Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Gateway (2003), Edition: New Ed, 240 pages
Description
On Mars, the harsh climate could make any colonist turn to drugs to escape a dead-end existence. Especially when the drug is Can-D, which translates its users into the idyllic world of a Barbie-esque character named Perky Pat. When the mysterious Palmer Eldritch arrives with a new drug called Chew-Z, he offers a more addictive experience, one that might bring the user closer to God. But in a world where everyone is tripping, no promises can be taken at face value. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is one of Philip K. Dick's enduring classics, at once a deep character study, a dark mystery, and a tightrope walk along the edge of reality and illusion.
Media reviews
Next year SF celebrates a fairly significant anniversary. It will be 40 years since JG Ballard published The Terminal Beach , Brian Aldiss published Greybeard , William Burroughs published Naked Lunch in the UK, I took over New Worlds magazine and Philip K Dick published The Three Stigmata of
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Palmer Eldritch . It was a watershed year, if you like, when SF rediscovered its visionary roots and began creating new conventions which rejected both modernism and American pulp traditions.
Perhaps best representing that cusp, Dick's work only rarely achieved the stylistic and imaginative coherence of those other writers. His corporate future came from a common pool created by troubled left-wingers Pohl and Kornbluth ( The Space Merchants , 1953) or Alfred Bester ( The Demolished Man , 1953). His Mars is the harsh but habitable planet of Leigh Brackett ( Queen of the Martian Catacombs , 1949) or Ray Bradbury ( The Martian Chronicles , 1950). His style and characters are indistinguishable from those of a dozen other snappy pulpsters. Even his questioning of the fundamentals of identity and reality is largely unoriginal, preceded by the work of the less prolific but perhaps more profound Charles Harness, who wrote stories such as "Time Trap", "The Paradox Men" and "The Rose" in the 50s.
So how has Dick emerged as today's best-known and admired US SF writer? It's hard to judge from this book (which was promoted enthusiastically by me and many others when it first appeared). Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member sturlington
I was a bit annoyed with this novel up to the very end. There's so much going on, and not much is well explained. It was causing my suspension of disbelief to seriously waver.
This novel is set in a future when Earth is very, very hot and crowded. So hot that going outside at noon is suicide
Then the infamous Palmer Eldritch returns from an interstellar voyage with a new, even better drug, which threatens the existing monopoly. Plans are hatched to quell the new competition; conspiracies are formed, and stooges put in place. But when people start taking the drug, they soon realize that Palmer Eldritch himself has infiltrated their fantasies. He is recognizable because of his three "stigmata": a deformed jaw hiding steel teeth; a mechanical hand; and slit-like artificial eyes. Because the effects of the new drug wear off gradually, it soon becomes unclear what is reality and what is hallucination. Just as much in question is who exactly is Palmer Eldritch? Is he man, alien, perhaps even God?
This is when the book became really interesting for me, about three-quarters of the way through. Palmer Eldritch's drug makes time malleable, calls into question the nature of reality and re-examines God Himself. The novel ends with a question mark -- we readers aren't sure what is real or not by then, or who is having the hallucination, if it is one -- and that's okay. I only wish it hadn't taken so long to get to the meaty stuff. But the image of the constantly reappearing Palmer Eldritch -- with his unusual stigmata, he is more like a demon than a god -- sticks with me. Even his name means "foreign, strange and uncanny."
This novel is set in a future when Earth is very, very hot and crowded. So hot that going outside at noon is suicide
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(literally). So crowded that people are drafted to live in colonies on other planets and moons. There, life is so much worse than on Earth that the colonists have to take an illegal drug to transport themselves into a Barbie-like dreamworld just to get through the day. (No word from Dick on how space travel became so quick and easy -- 8 hours to Mars! -- or how human life is supported on these colony planets, which aggravated me quite a little bit.)Then the infamous Palmer Eldritch returns from an interstellar voyage with a new, even better drug, which threatens the existing monopoly. Plans are hatched to quell the new competition; conspiracies are formed, and stooges put in place. But when people start taking the drug, they soon realize that Palmer Eldritch himself has infiltrated their fantasies. He is recognizable because of his three "stigmata": a deformed jaw hiding steel teeth; a mechanical hand; and slit-like artificial eyes. Because the effects of the new drug wear off gradually, it soon becomes unclear what is reality and what is hallucination. Just as much in question is who exactly is Palmer Eldritch? Is he man, alien, perhaps even God?
