Reviews

Counter-Clock World by Philip K. Dick

trilbynorton's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Expanded from Dick's short story "You're Appointment Will Be Yesterday", Counter-Clock World sees the Earth engulfed in a time reversal field in which people begin conversations with "Goodbye", food is regurgitated onto empty plates, and the dead return to life. It's the last which is the book's primary focus, as the deceased founder of a religion is due to return, possibly with insights into the afterlife. To be honest, neither of these subjects - time reversal or the theological implications of mass resurrection - are fully explored, with Dick seemingly more interested in the ethical implications of his characters various extra-marital affairs. Still, the whole thing moves along at a brisk pace, and the themes presage Dick's later metaphysical obsessions.

mattrabpc's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This book feels like it was written to be adapted in to an 80's action movie in a good way.  It is really fast paced but nothing feels really forgotten and it has enough philosophical leanings to be interesting.  

drsldn's review against another edition

3.0

This had good bits and bad bits and quite a few thought-provoking bits ... I agree with Mel's review that the book lacked a convincing strong female character, even with Ann Fisher the Librarian/seductress. The motivations for actions weren't very obvious to me, but perhaps that's because I am looking at the world in a "clockwise" direction! I was also confused about the smoking and eating backwards arrangements, because if the counter-clockwise happened at that micro level, why did people not talk and walk backwards too? Nevertheless, it is an interesting premise and I am inspired to hunt down other novels with the same idea at their core. Time's Arrow? Backwards?

derhindemith's review against another edition

2.0

I have to admit that I was kind of disappointed in this. Yes, it's good, but as far as dick goes, it's not great. It's nice to see a proto-version of pretty much all of the themes he would develop over the course of his career in a fledgling state here, but that's exactly the problem: he hasn't worked with them long enough for those themes to really shine through.
First and foremost, however, the references to the Watts' riots really took me out of it. Yes, I know what the Watts riots were, but probably only because I'm black and grew up in los angeles (some 10 years after the Watts riots happened.) Can you imagine a sci-fi novel that references the rodney king riots? It's an absurd notion. Yes, it references them as being in the past, but it (unfortunately) has not proved an event of significant importance to be relevant to most readers today.
Secondly,

Spoiler

as regards the themes that would be developed throughout his career, there is a reference to the early christian church, when Thomas Peak appears in a vision and says that it's 4 B.C. He never actually explains the significance of this (it becomes apparent after you've read VALIS, but here, it's just mentioned and then dropped). It's tantamount to introducing a character that seems to be important and then doing nothing with them.

And finally, when coming to the climax, he opts for an action-packed ending, leaving all of the questions about the nature of the universal consciousness, the hobart phase, the main character saving everyone up in the air, completely without resolution. Not cool.
As an early Dick novel, it's nice, but I'd rather re-read Ubik.

thegoodmariner's review against another edition

5.0

In the future, time begins moving backwards, so everything is reversed. You are born in the grave and regress to being a baby where you are implanted in a woman until you become a zygote. Libraries, rather than altruistic public information sharers are fascist eradicators of knowledge. And if that's not bizarre enough, instead of saying hello when you answer a phone, you say goodbye. Yeah, it gets even weirder. Just read it.

tankard's review

4.0

7/10

nanbh's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

zachbrumaire's review against another edition

2.0

mixed bag, i likeed the classic PKD theology and religion building, the parts with the prophet were cool, but there's a lot of r/menwritingwomen here which feels very self aware but not really for anything other than being self aware. murdoxically I do enjoy these middling novels where he's clearly going over the same essential themes in drafts and focusing more on the artwork as process and project rather than meeting each to be a self-contained perfectionist whole. still I don't think I would recommend this one to anyone other than someone interested in doing a study of the full PKD cannon. read A Maze of Death instead--or better yet, VALIS.

giulialou's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

jonmhansen's review against another edition

4.0

It is a great big barrel of WTF. Entertaining to read, but the weird logic of the world will fall apart if you think about it too much while reading.