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skull_servant's review against another edition
2.0
Este libro no conectó conmigo. Imagino que la historias especulativas del tipo "What if" no eran tan populares en 1962 como hoy en día. Por lo general, no suelo disfrutar este tipo de novelas, salvo que la premisa tenga un propósito temático, en lugar de ser algo meramente "divertido" de leer. Sin embargo, Phillip K. Dick explora ciertas implicaciones filosóficas, y hasta gnósticas, de la naturaleza del mundo alternativo en donde viven los personajes. En este universo los alemanes ganaron la Segunda Guerra Mundial, pero existe un libro, que pone a varios personajes de pies a cabeza, que relata una versión donde Los Aliados fueron los victoriosos; que, a su vez, podría ser la verdadera realidad en donde viven estos personajes, y la primera versión falsa. Y, al mismo tiempo, la versión donde los Nazis pierden la guerra tampoco es en la que vive el lector. Es algo confuso, realmente no lo entendí.
El final es bastante abierto, con planes de Dick de algún día hacer una secuela, lo cual no ocurrió. Y este es el mayor problema que tengo con El Hombre en el Castillo: muchas ideas que no están completamente desarrolladas. Muchos personajes, muchas premisas que, bien están empezando, terminan abruptamente. Quizás debió ambicionar un poco menos en este aspecto (o continuar la secuela).
Entiendo lo difícil que debió resultarle hacer este libro. Lo mucho que debió investigar sobre historia, economía y cultura. En este apartado no hay nada más que elogios, pero sigue sintiéndose como una novela incompleta, que no me dejó satisfecho.
El final es bastante abierto, con planes de Dick de algún día hacer una secuela, lo cual no ocurrió. Y este es el mayor problema que tengo con El Hombre en el Castillo: muchas ideas que no están completamente desarrolladas. Muchos personajes, muchas premisas que, bien están empezando, terminan abruptamente. Quizás debió ambicionar un poco menos en este aspecto (o continuar la secuela).
Entiendo lo difícil que debió resultarle hacer este libro. Lo mucho que debió investigar sobre historia, economía y cultura. En este apartado no hay nada más que elogios, pero sigue sintiéndose como una novela incompleta, que no me dejó satisfecho.
jayseewhy's review against another edition
4.0
This is a masterfully written look at a rich alternative history. I definitely finished the book wishing there was a whole lot more of it (but I guess that's better than wanting less).
bperl's review
3.0
A strange conclusion to a wonderful book knocks the rating down a notch. However, the overall impact of The Man in the High Castle is considerable. The idea of “What if we’d lost the war?” is compellingly frightening, and Dick does an admirable job exploring the cultural clashes, warring ideologies, and downright hopelessness in a beaten world ruled with Nazi iron.
rebeccasreadingrambles's review against another edition
3.0
Let's be clear. This is a strange book. But I also kind of enjoyed it. It had its moments when I felt myself zoning out and had to make a conscious effort to pay attention and keep reading. But then there were some things that made me really sit up and think. What if this situation was true? It shows how easily a change in the past could severely affect the future. Every decision that's made could have unbelievable consequences (a timely reminder perhaps). I love the parallel with "The Grasshopper" book that also tells the story of an alternate history. This story doesn't accurately reflect what has actually occurred in history, but it's pretty good for someone just guessing what would happen.
This book took place mostly inside each character's private thoughts and emotions. That's why the plot was thin, but the thoughts gave more insight into this different world than pure actions would, so it worked for this book. Luckily it was just short enough that it didn't get too tedious. Interesting, but strange.
This book took place mostly inside each character's private thoughts and emotions. That's why the plot was thin, but the thoughts gave more insight into this different world than pure actions would, so it worked for this book. Luckily it was just short enough that it didn't get too tedious. Interesting, but strange.
riverofhorton's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
So much of this book was enjoyable to read, which allowed for such a degree of immersion that I managed to get through it much faster than I normally would a book of this length. That said, the ending was very disappointing. Not only did it seem rushed, like the author realised they had a deadline in a few days and so had to wrap everything up as quickly as possible, but the actual ending itself seemed half-baked and incomplete. For most of the book, I understood why it was so popular, then I got to the end and didn't get it anymore. There were so many good ideas within this book, and I will be looking further into the alternative history genre, but this overall isn't a book I would recommend. There were a few things I expected, like all the racism and especially anti-Semitism, some things I could overlook like the writing being disjointed and confusion at times, but when combined with the non-ending, it adds up to being too much for me to overlook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Confinement, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexism, Vomit, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Slavery, Ableism, Body shaming, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Classism, War, Police brutality, Rape, and Trafficking
izzyhoyle's review against another edition
2.0
Incredibly disappointing read and a shame this was my first Philip K Dick novel. Execution of a very provocative concept doesn’t match up to the mastery needed for such material. I especially wasn’t fond of the Xenephobic undertones that bled into the syntax of the sections with Japanese characters, or the general orientalism on display which I’m sure Edward Said would have a field day with. It was well paced in the majority of subplots at least, and I did still enjoy exploring the politics of this - but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone other than students wanting to write an essay on it.
alitaparedes's review against another edition
3.0
Just realized it took me a month to read this book.
Ok some precisions: English is not my first language so it was a kinda difficult book for me, mainly because I kept asking myself "was I not supposed to get this?". Sci-fi is hard.
This is the first Sci-fi book I've read and it was good! I'm trying to keep this review spoilers free so I'll keep it short. It is a good book. I enjoyed it. Even though there were these parts when I was confused, most of the confusion was over by the end but still I had to google some opinions about it because I wasn't sure what I got was what it was meant by the author. I think it's not important that we all got the same though.
Now, I started this book because of the show, this is nothing like the show, but they are good-different (So you have a reference, I also thought "The Duff" movie and book were good-different)
Ok that's all, hope this helped you in any way. Have a nice read! :)
Ok some precisions: English is not my first language so it was a kinda difficult book for me, mainly because I kept asking myself "was I not supposed to get this?". Sci-fi is hard.
This is the first Sci-fi book I've read and it was good! I'm trying to keep this review spoilers free so I'll keep it short. It is a good book. I enjoyed it. Even though there were these parts when I was confused, most of the confusion was over by the end but still I had to google some opinions about it because I wasn't sure what I got was what it was meant by the author. I think it's not important that we all got the same though.
Now, I started this book because of the show, this is nothing like the show, but they are good-different (So you have a reference, I also thought "The Duff" movie and book were good-different)
Ok that's all, hope this helped you in any way. Have a nice read! :)
jonwood's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I ultimately found this book to be dull and am not sure what the big fuss is about the book, other than maybe it was the first major publication to discuss this premise? First rarely means best, and I found the book to kind of meander around. Maybe that's because it's focus is on normal people and not powerful figureheads, but I was bored the whole time and was waiting for the book to end. I also found it hard to imagine the Japanese and Nazi's just sharing the planet, I felt like there would be more of an effort to wipe each other out, but maybe the point was just to be a similar cold war as in reality.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Sexual content, Death, and Murder