Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Dell (1976), Mass Market Paperback
Description
In the years following World War III, a new and powerful faith has arisen from a scorched and poisoned Earth, a faith that embraces the architect of world wide devastation. The Servants of Wrath have deified Carlton Lufteufel and re-christened him the Deus Irae. In the small community of Charlottesville, Utah, Tibor McMasters, born without arms or legs, has, through an array of prostheses, established a far-reaching reputation as an inspired painter. When the new church commissions a grand mural depicting the Deus Irae, it falls upon Tibor to make a treacherous journey to find the man, to find the god, and capture his terrible visage for posterity.
User reviews
LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
In the years after World War III a new church has formed, The Servants of Wrath. Unlike the now faltering Christian church, they do not believe in a benevolent Supreme Being but in a Wrathful One who came to Earth in the human incarnation of Carlton Lufteufel, the man who ordered the detonation of
Quite an interesting novel, really. Somewhat depressing, but it brings up some good points to think about. In many ways, Deus Irae is reminiscent of Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s A Canticle for Liebowitz.
Experiments in Reading
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the weapon that would wreak destruction upon the world during the war. Tibor McMasters, an inspired painter born without arms or legs, has been commissioned to by the new church to create a mural depicting the Deus Irae, the God of Wrath. In order to accurately represent the god, he is sent on a pilgrimage to find Him in the wilderness amongst what little is left of civilization and the human race. Quite an interesting novel, really. Somewhat depressing, but it brings up some good points to think about. In many ways, Deus Irae is reminiscent of Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s A Canticle for Liebowitz.
Experiments in Reading
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LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
This was a great Philip K. Dick, and Roger Zelazny. I was a bit skeptical at first, not sure how PKD would manage a transition from being a solo writer to a collaborator (and I had never heard of Zelazny before) but I was pleasantly surprised. This is a metaphysical journey into the psyche of PKD
4.5 stars- and all deserved!
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through the creation of his characters as they explore the unknown and, even more, the beyond. The plot is tight and the prose crisp and subtle in the right places. I was amazed at the output here, much of it is quality content with just the right amount of absurdism to keep things creative and flowing. Truly a fine creation and top marks for the ending. This reads like a legend, but in the Sci-Fi universe. I really enjoyed it.4.5 stars- and all deserved!
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LibraryThing member radicalidealist
"Deus Irae"is decidedly unlike your usual post-apocalyptic science fiction fare. This work explores a perennial issue in face of utter destruction and misery: the philosophical problem of theodicy, or the compatibility between the existence of an evil which reigns so supremely as to allow the world
The SoW deified the man who brought civilization to its end, the creator of the bomb, Carl Lufteufel -- the Deus Irae. Tibor McMasters is a limbless artist who has been commissioned with the painting of a mural representing the Deus Irae himself. As there are no reliable pictures of the man-made god, Tibor is sent into a dangerous Pilgrimage to find Lufteufel and capture his dreadful likeness for the glory of his church.
Thus, we accompany McMasters and his unlikely fellow, Pete Sands - a christian acolyte - through his difficult errand to find the Deus Irae. Throughout his path, he finds the living remnants of the terrible war that decimated humanity: verbose mutants such as lizards and bugs, as well as artifacts from the information age. Crazed computers and automated factories that cannot decide whether to aid or kill their former masters.
This work has a strong philosophical and theological component, which may make it unsuitable for readers who are looking for more straightforward action.
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to be devastated and the existence of a goodly, omnipotent God. It depicts a society where the old Christian religion, their numbers rapidly declining, was superseded by an apocalyptic cult, the Servants of Wrath.The SoW deified the man who brought civilization to its end, the creator of the bomb, Carl Lufteufel -- the Deus Irae. Tibor McMasters is a limbless artist who has been commissioned with the painting of a mural representing the Deus Irae himself. As there are no reliable pictures of the man-made god, Tibor is sent into a dangerous Pilgrimage to find Lufteufel and capture his dreadful likeness for the glory of his church.
Thus, we accompany McMasters and his unlikely fellow, Pete Sands - a christian acolyte - through his difficult errand to find the Deus Irae. Throughout his path, he finds the living remnants of the terrible war that decimated humanity: verbose mutants such as lizards and bugs, as well as artifacts from the information age. Crazed computers and automated factories that cannot decide whether to aid or kill their former masters.
This work has a strong philosophical and theological component, which may make it unsuitable for readers who are looking for more straightforward action.
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LibraryThing member figre
When authors collaborate, the concern is whether they can actually come together and build something that is a combined work, or they just take two pieces, stick them together, and then try to smooth out the rough edges. This feels like the latter.
I almost didn't make it through the first part of
I thought the book would be unsalvageable.
