this book, probably because I was reading it in small-ish chunks whilst on my daily commute. I could make no sense of it whatsoever.
But suddenly, one morning, I was sat on the bus and just as we passed the turn-off for the village of Breadsall in Derbyshire
But I got better.
Now, years later, I remember little about it except that it demonstrated to me what a wierd place the inside of PKD's head was in his later years.
But suddenly, one morning, I was sat on the bus and just as we passed the turn-off for the village of Breadsall in Derbyshire
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(England), it hit me. I understood what this book was about. It all made sense. I arrived at work a different person. Even now, the fact that I could take you to exactly where I was when it happened shows what a blinding flash of insight I had. (And no, there was no pink light.)But I got better.
Now, years later, I remember little about it except that it demonstrated to me what a wierd place the inside of PKD's head was in his later years.
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LibraryThing member smichaelwilson
Like most of Philip K. Dick's novels, the main characters around which the story of Valis revolves are engaging, sympathetic, and mirrors of the social and psychological complexities faced by mankind. Unlike his other novels, however, the main characters in Valis are actually PKD himself. This
Valis (the name assigned by the main characters to their vision of God) is less of a novel than it is a fictionalized account of PKD's own spiritual journey. Because of this, a good portion of the middle becomes bogged down with in depth descriptions of PKD's theological views and theories. Anyone not well versed in Gnosticism and Metaphysical Theory will be tempted to skim several pages of text at a time, and might even debate whether finishing the book is worth the trouble. This will be especially true of readers who are only familiar with his early science fiction work and not prepared for a crash course in PKD's exegesis. In some ways, Valis could be considered PKD's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, except the focus of this road trip isn't the American Dream, but the True Nature of God.
Above all else, PKD is a master storyteller, and this is what saves Valis from being a stuffy and unintelligible pseudo-memoir about a spiritual journey. The uncertainty of the narrator's true identity (both to the reader and the narrator), as well as the sympathetic nature of his plight and the conspiracy-drenched plot twists reminiscent of Robert Anton Wilson (whom PKD mentions in the book) will keep you interested enough to struggle through the denser passages. But you also find yourself riveted as you gain closer insight into the mind of one of the greatest science fiction authors of the last century.
Valis is a perfect snapshot of a time not so long ago, when there existed a movement of authors that eagerly blended the lines between science-fiction and spiritualism. It was a time when optimism regarding mankind's future potential was almost intoxicating, and the experimental expansion of the mind and spirit were deemed as important as technological advancements. Looking back, it may seem a bit naive and fanciful, but it was also full of hope and wonder, two traits that seem to be lacking more and more with today's sci-fi authors.
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results in the occasional switch from first and third person narrative, and several instances in which the author and the author surrogate interact with one another.Valis (the name assigned by the main characters to their vision of God) is less of a novel than it is a fictionalized account of PKD's own spiritual journey. Because of this, a good portion of the middle becomes bogged down with in depth descriptions of PKD's theological views and theories. Anyone not well versed in Gnosticism and Metaphysical Theory will be tempted to skim several pages of text at a time, and might even debate whether finishing the book is worth the trouble. This will be especially true of readers who are only familiar with his early science fiction work and not prepared for a crash course in PKD's exegesis. In some ways, Valis could be considered PKD's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, except the focus of this road trip isn't the American Dream, but the True Nature of God.
Above all else, PKD is a master storyteller, and this is what saves Valis from being a stuffy and unintelligible pseudo-memoir about a spiritual journey. The uncertainty of the narrator's true identity (both to the reader and the narrator), as well as the sympathetic nature of his plight and the conspiracy-drenched plot twists reminiscent of Robert Anton Wilson (whom PKD mentions in the book) will keep you interested enough to struggle through the denser passages. But you also find yourself riveted as you gain closer insight into the mind of one of the greatest science fiction authors of the last century.
Valis is a perfect snapshot of a time not so long ago, when there existed a movement of authors that eagerly blended the lines between science-fiction and spiritualism. It was a time when optimism regarding mankind's future potential was almost intoxicating, and the experimental expansion of the mind and spirit were deemed as important as technological advancements. Looking back, it may seem a bit naive and fanciful, but it was also full of hope and wonder, two traits that seem to be lacking more and more with today's sci-fi authors.
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LibraryThing member TRHummer
This is one of those fascinating bad books (like Melville's "Pierre") that one is at a loss to explain: not in terms of its subject or style, but more in terms of its existing at all. If anyone other than Philip K. Dick had written this. . . but no one else could possibly have written it. Soggily
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plotted, executed with all the attention to craft that Huck Finn gave the fence he was whitewashing, "Valis" nonetheless exerts a gravitational pull; I can imagine that for some people (Dick included) it is a gravity well. Part of what holds the reader is the knowledge, which the novel insists on and reminds us of, that certain ingredients of this story are autobiographical. The pink laser, the delivery girl with the fish pendant, an autodidact's brew of Gnosticism and information theory: these things all were part of Dick's personal narrative. All in all, reading this book is like watching a wreck go down on the Rube Goldberg Highway to Dysfunctional Heaven. Show Less
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
VALIS is a consummate neo-Gnostic novel, written after the author’s own spontaneous mystical experience. It shows Dick at the height of his writing abilities, introspective powers, and spiritual insight. And it made me laugh out loud!
LibraryThing member reverends
Like most of Philip K. Dick’s novels, the main characters around which the story of Valis revolves are engaging, sympathetic, and mirrors of the social and psychological complexities faced by mankind. Unlike his other novels, however, the main characters in Valis are actually PKD himself. This
Valis (the name assigned by the main characters to their vision of God) is less of a novel than it is a fictionalized account of PKD’s own spiritual journey. Because of this, a good portion of the middle becomes bogged down with in depth descriptions of PKD’s theological views and theories. Anyone not well versed in Gnosticism and Metaphysical Theory will be tempted to skim several pages of text at a time, and might even debate whether finishing the book is worth the trouble. This will be especially true of readers who are only familiar with his early science fiction work and not prepared for a crash course in PKD’s exegesis. In some ways, Valis could be considered PKD’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, except the focus of this road trip isn’t the American Dream, but the True Nature of God.
Above all else, PKD is a master storyteller, and this is what saves Valis from being a stuffy and unintelligible pseudo-memoir about a spiritual journey. The uncertainty of the narrator’s true identity (both to the reader and the narrator), as well as the sympathetic nature of his plight and the conspiracy-drenched plot twists reminiscent of Robert Anton Wilson (whom PKD mentions in the book) will keep you interested enough to struggle through the denser passages. But you also find yourself riveted as you gain closer insight into the mind of one of the greatest science fiction authors of the last century.
Valis is a perfect snapshot of a time not so long ago, when there existed a movement of authors that eagerly blended the lines between science-fiction and spiritualism. It was a time when optimism regarding mankind’s future potential was almost intoxicating, and the experimental expansion of the mind and spirit were deemed as important as technological advancements. Looking back, it may seem a bit naive and fanciful, but it was also full of hope and wonder, two traits that seem to be lacking more and more with today’s sci-fi authors.
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results in the occasional switch from first and third person narrative, and several instances in which the author and the author surrogate interact with one another.Valis (the name assigned by the main characters to their vision of God) is less of a novel than it is a fictionalized account of PKD’s own spiritual journey. Because of this, a good portion of the middle becomes bogged down with in depth descriptions of PKD’s theological views and theories. Anyone not well versed in Gnosticism and Metaphysical Theory will be tempted to skim several pages of text at a time, and might even debate whether finishing the book is worth the trouble. This will be especially true of readers who are only familiar with his early science fiction work and not prepared for a crash course in PKD’s exegesis. In some ways, Valis could be considered PKD’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, except the focus of this road trip isn’t the American Dream, but the True Nature of God.
Above all else, PKD is a master storyteller, and this is what saves Valis from being a stuffy and unintelligible pseudo-memoir about a spiritual journey. The uncertainty of the narrator’s true identity (both to the reader and the narrator), as well as the sympathetic nature of his plight and the conspiracy-drenched plot twists reminiscent of Robert Anton Wilson (whom PKD mentions in the book) will keep you interested enough to struggle through the denser passages. But you also find yourself riveted as you gain closer insight into the mind of one of the greatest science fiction authors of the last century.