This is when the book became really interesting for me, about three-quarters of the way through. Palmer Eldritch's drug makes time malleable, calls into question the nature of reality and re-examines God Himself. The novel ends with a question mark -- we readers aren't sure what is real or not by then, or who is having the hallucination, if it is one -- and that's okay. I only wish it hadn't taken so long to get to the meaty stuff. But the image of the constantly reappearing Palmer Eldritch -- with his unusual stigmata, he is more like a demon than a god -- sticks with me. Even his name means "foreign, strange and uncanny."
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LibraryThing member RandyStafford
One of Dick's classics with virtually all his famous motifs and themes: multiple realities, chatty robots, a scheming woman, desperate colonists on Mars, gnosticism, the machine as an emblem of death, corporate and political intrigue, time travel, and pre-cognition.
Industrialist and drug smuggler
But Eldritch's Chew-Z offers a different, longer lasting trip, and one more solipistically seductive. But is Eldritch a man or the spearhead of an alien invasion?
As with some of Dick's best work, the story feels oddly up to date whether it's the climatically changed Earth, the obsession with spotting commerical trends via pre-cognitives, a corrupt UN, or the talking suitcase that also happens to be a psychotherapist.
Even if you're not quite sure what to make of the ending, this is one of Dick's very best novels.
Industrialist and drug smuggler
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Leo Bulero has a problem. Mutilated cyborg Palmer Eldritch has returned unexpectedly after a ten year absence in space. Now he's threatening to undercut Bulero's business: providing a sort of commodified communion for colonists on Mars. With the elaborate playsets built around his Perky Pat dolls and with the aid of the narcotic Can-D, Bulero offers groups a pharmacological return to the Earth they've been exiled from and that is now burning up for unknown reasons. But Eldritch's Chew-Z offers a different, longer lasting trip, and one more solipistically seductive. But is Eldritch a man or the spearhead of an alien invasion?
As with some of Dick's best work, the story feels oddly up to date whether it's the climatically changed Earth, the obsession with spotting commerical trends via pre-cognitives, a corrupt UN, or the talking suitcase that also happens to be a psychotherapist.
Even if you're not quite sure what to make of the ending, this is one of Dick's very best novels.
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LibraryThing member TheoClarke
From a stock pulp science fiction beginning, this novel swirls away into a psychadelic exploration of marketing, metaphysics and xenology. It is so heavily layered that it multiple readings and much reflection are needed to optimise its value but even at a superficial plot level it is an
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astonishing work if one can cope with the confusion that it generates towards the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member Lukerik
Perfectly paced world-building, high imagination and themes of drugs and religion. Very clever how the drug induced effects on one character can invade the future reality of other characters. I've had a few drugs in my time and Dick absolutely nails how the mental state of two or more people taking
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drugs together can become reality for those involved. I've also had a bit of religion; I'm not into transubstantiation, but it's quite true that if the people involved believe in something, it may as well be. Show Less
LibraryThing member laphroaig
One day I will have to return to this book and re-read it. Very slowly.
Despite its pre-1980s origins (would any modern sci-fi author consider flying cars anything but out-moded fantasy?) Dick presents a very up-to-date view of the future: unremittingly grim; global warming; corrupt in every detail.
Despite this, there is no escaping that this novel is as mad as a box of frogs. Alien invasion? The nature of God? The ability of the human character to form bonds in the most hostile of situations? Perhaps just drug-induced fantasy ... who knows what this is really about? I would advise anyone to give it a try and if they figure it out to e-mail me the explanation.
