Valis - Softcover

Philip K Dick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1857983394 ISBN 13: 9781857983395

Publisher: Gollancz Mmp, 2001

Synopsis

It began with a blinding light, a divine revelation from a mysterious intelligence that called itself VALIS. And with that, the fabric of reality was ripped open and laid bare so that anything seemed possible, but nothing seemed quite right. Part science fiction, part theological detective story – in which God plays both the missing person and the perpetrator of the ultimate crime, VALIS is both disorienting and eerily funny, and a joy to read.

About this title

Review

The first of Dick's three final novels (the others are Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer). Known as science fiction only for lack of a better category, "Valis" takes place in our world and may even be semi-autobiographical.

The proponent of the novel, Horselover Fat, is thrust into a theological quest when he receives communion in a burst of pink laser light. From the cancer ward of a bay area hospital to the ranch of a fraudulent charismatic religious figure who turns out to have a direct com link with God, Dick leads us down the twisted paths of Gnostic belief, mixed with his own bizarre and compelling philosophy. Truly an eye opening look at the nature of consciousness and divinity.

From the Back Cover

Dick is one of the ten best American writers of the twentieth century, which is saying a lot. Dick was a kind of Kafka steeped in LSD and rage. Roberto Bolano
What is VALIS? This question is at the heart of Philip K. Dick s ground-breaking novel, and the first book in his defining trilogy. When a beam of pink light begins giving a schizophrenic man named Horselover Fat (who just might also be known as Philip K. Dick) visions of an alternate Earth where the Roman Empire still reigns, he must decide whether he is crazy, or whether a godlike entity is showing him the true nature of the world.VALIS is essential reading for any true Philip K. Dick fan, a novel that Roberto Bolano called more disturbing than any novel by [Carson] McCullers. By the end, like Dick himself, you will be left wondering what is real, what is fiction, and just what the price is for divine inspiration.
Over a career that spanned three decades, Philip K. Dick (1928 1982) wrote 121 short stories and 45 novels, establishing himself as one of the most visionary authors of the twentieth century. His work is included in the Library of America and has been translated into more than twenty-five languages. Eleven works have been adapted to film, including Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Gollancz Mmp
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1857983394
• ISBN 13: 9781857983395
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272