Valis is a perfect snapshot of a time not so long ago, when there existed a movement of authors that eagerly blended the lines between science-fiction and spiritualism. It was a time when optimism regarding mankind’s future potential was almost intoxicating, and the experimental expansion of the mind and spirit were deemed as important as technological advancements. Looking back, it may seem a bit naive and fanciful, but it was also full of hope and wonder, two traits that seem to be lacking more and more with today’s sci-fi authors.
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LibraryThing member figre
It seems that, the later in Philip K. Dick’s career a work comes from, the more likely it is to blend his own life (and associated bouts with mental health and schizophrenia) with the fiction he is writing. I have not seen it any more evident than in the book Valis – the first of his final trio
The story is told by Dick and, as he often did in his later writing, he has put pieces of his real life into the story. Does it add or subtract from the verisimilitude? I’m not sure. But it is definitely Philip K. Dick who is writing.
The first half of this book is a slog to get through. It is Dick laying out the concepts and thoughts about – well, for lack of a better term, we’ll call it religion - that he will use as the basis for how this novel will move forward. He puts these thoughts forward through the meandering, schizophrenic writings of Horselover Fat, a man who has watched suicide and death committed around him, and whose mind is not better for all of it. The only thing that will keep you reading through the first half are Fat and his associates and the pieces of the plot that are oh-so-slowly coming together.
But work your way through that first half. Eventually you will find yourself propelled into another of Dick’s jewels, a story that causes you to rethink what and where you are, and how you accept reality.
As I started this novel, I was ready to relegate this to the worst of Dick’s writing. By the end, I had gone out and bought the final two books to see how it would all come together. I would never recommend this as an introduction to Dick, but for those who understand they are about to enter a different world with his writings, it is another excellent piece to add to your collection. (And for those who have not discovered Philip K. Dick – what are you waiting for?!)
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of novels which explore concepts of self (what Dick novel doesn’t do that) and the concepts of religion.The story is told by Dick and, as he often did in his later writing, he has put pieces of his real life into the story. Does it add or subtract from the verisimilitude? I’m not sure. But it is definitely Philip K. Dick who is writing.
The first half of this book is a slog to get through. It is Dick laying out the concepts and thoughts about – well, for lack of a better term, we’ll call it religion - that he will use as the basis for how this novel will move forward. He puts these thoughts forward through the meandering, schizophrenic writings of Horselover Fat, a man who has watched suicide and death committed around him, and whose mind is not better for all of it. The only thing that will keep you reading through the first half are Fat and his associates and the pieces of the plot that are oh-so-slowly coming together.
But work your way through that first half. Eventually you will find yourself propelled into another of Dick’s jewels, a story that causes you to rethink what and where you are, and how you accept reality.
As I started this novel, I was ready to relegate this to the worst of Dick’s writing. By the end, I had gone out and bought the final two books to see how it would all come together. I would never recommend this as an introduction to Dick, but for those who understand they are about to enter a different world with his writings, it is another excellent piece to add to your collection. (And for those who have not discovered Philip K. Dick – what are you waiting for?!)
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LibraryThing member TBlake
GNOSTIC SCHIZO EXISTENTIAL SURREAL SF MASTERPIECE
I cannot review VALIS objectively, as it is a book that belongs to no known genre or pre-existing category, combining as it does elements of autobiography, philosophy, science-fiction, gnostic theology, psychoanalysis, and existential
The principal framework of explanation is a science-fictional variant of gnostic cosmology in which this universe has been constructed by a false, evil and crazy, god, which explains all the irrationality and the suffering that it contains. The world is the Black Iron Prison, and we are its suffering prisoners. The true God is outside the universe and breaking through to heal it and us in various ways, including the pink light that Dick experienced. After recounting many surreal experiences and visions the book ends with the narrator, Philip K. Dick, sitting before the TV, watching and waiting. He is clear that this is his way of continuing the search and keeping to his mission: keeping awake and open.