Despite its pre-1980s origins (would any modern sci-fi author consider flying cars anything but out-moded fantasy?) Dick presents a very up-to-date view of the future: unremittingly grim; global warming; corrupt in every detail.
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Spartan in detail, terse in style and with some larger-than-life but always realistic characters, this was a good read.Despite this, there is no escaping that this novel is as mad as a box of frogs. Alien invasion? The nature of God? The ability of the human character to form bonds in the most hostile of situations? Perhaps just drug-induced fantasy ... who knows what this is really about? I would advise anyone to give it a try and if they figure it out to e-mail me the explanation.
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LibraryThing member AHS-Wolfy
Barney Mayerson has just received his draft notice to join the Mars colony. He can probably gt out of it if he wants to but he's not entirely sure that he does. Currently employed as one of the top pre-cognitives for P.P. Layouts, makers of Perky Pat and her accessories which, used in conjunction
As with most of the PKD books I've read so far there are an awful lot of ideas and themes within its 200 page length but it's all put together to form a coherent whole (so far as his books go). The nature of reality, religion and religious experience, drugs, pre-cognitive abilities and genetic engineering are all at least touched upon here. Characters are fairly typical of mid-60's science fiction with women in mostly subservient roles. The ending is not entirely conclusive but fits well with the build up to it. Not one I would recommend to first time readers of this author but if you've tried one or two others prior then you should be fine with this one.
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with the drug Can-D, offers a virtual escape from the humdrum colonial existence. The illegal drug is also manufactured and supplied by P.P. Layouts although if rumours are to be believed it may soon have a competitor and Leo Bulero (P.P.'s boss) isn't too happy at the prospect. Palmer Eldritch has returned after a 10 year absence for a trip to the Proxy system and has brought back a competing product that is supposed to be much better than Can-D. Offering a more full immersion and for longer and without the limits imposed by the supplied layouts. Minutes spent under the influence offers up years of experiencing whatever you want. Immortality and total wish fulfilment could put P.P. Layouts out of business unless Leo finds a way to stop Eldritch by fair means or foul.As with most of the PKD books I've read so far there are an awful lot of ideas and themes within its 200 page length but it's all put together to form a coherent whole (so far as his books go). The nature of reality, religion and religious experience, drugs, pre-cognitive abilities and genetic engineering are all at least touched upon here. Characters are fairly typical of mid-60's science fiction with women in mostly subservient roles. The ending is not entirely conclusive but fits well with the build up to it. Not one I would recommend to first time readers of this author but if you've tried one or two others prior then you should be fine with this one.
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LibraryThing member collsers
PKD's vision of the future presented in this novel is frighteningly prescient -- people escape the doldrums of their life through an artificial "second life," plastic surgery has been replaced by medical "evolution," and so on. The ending will throw any reader for a loop, and requires several
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rereadings until you even think you might understand what is happening. However, PKD's strength has never been a coherent plot conclusion, but the startling details of the worlds he creates. In this novel, he excels at what he does best. Show Less
LibraryThing member nakmeister
In the future, Earth has many colonies where life is hard, and there is nothing much but work. Except Can-D, the illegal drug that enables the colonists to experience shared virtual reality experiences, far removed from their drab lives. For the manufacturer of Can-D, times are good. Until that is,
Out of all the many books I had to read I decided to read this one, because it was supposed to be one of the science fiction classics. It’s author, Phillip K. Dick, is one of the top science fiction authors of the 50’s and 60’s, the era when some commentators consider science fiction novels to be in their heyday. This book is one of his more famous books, so I was expected a lot from it. To tell you the truth I was very disappointed. It started off quite well, but quickly deteriorated becoming confusing and plain odd. It doesn’t surprise me that this book’s author was often into hallucinogenic drugs, the story here is very trippy, and while it has a couple of interesting ideas like shared illusory worlds, it didn’t hang together well. It was only about 150 pages but I get the impression if it had been a lot longer, I wouldn’t have finished it.
