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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
The story has many of the favourite PKD elements, including a post-apocalyptic and depopulated world, psionic talents, aliens from within the solar system, and questions of reality. However, unlike most other similar titles, it seemed to provide canned answers to the thorniest problems, rather than sustain the disorientation
Just not feeling it. All of the characters are unlikeable, and I'm just not into the premise being explored as I have been in previous PKD works.
It loses steam and focus about two-thirds of the way through, but until that point, it's Dick at his best, without too much of the nutty self-indulgence that derails so many of his other works.
What an odd story. Game playing aliens overseeing a vanquished Earth and a Terran attempt to thrive.
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It is about Berkeley! I was so excited in the first half, but then I got confused...
This was my first dip into Philip K. Dick's work and I really liked it. He is every bit the master of a well-written, slick story. I loved the fact I was as confused and mentally tied in knots as some of the characters by the end challenging their realities and perceptions of Titan and each other. I also loved the way he vividly conjured an image of the vugs and their 'culture'. I also couldn't help but feel that Luckman vaguely fits the description of Trump, in his appearance and manner...
This is why I like PKD, the concepts alone make the book worth reading. On top of that, the story itself is fast-paced and contains all of the reality-bending you would expect from the author. A top quality read and something I'll ponder on and reference long into the future.
I liked this book. It was paced nicely and was full of the standard PKD tricks. I still think I prefer Ubik and Do Androids Dream... I never felt as paranoid reading this as I did in the other two books. I am definitely looking forward to reading more PKD.
"Anyhow, Pete Garden, you were psychotic and drunk and on amphetamines and hallucinating, but basically you perceived the reality that confronts us…"
― Philip K. Dick, The Game-Players of Titan
Books seem to float into my life in pairs, like aces, kings, or quite often twos. I guess I could count "The Game-Players of Titan" as my second gambling novel in a month. The first was Jonathan Lethem's [b:A Gambler's Anatomy: A Novel|28686837|A Gambler's Anatomy A Novel|Jonathan Lethem|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459724835s/28686837.jpg|49039223]. There is something fascinating by the whole literary genre of game novels ([b:King, Queen, Knave|8154|King, Queen, Knave|Vladimir Nabokov|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1340555187s/8154.jpg|1320269], [b:The Glass Bead Game|16634|The Glass Bead Game|Hermann Hesse|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386922806s/16634.jpg|2959456], [b:Oscar and Lucinda|316496|Oscar and Lucinda|Peter Carey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1173712561s/316496.jpg|2304710], [b:The Gambler|12857|The Gambler|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348607722s/12857.jpg|4356972], [b:Daniel Deronda|304|Daniel Deronda|George Eliot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320432000s/304.jpg|313957]*, [b:The Music of Chance|19490|The Music of Chance|Paul Auster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392501162s/19490.jpg|2382110]*, and more).
Games of chance and skill allow good writers to look into some of life's big questions of causation, death, love with the ability to dance between the coldness of luck/chance and the warmth of skill. Philip K. Dick uses the basics of a game of chance to introduce the idea of a group of people on Earth who gamble not for small stakes, but for cities and counties. Pots are filled with Berkeley and Detroit instead of watches and coins. Add to this mix, drugs, paranoia, aliens, and the pot both thickens and grows.
I usually walk away from a Dick novel amazed in the same way I'm amazed at Darwin. You see what he did, understand the idea almost instantly, and kick yourself for not being born first and thinking in a way that produces the end result. Dick seems naturally talented at looking at the world from a slightly warped perspective. He seems to both float in a lactescent zone by himself, but at the same time he is able to hold onto the teats of the world tight enough to squeeze out an amazing story every couple years. There is a reason I keep coming back to PKD -- either he is crazy or I am.
* I have yet to read these.
― Philip K. Dick, The Game-Players of Titan
Books seem to float into my life in pairs, like aces, kings, or quite often twos. I guess I could count "The Game-Players of Titan" as my second gambling novel in a month. The first was Jonathan Lethem's [b:A Gambler's Anatomy: A Novel|28686837|A Gambler's Anatomy A Novel|Jonathan Lethem|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459724835s/28686837.jpg|49039223]. There is something fascinating by the whole literary genre of game novels ([b:King, Queen, Knave|8154|King, Queen, Knave|Vladimir Nabokov|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1340555187s/8154.jpg|1320269], [b:The Glass Bead Game|16634|The Glass Bead Game|Hermann Hesse|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386922806s/16634.jpg|2959456], [b:Oscar and Lucinda|316496|Oscar and Lucinda|Peter Carey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1173712561s/316496.jpg|2304710], [b:The Gambler|12857|The Gambler|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348607722s/12857.jpg|4356972], [b:Daniel Deronda|304|Daniel Deronda|George Eliot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320432000s/304.jpg|313957]*, [b:The Music of Chance|19490|The Music of Chance|Paul Auster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392501162s/19490.jpg|2382110]*, and more).
Games of chance and skill allow good writers to look into some of life's big questions of causation, death, love with the ability to dance between the coldness of luck/chance and the warmth of skill. Philip K. Dick uses the basics of a game of chance to introduce the idea of a group of people on Earth who gamble not for small stakes, but for cities and counties. Pots are filled with Berkeley and Detroit instead of watches and coins. Add to this mix, drugs, paranoia, aliens, and the pot both thickens and grows.
I usually walk away from a Dick novel amazed in the same way I'm amazed at Darwin. You see what he did, understand the idea almost instantly, and kick yourself for not being born first and thinking in a way that produces the end result. Dick seems naturally talented at looking at the world from a slightly warped perspective. He seems to both float in a lactescent zone by himself, but at the same time he is able to hold onto the teats of the world tight enough to squeeze out an amazing story every couple years. There is a reason I keep coming back to PKD -- either he is crazy or I am.
* I have yet to read these.