I think many of us experience moments of revelatory intensity and also of intense despair at the emprisonment of our daily lives and of our very selves. I first read VALIS in 1981, when it first came out. I was all alone in a student room in a god-forsaken empty outer suburb of Paris, unable to speak French, dreaming repeatedly of being shut up in a prison that was shrinking and squashing me out of existence. I empathised with the Gnostics and with their idea of this life as a prison. I read VALIS and it spoke to me instantly and deeply.
My own "pink light" came at a moment of extreme existential and intellectual isolation in my birthplace, in Sydney: I read Deleuze and Guattari's ANTI-OEDIPUS, and it changed my life. I left Sydney for Paris, attended Deleuze's lectures for 6 years, and finally took on French nationality and settled down as an English teacher on the French Riviera. And I'm still trying to understand what happened to me. We all have our "pink light" at least once in our life.
Dick's novel opens with the beginnings of his eventual crack-up and suicide attempt:
"Horselover Fat's nervous breakdown began the day he got the phonecall from Gloria asking if he had any Nembutals. He asked her why she wanted them and she said that she intended to kill herself".
This is no message from a divine light, but the beginning of a soul-destroying relationship with a toxic, thanatotic individual, whose name "Gloria" is an ironic mockery of her real state and aims. However, the novel ends with an optimistic phonecall from Horselover Fat reporting on his quest to find the 5th Messiah:
"one day I got a phonecall from Horselover Fat: a phonecall from Tokyo. He sounded healthy and excited and full of energy, and amused at my surprise to be hearing from him".
The split between Dick and Fat continues, but now it enriches his life instead of despairing it. Eros has come to win out over thanatos. After all the speculations and synchronicities, after all the encounters both toxic and salvific, there is no final explanation, only a new sense of optimism and openness:
"My search kept me at home; I sat before the TV set in my living room. I sat; I waited; I watched; I kept myself awake. As we had been told, originally, long ago, to do; I kept my commission".
I cannot review VALIS objectively, as it is a book that belongs to no known genre or pre-existing category, combining as it does elements of autobiography, philosophy, science-fiction, gnostic theology, psychoanalysis, and existential
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self-construction. Like the posthumously published EXEGESIS, it takes its origin in the need to understand respond to the events of February and March 1974 (which he called 2-3-74). Dick was irradiated by a brilliant pink light emanating from a Christian fish-symbol (ichthys) necklace worn by a young woman. He had a series of visions over the next two months, and spent the rest of his life trying to understand them.The novel splits Dick into two characters: the narrator, Philip K. Dick, a moderately successful science-fiction writer; and Horselover Fat his crazy illuminated friend, to whom the visions arrived, and whose life became a quest to resolve their enigma.The principal framework of explanation is a science-fictional variant of gnostic cosmology in which this universe has been constructed by a false, evil and crazy, god, which explains all the irrationality and the suffering that it contains. The world is the Black Iron Prison, and we are its suffering prisoners. The true God is outside the universe and breaking through to heal it and us in various ways, including the pink light that Dick experienced. After recounting many surreal experiences and visions the book ends with the narrator, Philip K. Dick, sitting before the TV, watching and waiting. He is clear that this is his way of continuing the search and keeping to his mission: keeping awake and open.
I think many of us experience moments of revelatory intensity and also of intense despair at the emprisonment of our daily lives and of our very selves. I first read VALIS in 1981, when it first came out. I was all alone in a student room in a god-forsaken empty outer suburb of Paris, unable to speak French, dreaming repeatedly of being shut up in a prison that was shrinking and squashing me out of existence. I empathised with the Gnostics and with their idea of this life as a prison. I read VALIS and it spoke to me instantly and deeply.
My own "pink light" came at a moment of extreme existential and intellectual isolation in my birthplace, in Sydney: I read Deleuze and Guattari's ANTI-OEDIPUS, and it changed my life. I left Sydney for Paris, attended Deleuze's lectures for 6 years, and finally took on French nationality and settled down as an English teacher on the French Riviera. And I'm still trying to understand what happened to me. We all have our "pink light" at least once in our life.
Dick's novel opens with the beginnings of his eventual crack-up and suicide attempt:
"Horselover Fat's nervous breakdown began the day he got the phonecall from Gloria asking if he had any Nembutals. He asked her why she wanted them and she said that she intended to kill herself".
This is no message from a divine light, but the beginning of a soul-destroying relationship with a toxic, thanatotic individual, whose name "Gloria" is an ironic mockery of her real state and aims. However, the novel ends with an optimistic phonecall from Horselover Fat reporting on his quest to find the 5th Messiah:
"one day I got a phonecall from Horselover Fat: a phonecall from Tokyo. He sounded healthy and excited and full of energy, and amused at my surprise to be hearing from him".
The split between Dick and Fat continues, but now it enriches his life instead of despairing it. Eros has come to win out over thanatos. After all the speculations and synchronicities, after all the encounters both toxic and salvific, there is no final explanation, only a new sense of optimism and openness:
"My search kept me at home; I sat before the TV set in my living room. I sat; I waited; I watched; I kept myself awake. As we had been told, originally, long ago, to do; I kept my commission".
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LibraryThing member antao
Is Phil Dick talking about regressing back to former time periods, or the much more radical notion of previous structures existing in the sub-strata of reality and emanating forward, like the notion of ancient Rome, a proto-fascist state, The Black Iron Prison of VALIS, falling forward through
The text is the text is the text, and readers must make of it what they will. But I can tell you this: back when he was writing, I and a bunch of others were reading, and everybody I knew thought he was writing about exactly what you seem to think he was writing about. I'm curious: were you around, back in the day?
The movies based on Dick's stories do not necessarily accurately reflect Dick's own themes and metaphors. These days, "android" normally means a humanoid robot, but several decades ago in SF, "android" typically referred to an organic (flesh-and-blood) but synthetic (human created) being. The android was sometimes used as a metaphor for the human being discriminated against on racial or other grounds. ("If you prick us, do we not bleed?") Dick, however, uses the android metaphor differently: as I noted elsewhere, the android for Dick is a human who is damaged in their capacity for empathy and relatedness. That's why Dick would not have been thrilled with the idea of a Phil Dick "android"; but a Phil Dick robot would be just fine.
But is Phil Dick talking about regressing back to former time periods, or the much more radical notion of previous structures existing in the sub-strata of reality and emanating forward, like the notion of ancient Rome, a proto-fascist state, The Black Iron Prison of VALIS, falling forward through history? I think for Phil Dick - sensing these things - was no mere matter of psychological themes. And in the exploration of these realities one thing is clear - the date doesn't matter. A smug talking refrigerator door is about everyday oppression. It is humorous but it represents the shadow. Have you heard the automated checkout robot at Woolworths? "Unexpected item in the bagging area." Combining elements of stern accusation and exasperation. So he had it right, now everyday objects talk to us, and form part of an oppressive regime who's intent is to shackle the soul. It seems to me all past structures are embedded in their futures and our presents and futures. The shadow does not come from Rome, although the metaphysics or physics of it so expressed is very powerful. Whether it was Rome or Akkad or Sparta or any one of the countless human nightmares past or present (North Korea for example) they are human, all too human, nightmares. The shadow is in us and always has been. Unfortunately it seems to be growing stronger and may overpower us all in the form of government super-agencies and private super-corps doing what fascism failed to accomplish, or something unexpected my change it all. Technology and knowledge can empower the shadows but they are in us, and I can't think of it ever being different. Religion and spirituality, God, and trying to live in some godly or spiritual way has not done very much to make things better beyond some inspirational, and co-optable, individual cases. The emergence of technology is as inevitable than it is dangerous. But it becomes dark because it's what people want, or want enough to ignore the negative consequences of getting what they want. Shackling the soul is a perennial human choice. The shackling potentials of today's tech-world just seem to all come together without any plan or prevision. We fought, often bloodily, totalitarianism, slavery, and autocracies with amazing success, but a whole different order of control is emerging and the development of its tools are inevitable.
Phil Dick did have previsions of it and his artistry makes his work far more than just projections of dystopias based on tech. In him the human being is caught up in it all, but also deeply involved in it all.
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history. I think for Phil Dick - sensing these things - was no mere matter of psychological themes. And in the exploration of these realities one thing is clear - the date doesn't matter. A smug talking refrigerator door is about everyday oppression. It is humorous but it represents the shadow. Have you heard the automated checkout robot at Woolworths? "Unexpected item in the bagging area." Combining elements of stern accusation and exasperation. So he had it right, now everyday objects talk to us, and form part of an oppressive regime who's intent is to shackle the soul.The text is the text is the text, and readers must make of it what they will. But I can tell you this: back when he was writing, I and a bunch of others were reading, and everybody I knew thought he was writing about exactly what you seem to think he was writing about. I'm curious: were you around, back in the day?
The movies based on Dick's stories do not necessarily accurately reflect Dick's own themes and metaphors. These days, "android" normally means a humanoid robot, but several decades ago in SF, "android" typically referred to an organic (flesh-and-blood) but synthetic (human created) being. The android was sometimes used as a metaphor for the human being discriminated against on racial or other grounds. ("If you prick us, do we not bleed?") Dick, however, uses the android metaphor differently: as I noted elsewhere, the android for Dick is a human who is damaged in their capacity for empathy and relatedness. That's why Dick would not have been thrilled with the idea of a Phil Dick "android"; but a Phil Dick robot would be just fine.
But is Phil Dick talking about regressing back to former time periods, or the much more radical notion of previous structures existing in the sub-strata of reality and emanating forward, like the notion of ancient Rome, a proto-fascist state, The Black Iron Prison of VALIS, falling forward through history? I think for Phil Dick - sensing these things - was no mere matter of psychological themes. And in the exploration of these realities one thing is clear - the date doesn't matter. A smug talking refrigerator door is about everyday oppression. It is humorous but it represents the shadow. Have you heard the automated checkout robot at Woolworths? "Unexpected item in the bagging area." Combining elements of stern accusation and exasperation. So he had it right, now everyday objects talk to us, and form part of an oppressive regime who's intent is to shackle the soul. It seems to me all past structures are embedded in their futures and our presents and futures. The shadow does not come from Rome, although the metaphysics or physics of it so expressed is very powerful. Whether it was Rome or Akkad or Sparta or any one of the countless human nightmares past or present (North Korea for example) they are human, all too human, nightmares. The shadow is in us and always has been. Unfortunately it seems to be growing stronger and may overpower us all in the form of government super-agencies and private super-corps doing what fascism failed to accomplish, or something unexpected my change it all. Technology and knowledge can empower the shadows but they are in us, and I can't think of it ever being different. Religion and spirituality, God, and trying to live in some godly or spiritual way has not done very much to make things better beyond some inspirational, and co-optable, individual cases. The emergence of technology is as inevitable than it is dangerous. But it becomes dark because it's what people want, or want enough to ignore the negative consequences of getting what they want. Shackling the soul is a perennial human choice. The shackling potentials of today's tech-world just seem to all come together without any plan or prevision. We fought, often bloodily, totalitarianism, slavery, and autocracies with amazing success, but a whole different order of control is emerging and the development of its tools are inevitable.
Phil Dick did have previsions of it and his artistry makes his work far more than just projections of dystopias based on tech. In him the human being is caught up in it all, but also deeply involved in it all.
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LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
I have rated this as a five star read. I can equally see why some have given this work but half a star. It is either a brilliant, unique book, or the deluded meandering of a damaged mind. I'm not sure which.
This is one of those books in which one feels that, if one just reads the next paragraph,
A confused review of a confusing book.
This is one of those books in which one feels that, if one just reads the next paragraph,
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things will become clear. It doesn't, but the certainty remains that there is wisdom within these pages. It is the sort of book that will reward a second read (or is that merely the belief in the next paragraph reinforced?). It will be a while before I put in the effort required to go through this again, but I'm glad that I've tried it.A confused review of a confusing book.
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LibraryThing member shimra
Classic, partially authobiographical book about searching for God while suffering from mental illness.
LibraryThing member colinflipper
Like many other PKD novels, Valis deals with the question of reality. As usual, drugs and insanity get tied in, but the main avenue of exploration here is religion. In fact, significant sections of the book really wouldn't be classified as narrative fiction and are instead closer to be expository
Dick is often accused of being a bad writer (but with brilliant ideas). Reading other books of his ('A Scanner Darkly', 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep', etc), I had never really noticed this. I definitely do notice the sloppy writing in Valis.