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the entrepeneur Palmer Eldtritch returns from his trip outside the solar sytem, bringing with him Chew-Z, which gives anyone whatever they want. But Palmer Eldritch rules as God in everyone’s virtual world...Out of all the many books I had to read I decided to read this one, because it was supposed to be one of the science fiction classics. It’s author, Phillip K. Dick, is one of the top science fiction authors of the 50’s and 60’s, the era when some commentators consider science fiction novels to be in their heyday. This book is one of his more famous books, so I was expected a lot from it. To tell you the truth I was very disappointed. It started off quite well, but quickly deteriorated becoming confusing and plain odd. It doesn’t surprise me that this book’s author was often into hallucinogenic drugs, the story here is very trippy, and while it has a couple of interesting ideas like shared illusory worlds, it didn’t hang together well. It was only about 150 pages but I get the impression if it had been a lot longer, I wouldn’t have finished it.
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LibraryThing member etimme
I thought the idea of the Earth heating up so much that people cannot go outside and vacation at the poles was a great background for this story. The idea of the rich using evolution chambers to leave behind the shackles of their former humanity was also an interesting perspective on the idea of
Overall, I enjoyed the writing and pacing of the story, but not the story itself. I didn't like closing the book and being left with more questions than answers, especially when the core question was "did this even happen?" Did Bulero even really wake up from his drug fugue?
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the future.Overall, I enjoyed the writing and pacing of the story, but not the story itself. I didn't like closing the book and being left with more questions than answers, especially when the core question was "did this even happen?" Did Bulero even really wake up from his drug fugue?
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LibraryThing member smichaelwilson
Very few Science Fiction authors manage to create memorable works that easily retain their relevance in the near and/or distant future. Phillip K. Dick is one of those talented few, and The 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.
Dick's not-so-distant dystopian future is one where global warming is an
What would normally be a one-trick-pony for other authors becomes a multi-layered examination of everything from religion and philosophy to physical/mental evolution and individual freedom versus responsibility. Dick doesn't bother with simple 'Good Vs. Evil' conflict, but instead shows us that both possibilities are sides of the same coin, and simply asks us to call it in the air. Highly recommended for those who like to think about a book long after reading it.
Dick's not-so-distant dystopian future is one where global warming is an
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adaptable but growing dillema, with the bulk of humanity virtually sealed away in air-conditioned office buildings and apartment complexes. The solution, space migration to nearby planets, is such a bleak and arduous task that 'settlers' need to be drafted. These off-world settlers often resort to drug-induced shared hallucination involving miniature recreations of life back on earth. Within this structure we find corporations employing psychics to predict future sales trends, upper class elitists physically evolving themselves into 'superior beings', naturally created drugs that allow users to connect on different plains of reality and traverse freely throughout space-time, to name a few. In the center of it all is the titular Palmer Eldritch, a powerful and mysterious businessman who has spent decades communing with alien races, and has returned with what he claims to be mankind's mental and spiritual salvation.What would normally be a one-trick-pony for other authors becomes a multi-layered examination of everything from religion and philosophy to physical/mental evolution and individual freedom versus responsibility. Dick doesn't bother with simple 'Good Vs. Evil' conflict, but instead shows us that both possibilities are sides of the same coin, and simply asks us to call it in the air. Highly recommended for those who like to think about a book long after reading it.
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LibraryThing member drbrand
Even after reading seven of his other novels, I'm still surprised at how excited and perplexed I feel after reading a new one. Explaining the premise of this novel (or any of his novels) is usually difficult because there are so many elements at play. Essentially, the world is really hot because
Eventually, Palmer Eldritch appears as a competitor peddling a drug that is far more intense, inducing entire lifetimes that can be experienced in the blink of an eye, with mysterious residual effects that lead many of its users to doubt the reality they live in. The religious undertones of the book touch on themes of Gnosticism, allusions to the complexities of transubstantiation, and the ontology of God.
