Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Man in the High Castle

For a "what if Hitler won" sci-fi novel this completely confounded all my expectations of what the book would be about, where it would be set, who it would feature and what their attitudes would be. More a reflection on the nature of the ancient Chinese divination text the "I Ching" the World War 2, more an exploration of Japanese Inner Culture and Class than Fascism, more a road trip to the nature of reality than an struggle against oppression - this book spends serious time on jewellery and antiques and the search for honour and integrity.

Once you have read this book, I highly recommend you seek out an interview with the author "Vertex Interview with Philip K. Dick" which will give you further insights into the nature of this books relationship to the I Ching. Also, look up "Atlantropa" on Wikipedia, it's in relation to a minor and what seemed to be a somewhat fantastical note in the book, but was actually something genuinely planned by the Nazis.

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butlerebecca's review

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challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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sonias's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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dlrosebyh's review

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dark slow-paced

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

1.25

It's 1962 in America. Slavery is once legal again. The few remaining Jews remain secretive and go by fictitious aliases. The I Ching is as prevalent as the Yellow Pages in San Francisco. All because the United States lost a war some 20 years prior, and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.

This novel exemplifies the phrase "great plot, terrible execution" well. The pace was so sluggish, and the manner the sentences were spoken was so monotonous. I had such high expectations for this book, and I am sorely let down.

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michaelcoleallen's review

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This was my introduction to PKD and it certainly has me hooked. The multiple narrators/split narrative allowed an experience of a high-power individual down to someone barely making it by with an alias to flesh out the world. Although, I felt that the cast of main characters might have benefited from paring down (I'm voting Reiss off, personally). And while worldbuilding was no doubt the strength of the novel, don't expect too many specifics on how the Axis powers won the war. What details there are about the government somewhat hinder the pacing of the plot. Also, keep a search engine handy for the references to Nazi figures and the occasional Japanese term.

The Man in the High Castle is more about how the realities of others come to influence and convince the individual of their own. That may be through history, government, media, social interactions, or even horoscopes. The scenes that explore this are doubtlessly where the novel has the most to say. This one is worth your time.

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