So, in summary, if you like the idea of reading about PKD's wild (and frequently confusing) religious beliefs, then dive in. Otherwise, you'll probably want to steer clear because the expository sections and generally flat writing will wear you down.
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writing about the 'true' nature of the universe. This bogs things down towards the start of the book, but a plot does show up to carry things along.Dick is often accused of being a bad writer (but with brilliant ideas). Reading other books of his ('A Scanner Darkly', 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep', etc), I had never really noticed this. I definitely do notice the sloppy writing in Valis.
So, in summary, if you like the idea of reading about PKD's wild (and frequently confusing) religious beliefs, then dive in. Otherwise, you'll probably want to steer clear because the expository sections and generally flat writing will wear you down.
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LibraryThing member funkendub
What a strange, strange and again wonderfully strange writer he was.
LibraryThing member mckenz18
This book is weird. I mean really weird--even by Philip K. Dick’s standards. VALIS (or Vast Active Living Intelligence System) chronicles the search of Horselover Fat for truth after being contacted by God through a pink beam of light. In undertaking this spiritual, philosophic, and cosmic
Entry 18. Real time ceased in 70 C.E. with the fall of the temple at Jerusalem. It began again in 1974 C.E. The intervening period was a perfect spurious interpolation aping the creation of the Mind. “The Empire never ended,” but in 1974 a cypher was sent out as signal that the Age of Iron was over; the cypher consisted of two words: KING FELIX, which refers to the Happy (or Rightful) King.
Exactly. VALIS is a very strange book, but it actually is straightforward (to an extent) up until the introduction of the rock star Mother Goose and his film. Then the lines of reality become a bit more nebulous. One cannot say that Horselover finds the answers he is looking for in the end, and it is dependent upon the reader’s personal interpretation as to whether this book offers Horselover a happy (or even just satisfying) ending. This is one of my favorite PKD novels--it delves into Gnosticism and various other religious esoterica, it features Philip K. Dick’s trademark paranoia, it explores the nature of reality, and it blows mental fuses with every paragraph. Come to understand the significance behind the Black Iron Prison, KING FELIX, the Dogon tribe, the plasmate that patiently slumbered at Chenoboskion for centuries…read this book.
The Empire never ended.
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journey, Horselover faithfully pens his exegesis. A (VERY) tiny taste of the weirdness you are in for: Entry 18. Real time ceased in 70 C.E. with the fall of the temple at Jerusalem. It began again in 1974 C.E. The intervening period was a perfect spurious interpolation aping the creation of the Mind. “The Empire never ended,” but in 1974 a cypher was sent out as signal that the Age of Iron was over; the cypher consisted of two words: KING FELIX, which refers to the Happy (or Rightful) King.
Exactly. VALIS is a very strange book, but it actually is straightforward (to an extent) up until the introduction of the rock star Mother Goose and his film. Then the lines of reality become a bit more nebulous. One cannot say that Horselover finds the answers he is looking for in the end, and it is dependent upon the reader’s personal interpretation as to whether this book offers Horselover a happy (or even just satisfying) ending. This is one of my favorite PKD novels--it delves into Gnosticism and various other religious esoterica, it features Philip K. Dick’s trademark paranoia, it explores the nature of reality, and it blows mental fuses with every paragraph. Come to understand the significance behind the Black Iron Prison, KING FELIX, the Dogon tribe, the plasmate that patiently slumbered at Chenoboskion for centuries…read this book.
The Empire never ended.
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LibraryThing member WildMaggie
This is the most bizarre book I've ever read. I kept reading to the end to see if the author would start to make more sense. But it's the same all the way through. The whole book is inside an insane person's mind.
LibraryThing member heidilove
PKD, how do i love thee... let me count the ways.
LibraryThing member ursula
Having only previously read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, I'm not sure I was entirely prepared for this book, but I still found it fascinating.
It's not scifi, it's mostly an autobiographical account of possible schizophrenia with some fiction thrown in. The subject of the book, Horselover
Fascinating, at times fantastical, and then at times so lucid in its truth that it's hard to believe. If you have an interest in Gnostic Christianity or the nature of existence, you'll probably enjoy it even more than I did.
It's not scifi, it's mostly an autobiographical account of possible schizophrenia with some fiction thrown in. The subject of the book, Horselover
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Fat, has an experience in which he thinks that he has interacted not God, but "Zebra," the rational being behind the irrational world. This interaction occurs through a beam from a pink laser. The author of the book experienced the same thing, at the same time. Fascinating, at times fantastical, and then at times so lucid in its truth that it's hard to believe. If you have an interest in Gnostic Christianity or the nature of existence, you'll probably enjoy it even more than I did.
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LibraryThing member danconsiglio
So good! Another of Dick's "Look at me! I'm crazyyyyyyy!" books. Read this before Radio Free Albemuth.
LibraryThing member Pondlife
I normally like PKD, but I found this just too weird and crazy. The only reason I kept reading it was because of the semi autobiographical nature, with both the narrator and Horselover Fat representing PKD.
The first half of the book seems to be going nowhere, but then the second half tells the real
Some people may like this, but it was just too much for me. I think I'll stick to PKD's earlier works.
The first half of the book seems to be going nowhere, but then the second half tells the real
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story.Some people may like this, but it was just too much for me. I think I'll stick to PKD's earlier works.
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LibraryThing member HadriantheBlind
A common saying is that there is a thin line between genius and insanity. PKD turns the line into a 4D hypercube and goes on at length about Gnosticism, WWII battles, history, politics, drug culture, and its still incredibly interesting. I won't pretend to judge on the nature of what happened to
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him, but his books are as interesting to think about as ever. Show Less
LibraryThing member elenipapanou
Wow! That's how I'll start my review on this book. Dick uses the vehicle of fiction to understand the meaning behind his spiritual experience. I have had a similar experience and a lot of what is revealed in Valis runs parallel to what happened to me, which is why I personally resonated with the
What drew me in was Dick’s use of first and third person in the narration. The reason for the switch was so that the narrator could be more objective about his spiritual experience. However, this split in narration evolves into something greater, which I won’t mention here as I don't want to give it away. Dick’s decision to use two points of view is eventually made very clear. I couldn’t see this story being told any other way.
Valis is filled with introspection, madness, and spiritual insight, all effectively seasoned with humor. Dick never takes himself too seriously and always makes it seem as if he’s open to every explanation that he muses over. My personal favorites in this book were the movie sequence, the discussion between Phil and his friends about the meaning behind it and their subsequent meeting of Sophia. During the reading of the book, I was noticing similarities between Dick and Robert Anton Wilson, and I was pleasantly surprised when Dick mentioned RAW's book, Cosmic Trigger!
Valis is not an easy book to read, and the plot is thin, but if you're looking for something with depth, you'll enjoy it.
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story. What drew me in was Dick’s use of first and third person in the narration. The reason for the switch was so that the narrator could be more objective about his spiritual experience. However, this split in narration evolves into something greater, which I won’t mention here as I don't want to give it away. Dick’s decision to use two points of view is eventually made very clear. I couldn’t see this story being told any other way.
Valis is filled with introspection, madness, and spiritual insight, all effectively seasoned with humor. Dick never takes himself too seriously and always makes it seem as if he’s open to every explanation that he muses over. My personal favorites in this book were the movie sequence, the discussion between Phil and his friends about the meaning behind it and their subsequent meeting of Sophia. During the reading of the book, I was noticing similarities between Dick and Robert Anton Wilson, and I was pleasantly surprised when Dick mentioned RAW's book, Cosmic Trigger!
Valis is not an easy book to read, and the plot is thin, but if you're looking for something with depth, you'll enjoy it.
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LibraryThing member blake.rosser
The most brilliant sci-fi novel I've ever read, and maybe the best.
LibraryThing member aeceyton
This book can be so frustrating, at ponds just feeling like a speedfreak acquaintance jabbering away. Worth it in the end,, an important touchstone.
Subjects
Awards
Kurd Laßwitz Preis (Winner — 1985)
Language
Original publication date
1981-02
1978-12-07 (manuscript)
Physical description
240 p.
ISBN
0552118419 / 9780552118415