As per usual, PKD's narrative is occasionally choppy and the prose is somewhat to be desired, but his novels are inevitably far more about the questions they raise: how might hallucinogenic drug experiences be similar to religious experiences? What does religion offer that the secular world can't? What role does capitalism play in benefiting from and manipulating societal elements like recreational drug use and religion? And, ultimately, how can we tell what is real, and what does it ultimately matter?
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humans messed up the climate, rich people are paying Nazi-esque doctors for "evolution therapy" to increase their brain capacity, people are being conscripted to colonize foreign planets, and a company is getting rich by covertly pushing a mind-altering drug on the colonists that can only be used with miniature accessories and layouts manufactured by this same company. Some of the characters include the head of that company, a "pre-cog" employee who can glimpse the future success of potential products, and Martian colonists who live in depressing hovels, gathering around a "layout" populated with dolls and small appliances. These colonists desperately chew the drug and collectively enter the dolls "Perky Pat" and "Walt" in a manner that could be described as "Malkovich-esque." Eventually, Palmer Eldritch appears as a competitor peddling a drug that is far more intense, inducing entire lifetimes that can be experienced in the blink of an eye, with mysterious residual effects that lead many of its users to doubt the reality they live in. The religious undertones of the book touch on themes of Gnosticism, allusions to the complexities of transubstantiation, and the ontology of God.
As per usual, PKD's narrative is occasionally choppy and the prose is somewhat to be desired, but his novels are inevitably far more about the questions they raise: how might hallucinogenic drug experiences be similar to religious experiences? What does religion offer that the secular world can't? What role does capitalism play in benefiting from and manipulating societal elements like recreational drug use and religion? And, ultimately, how can we tell what is real, and what does it ultimately matter?
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LibraryThing member Don.A
A masterpiece. Philip K. Dick used to write with deceptively simple prose and a straightforward style with very few embellishments. But he used that to deliver some of the most thought-provoking and intellectually challenging stories that could ever be imagined. And in this and some other of his
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works, he foreshadowed some of the ideas that became commonplace in science-fiction stories about twenty years later, such as virtual worlds and alternate realities. This book is the work of a true visionary. Show Less
LibraryThing member Vlady
Jesus H. Christ, what a book. Mind trip all the way.
LibraryThing member -sunny-
Jeez. Kind of like the movie Inception but more so. Similar to the first book I read by this author, Ubiq, which also had a 'dream-within-a-dream' element. If ever I'm feeling too secure in my sense of reality, I'll just re-read this book, I guess. For all that, I enjoyed this story immensely,
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especially as things got more and more bizarre near the end. Who needs drugs when you've got Phillip K. Dick? Show Less
LibraryThing member -sunny-
Jeez. Kind of like the movie Inception but more so. Similar to the first book I read by this author, Ubiq, which also had a 'dream-within-a-dream' element. If ever I'm feeling too secure in my sense of reality, I'll just re-read this book, I guess. For all that, I enjoyed this story immensely,
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especially as things got more and more bizarre near the end. Who needs drugs when you've got Phillip K. Dick? Show Less
LibraryThing member musecure
I picked up and re-read "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" after many years. Other than Palmer Eldritch himself, perhaps because of the mystery surrounding his return, I was not really taken by any of the characters. But the story PKD weaves around corporate espionage, alien invasion,
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alternate reality, drug use, hallucination, spiritually and identity is compelling. I was also struck by his exploration of climate change and our human response to it (E-therapy) which should speak so much more strongly to us today that it did in 1965. Show Less
LibraryThing member raggedprince
A very rich novel in ideas. I'm keen to see someone try and make a film of it. An interesting and unnerving book.
LibraryThing member hglotzbach
Very interesting book, very deep...
LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
The classic PKD visionary tale of an earth where you can't walk outside in due lack of atmosphere (global warming) and a recreational drug that transports people into another, miniature world (second life, etc)... Arguably the most underrated author of the 20th century, certainly in the Science
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Fiction genre... Minority report, blade runner, etc... all adapted from his works. Show Less
LibraryThing member bumpish
I know that everyone says that this is PKD's masterwork, and I can see why, it's a pretty brilliant set of ideas, and the writing is splendid. I, however, didn't enjoy reading it as much as other PD books I have read in the past.
LibraryThing member grunin
I assume that the shared escapism of Dick's interplanetary settlers was intended as a satire on PKD's contemporary suburbia, or perhaps a literalization of television's "vast wasteland"; but there is an eerie connection between their drug-induced state and Wiliam Gibson's "consensual
The religious aspect is inescapable, but he gives you fair warning in the title. As for the last couple of paragraphs -- okay, they're weird. I'll get back to you after I've thought about them a bit...
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hallucination", aka "cyberspace."The religious aspect is inescapable, but he gives you fair warning in the title. As for the last couple of paragraphs -- okay, they're weird. I'll get back to you after I've thought about them a bit...
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LibraryThing member dczapka
In typical Dick fashion, this novel begins benignly enough -- even if this particular one features several unusual elements, like a hallucinatory gum and future-seeing "precogs" -- but eventually devolves into a complex, reality-bending nightmare.
Where this book lost me was not the projection of
The unresolved ending is open to a great deal of interpretation, and it's the interpretative work that ultimately turns this book from a simple sci-fi novel into a dense puzzle of a text. Prepare to have your mind warped.
Where this book lost me was not the projection of
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alternate realities that come to light with the emergence of the Chew-Z (it makes more sense, actually, to just assume that NOTHING after that is real), but with the incorporation of overt religious themes to explain what's happening.The unresolved ending is open to a great deal of interpretation, and it's the interpretative work that ultimately turns this book from a simple sci-fi novel into a dense puzzle of a text. Prepare to have your mind warped.
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LibraryThing member richjj
My first PKD novel. Pretty wild.
LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
Like "Ubik," this one will have you in a spin. Who is Palmer Eldritch? And does even he know?
I love the aspects of escapism: the fact that people take drugs to actually commune together in a fantasy world of their own construction reminds me a lot of modern videogames, especially MMORPGs. I love
I love the aspects of escapism: the fact that people take drugs to actually commune together in a fantasy world of their own construction reminds me a lot of modern videogames, especially MMORPGs. I love
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the fact that escape from the Earth is considered terrible, like a cruel fate that awaits the unsuspecting. In all, I really like this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
This isn't PKD's greatest book. It has all the elements of one, but the plot tends to be rambly, the characters uninteresting.
Set in a much warmer earth of the future, the UN sends people to mars as colonists, but nobody wants to go due the bleakness of the place. Their only respite is a drug
Its an interesting concept,but it has some unnecessary characters with unnecessary plots. Recommended if you like PKD stories, but if you are new to the author, start somewhere else.
Set in a much warmer earth of the future, the UN sends people to mars as colonists, but nobody wants to go due the bleakness of the place. Their only respite is a drug
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called Challed "Can-D" which makes a user part of a fictional world. When a drug called "Chew-Z" is introduced, it starts a spiral involving the UN, a returned space explorer who may, or may not be who he says he is, and an ad-man who is drafted into the Mars Colony Program.Its an interesting concept,but it has some unnecessary characters with unnecessary plots. Recommended if you like PKD stories, but if you are new to the author, start somewhere else.
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Subjects
Awards
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novel — 1965)
501 Must-Read Books (Emma Beare, 2006) (Science Fiction)
Horror: The 100 Best Books (1964)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1965-01
1964-03-18 (manuscript)
Physical description
240 p.; 7.8 x 5.16 inches
ISBN
0575074809 / 9780575074804