Then the second part moves forward with the tale of an artist's search for the god he has been commissioned to paint. Taking another guess, this would be Zelazny's part. What emerges is an excellent tale of the exploration of an area, continued exploration of beliefs, and a few twists and turns and bizarre situations that keep the whole thing moving.
And yet, it may not be two separate writings. The explorations of religion are also prevalent in Zelazny's writing, and his work may be evident in the first part. And Dick is famous for the bizarre ideas and concepts he brings to his stories, and those are evident in the second part.
But, really, trying to decide who wrote what is a mug's game. The important part is that the second part of this book is not great enough to overcome the slog of getting through the initial discussions. A good book brought down from greatness by the long, meandering discussions in the beginning.
I almost didn't make it through the first part of
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the book. Philip K. Dick is noted for his explorations regarding religion, using his internal discussions as the impetus for some very interesting and good books. Based on this, if I were going to guess, I would guess this is his half of the book. It goes on (and goes on and goes on) about the discussion of religion. Don't get me wrong, some of this is integral to the further development of the book (after all, it is called Deus Irae), but it seems unendingly ploderous.I thought the book would be unsalvageable.
Then the second part moves forward with the tale of an artist's search for the god he has been commissioned to paint. Taking another guess, this would be Zelazny's part. What emerges is an excellent tale of the exploration of an area, continued exploration of beliefs, and a few twists and turns and bizarre situations that keep the whole thing moving.
And yet, it may not be two separate writings. The explorations of religion are also prevalent in Zelazny's writing, and his work may be evident in the first part. And Dick is famous for the bizarre ideas and concepts he brings to his stories, and those are evident in the second part.
But, really, trying to decide who wrote what is a mug's game. The important part is that the second part of this book is not great enough to overcome the slog of getting through the initial discussions. A good book brought down from greatness by the long, meandering discussions in the beginning.
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LibraryThing member Lyndatrue
It's not a perfect marriage, this collaboration between two giants, but I still love it. Why not? It has farmers (lizards, but still, they're farmers), and artificial intelligences, and the rich language that they were both known for.
"The jay fluttered up into the air, with impatience visible in
"Each time the blade struck against the protruding piece of metal, his head felt like the inside of a cathedral bell, and it was minutes before he could proceed again."
Wrath of God indeed.
"The jay fluttered up into the air, with impatience visible in
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every trembling feather.""Each time the blade struck against the protruding piece of metal, his head felt like the inside of a cathedral bell, and it was minutes before he could proceed again."
Wrath of God indeed.
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LibraryThing member regularguy5mb
I think I've made my love for Philip K. Dick's writing known before, so of course when I saw this book for sale at my local comic shop (they briefly branched out into selling used sci-fi, fantasy, and pulp novels, picked up some good reads at the time) I just had to pick it up. And while I'd never
And boy, it did not disappoint. Deus Irae is a statement on religion set in a post-apocalyptic future where the old faiths are failing to the new religion, worship of the God of Wrath. A painter for this church is sent on a mandated pilgrimage to find the physical embodiment of their god, get a picture, and return to paint a mural featuring the Deus Irae as the centerpiece.
Fantastic read. Also, it's not often you find a book featuring a protagonist with no arms and no legs (a condition some post-war individuals suffer, apparently) called "incomplete" by this post-apocalyptic society.
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read any Zelazny, I knew the name and was interested to see what these two had cooked up together.And boy, it did not disappoint. Deus Irae is a statement on religion set in a post-apocalyptic future where the old faiths are failing to the new religion, worship of the God of Wrath. A painter for this church is sent on a mandated pilgrimage to find the physical embodiment of their god, get a picture, and return to paint a mural featuring the Deus Irae as the centerpiece.
Fantastic read. Also, it's not often you find a book featuring a protagonist with no arms and no legs (a condition some post-war individuals suffer, apparently) called "incomplete" by this post-apocalyptic society.
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
Why You can't trust St. Paul too much….an Apostle Changes a religion, and not for the better.
LibraryThing member b.masonjudy
Deus Irae's plot feels like it was cobbled together over a couple long nights at the pub. It's engaging and weird but also feels loose and strange without much density. What kept me interested was seeing the further menagarie of weird mutated horrors the authors conjured as well as the theological
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rigor of their thinking. Show Less
LibraryThing member harroldsheep
As good as the other four or five times I've read it!
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1975-08-17
Physical description
238 p.; 17.6 cm
ISBN
0440118387 / 9780440118381
Local notes
Omslag: Ikke angivet
Omslaget viser en mand, der betragter en stor paddehattesky, der ser ud til at have et ansigt
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Omslaget viser en mand, der betragter en stor paddehattesky, der ser ud til at have et ansigt
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
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Pages
238
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |