The Cosmic Puppets

by Philip K. Dick

Paperback, 1983

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

Science Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

English paperback sf

Publication

Berkley (1983), Paperback

Description

Following an inexplicable urge, Ted Barton returns to his idyllic Virginia hometown for a vacation, but when he gets there, he is shocked to discover that the town has utterly changed. The stores and houses are all different and he doesn't recognize anybody. The mystery deepens when he checks the town's historical records...and reads that he died nearly twenty years earlier. As he attempts to uncover the secrets of the town, Barton is drawn deeper into the puzzle, and into a supernatural battle that could decide the fate of the universe.

User reviews

LibraryThing member mareki

A typical Dickensian mix of normal suburban dysfunction & other worldly goings on behind the scenes. The epic nature of the conflict in this one is unusual for Dick though, and it threatens to spill out of control by the enjoyable end.
jan 08

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LibraryThing member iftyzaidi

This is a true oddball of a book from Philip K. Dick. One of his earlier, minor works, it manages to cram into its short span a truly wild ride of a tale. The story starts with Ted Barton, driving through Baltimore on vacation, deciding to make a quick visit to the small town in the Appalachian

mountains where he grew up. except when he gets there he finds that it is a town he has never been to before - nothing is as he remembers it. A quick check of old newspapers tells him that the Ted Barton who was born in this town died at age 9 of scarlet fever. So does this mean he is not really Ted Barton and his memories are false, or is something even stranger going on?

So far we are in fairly standard PKD territory, its when odd kids with magical powers, ghostly apparitions drifting through town and a cosmic battle between Ahura-Mazda and his eternal adversary, Ahriman get thrown into the mix that the book acquires a breathless, breakneck, schlocky B-movie flavour. Its entertaining, if unexpected, though would probably not be everyone's cup of tea. Its probably also not the best place to start if you want are making a first acquaintance with PKD.

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LibraryThing member RandyStafford

My reaction to reading this novel in 2005.

An adequate and rare novel length Zoroastrian fantasy by Dick. The use of a Virginia milieu was interesting. By coincidence, this book also uses the idea of buildings that are either fake or mutable in their temporal identity just like Dick's Ubik which I

just read.

I note that, even in this short of a novel, Dick seemingly couldn't resist having a protagonist with marital troubles.

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LibraryThing member jorgearanda

I guess The Cosmic Puppets might be an enjoyable read if you don't try to make any sense of the plot. Apathetic prose and silly dialogue. It's my first Philip K. Dick book; I hope the rest are much better.

LibraryThing member mikemillertime

A nice but simple sci-fi read, exemplifying many typical Dick themes of madness, reality and the divine. One of his easier and more straightforward works, given the earliness of his career.

LibraryThing member g026r

A fairly straight-forward (as far as Dick goes) shorter novel that touches on a lot of Dick's more familiar themes, though perhaps a bit more shallowly than his more acclaimed work. Written in the '50s for one of Ace's double-novels and Dick's 2nd or 3rd published novel, it shows in both the prose

and plot which is— schlockier, pulpier, trashier, more B-movie like, choose according to preference— than the works Dick produced once he was more established.

It's enjoyable enough for what it is, but it's hardly great fare.

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LibraryThing member rameau

This is Dick's first really good novel (and has a lot of similarities to his first great novel, Time Out of Joint). Ted Barton goes back to his hometown of Millgate, Va., to find it totally changed, with a history where he died at 9, and impossible to escape. This was written in 1957, which feels

like a surprising milieu for PKD with its rundown small town and Ted driving around in a Packard. In a much cooler alternate universe, this would have made into a movie in 1957. With Dana Andrews as Ted and directed by Jacques Tourneur. The culture would have had a total freakout.

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LibraryThing member Arten60

I put this effort right up there with VALIS. I love philosophy and theology and the theme of Good versus Evil runs through this book and reminds me that is the battle we all find our selves in. And Good is going to triumph and everything will be fine and dandy at the end.

LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV

One could do worse than read this as one's intro to Dick. It is short, relatively straightforward (after the obligatory wtf), and has some interesting ideas. I've not been entirely successful in my forays into Dick's catalog, but I'm persuaded by this to continue to try to read his more ambitious

works.

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LibraryThing member DanielSTJ

A fully thrilling and worthwhile novel by the Sci-Fi master Philip K. Dick. This one touches on the regular themes, especially dealing with the distortion of space and time. The plot is action packed and full of twists and turns that keep the reader intrigued throughout its duration. The characters

are strong here, as is the writing, and the villains are set with just the right tone. Overall, a great book.

4 stars- fully earned.

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LibraryThing member datrappert

I haven't actually read a lot of Dick's work, but I imagine this is considered a fairly minor piece. It is a short novel about a man returning to a town that is mysteriously different from what he remembered. Sounds familiar, right? There have been a lot of stories like that, and I'm not sure how

many of them influenced Dick and how many he influenced. This work is copyright 1957, so it certainly predates a lot of them. There are a few elements of silliness throughout that mar the effectiveness of the story - the whole premise is a little far-fetched, especially as you begin to understand the reason for all the strangeness. This works best as a horror story, and as it heats up toward the end there are some pretty bloodcurdling scenes. There are also some welcome elements of nostalgia for a past time and place remembered as ideal - very reminiscent of a theme that runs throughout the work of Jack Finney.

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LibraryThing member PDCRead

Ted Barton decides on a whim to return and visit the town of his birth, Millgate. When he gets there he finds it it completely different to how he remembered it.Non of the streets have the same name, the shops are different, and no one remembers him. A little further investigation reveals that some

one of his name died of scarlet fever around the time he left the town. It is all very strange, and when he tries to leave, he finds that he can't.

As he reluctantly stays in the town, he see ghostlike figures wandering past, and meets people who also seem to remember the town as it once was. As he learns more he realises that it is a focal point for two cosmological giants.

PKD has a way of taking a reality that you know and are familiar with and twisting it. In this book the twist is a full 180 degrees, as the reality he conjures up is familiar and utterly different. He manages to bring a touch of gothic horror into the book too. The writing is a little dated, but then it was published in 1957.

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LibraryThing member JBarringer

My favorite book by this author so far.

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