The World Jones Made

by Philip K. Dick

Paperback, 1970

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

Science Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

English paperback sf

Publication

Ace Books (1970), Mass Market Paperback

Description

Precognition; a world ruled by Relativism; giant alien jellyfish. The World Jones Made is a classic Philip K. Dick mash-up, taking deep philosophical musings and infusing them with wild action.Floyd Jones has always been able to see exactly one year into his future, a gift and curse that began one year before he was even born. As a fortuneteller at a postapocalyptic carnival, Jones is a powerful force, and may be able to free society from its paralyzing Relativism. If, that is, he can avoid the radioactively unstable government hit man on his tail.

User reviews

LibraryThing member tawdryjones

My friend Ted turned me onto Philip K. Dick and I've been in love ever since. With Philip. I've always had a crush on Ted.

7 more

LibraryThing member CliffBurns

A likeable effort by an old favorite.

Jones is a freak, gifted with precognition. Despite the efforts of determined bureaucrats within the repressive regime that controls post World War III society, Jones' power and influence grows. Eventually his followers seize control and Jones is elevated to

almost God-like status. He can see the future, dodge assassins' bullets before they're fired, anticipate his opponents' every move...how can he possibly be stopped?

A quick read and, admittedly, not nearly as mind-boggling as some of PKD's later works. A tall tale of a future that never was, well-told and smart enough not to waste readers' time.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Arten60

The themes that PK liked to explore were in this novel but the strongest impression I took from it was the idea that the earth is a living cell living inside a great being. I used to think Philip was a Gnostic he was certainly influenced by them. Looks to me like he was also influenced by

panpsychism.

Show Less

LibraryThing member shelley.s

Another awesome book to add to the Dick pile. I've been slowly but surely working my way through PKD books, sometimes i really cant connect with them and they are just a bit too crazy for me to understand such as Valis and to an extent Ubik but The world Jones made was a really enjoyable breeze to

read, as well as still being a genius idea like A Scanner Darkly and Do andriods dream of electric sheep. I love the slightly easier books, i read to enjoy and relax not work hard on trying to understand the plot! This book is one i'd recommend to people that haven't read PKD before because it will really ease you in to his bizarre mind, its the tamest one i've read.

Show Less

LibraryThing member rlangston

Not Dick's best as it struggles to combine a number of different themes and concepts, but very readable.

LibraryThing member scottcholstad

A decent book, but not a great PKD book. It's about Floyd Jones, a precog who can see exactly one year into the future and as a result has to live events out twice, once in his visions and once in his reality. It's also about Cussick, a Fedgov security agent (cop) who spots Jones at a freak show,

displaying his talent by reading fortunes. He turns Jones in to be processed, as such people are typically sent to forced labor camps for life, but Jones is released upon the realization that everything he says turns out to be true and they can no longer hold him. Cussick's wife, Nina, becomes enamored of Jones and joins his new revolutionary party that has helped make Jones a preacher and seer. See, there's an alien life form called Drifters that Jones says is invading Earth and the surrounding planets and he is intent on saving Earth from the oncoming war. These Drifters are single cell organisms similar to amoebas, and as such, don't seem very devastating. PKD draws their mystery out well though. In one scene, we see Nina and Cussick go with a couple of his co-workers to a drug bar in San Francisco, where two hermaphrodites put on a horrendous sex show. Cussick is devastated to find out that his wife has taken an apartment there, dissatisfied with her life, and divorce proceedings follow. Jones, meanwhile, grows in popularity and the multitudes are joining his cause, intent upon overthrowing the world government. In the meantime, there's this bizarre subplot where mutants are grown to populate Venus, as we regular humans can't live there. They're kept in an isolated "Refuge," not exposed to Earth's atmosphere, air, etc. Later in the book, Jones and his millions of followers are in Germany, getting ready to march on a city (not sure why...) when an assassin is sent to kill him. The assassin wounds him, but doesn't kill him and this makes Jones even more larger than life, as it appears he can't be killed. Shortly after, Jones and his minions overthrow the government, throw those formerly in power into jail, release the people in the labor camps, and send rockets into space to see about populating other planets. They also continue to kill Drifters. As this is happening, the Venusian mutants are sent in two rockets to Venus, where they land and form a colony. It's a bizarre transition and one I didn't fully buy into as these formerly very sheltered beings are able to construct buildings, transportation, crops, etc., with no training. Soon, Nina comes back to Cussick because it appears that Jones has failed, as the Drifters have enabled a ring around the system, ensuring we can't escape into outer space. These plantlike beings are just part of a greater alien invasion. I don't want to give the final plot away -- whether Jones lives or dies -- but you can imagine it'd be hard to kill someone who can see into the future and knows everything that will happen. Still, at the climax of the book, it's Jones who has the final say and Cussick and his family escape to Venus, where they live in their own Refuge, communicating occasionally with the mutants. I guess this is an optimistic, upbeat ending to a depressing book. I thought the book was fairly poorly written with virtually no transitions between major scenes, the reader just being jarred into a new scene with no warning. Also, I had a hard time wrapping my head around Jones and his living through things twice. Too much of a mindf**k for me, I guess. I also didn't like how one of the characters introduced early in the book, Tyler, who Cussick seems to develop a minor "thing" for, just disappears completely from the book with no warning. It's bizarre. She's kind of a major/minor character and I wasn't prepared for that. PKD does that occasionally, but he's normally better about tying up character plots and this was disappointing to me. I guess this book could be given four stars, but it's so dark and so convoluted with some sad writing efforts that I can only give this book three stars and just cautiously recommend it.

Show Less

LibraryThing member SebastianHagelstein

Floyd Jones uses his ability to see exactly one year into his future to gain a following and oppose the dystopian government. The book follows the secret police officer named Cussick in his struggle against Jones.

LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco

Mutants, precogs, hermaphroditic sex performers, drifters, and a colony on Venus - what's not to love? I also got a tickle out of the fact that the North Beach section of S.F. was the scummy part of town in this future world. Philip K. is a blast!

Fewer

Subjects

Precognition Fiction

fiction in English

science fiction

Language

English

Original language

English

Original publication date

1956

Physical description

192 p.; 17.1 cm

Local notes

Omslag: Ikke angivet
Omslaget viser et mandsansigt der til højre går over i bygninger og til venstre over i mennesker
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi