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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Colonisation, War, Classism
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Philip K. Dick's imagination is rivaled only by this ability to crank out idea novels. 45 novels and 121 stories in his relatively short life time? Hard to fathom. "The Man in the High Castle" is one heck of an idea to build on: Germany and Japan won WWII and they've divided up the US. Africa is no more and the Nazis are scheming how to keep eliminating races. It is terrifying. Beyond that, though, the writing feels rushed and the characters feel pretty boxed into their ethnic stereotypes. I can almost see Dick parroting a crude Asian accent. Most of all, this story doesn't feel complete. Where did it go in the end? What really is the significance of the Man himself? Maybe it is just over my head. Recommendation? Read, but doing so at a skim won't hurt.
«No tenían ese mundo ideal que ellos hubiesen querido, donde la moralidad es fácil de alcanzar porque el conocimiento es fácil de alcanzar.»
“Truth as terrible as death. But harder to find.”
The Man in The High Castle is an extremely important book in its own right but it might be hard for some to find that based on its style of prose, language, and it’s disturbing setting. I won’t lie it was difficult at first to see where the characters plots were going at first, as the book is written following multiple characters. It has been a awhile since I red a book that properly followed multiple storylines in such a way. But by the end of the novel it is tied up in a rather nice bow. Not the prettiest package, but still keeping things together to make coherent sense.
I began reading this novel after finding out about the Amazon Prime show and watching the first episode. I would say that I am glad I read this book first before even watching the whole series because just the first episode alone was almost nearly different from the novel. If you are expecting the show/or the book to follow each other verbatim than that is not the case here. Both, I would say, should be enjoyed like siblings; from the same parent but they are certainly not like identical twins.
I really do enjoy reading books like this and I have found a new favorite author in Philip K. Dick. I will say though that it is hard to say why but I am awfully...enlightened? I feel as though I have been Awakened after reading this book. I feel changed.
This book is more than a piece of science fiction. It was a mirror into what our world could have been...but it is equally a mirror of what our world can still become.
Absolutely chilling.
The Man in The High Castle is an extremely important book in its own right but it might be hard for some to find that based on its style of prose, language, and it’s disturbing setting. I won’t lie it was difficult at first to see where the characters plots were going at first, as the book is written following multiple characters. It has been a awhile since I red a book that properly followed multiple storylines in such a way. But by the end of the novel it is tied up in a rather nice bow. Not the prettiest package, but still keeping things together to make coherent sense.
I began reading this novel after finding out about the Amazon Prime show and watching the first episode. I would say that I am glad I read this book first before even watching the whole series because just the first episode alone was almost nearly different from the novel. If you are expecting the show/or the book to follow each other verbatim than that is not the case here. Both, I would say, should be enjoyed like siblings; from the same parent but they are certainly not like identical twins.
I really do enjoy reading books like this and I have found a new favorite author in Philip K. Dick. I will say though that it is hard to say why but I am awfully...enlightened? I feel as though I have been Awakened after reading this book. I feel changed.
This book is more than a piece of science fiction. It was a mirror into what our world could have been...but it is equally a mirror of what our world can still become.
Absolutely chilling.
Dick is a master of ideas that never find the right use. His ideas are top-of-the-line fighter jets, but he uses them to go buy eggs and butter. If I were his neighbor, I'd be awed by the fighter jets he keeps parked in the lawn. Too awed, perhaps, to question why something so impressive is just sitting around, waiting for grocery runs.
I totally understand the lovers of Dick who praise, rightfully, his creativity, but I just don't find him a good storyteller. He should have been a consultant. Almost everything he's written would have turned out better if he had let another author take the reigns.
The Man in the High Castle is one of the best examples of that. If I told you what the main ideas were in this book, you'd drool. They're so good—even better if you love a bit of world history and wartime politics. But what does he do with these drool-worthy ideas? I still couldn't tell you. It's hard to explain what happens in this story with any genuine enthusiasm or interest.
If you try to hype it up, you find yourself referring back to the spirit of the ideas at play, the lore, the potential ways you might look at reality and grand narratives... but you don't actually talk about anything that happens in the story itself. For a work of fiction, why does it have the same intangibility as a textbook?
By the end, I felt like Dick himself was phoning it in. It lacks a lot of focus, really. Maybe too much I-Ching at play, who knows? You'd think that having an assassination plot would be somewhat interesting, but even Dick sort of just calmly sprinkles it in like the "to taste" salting of an hours-old soup. It's a bunch of great ideas I wish I could read in an equally great book, but, alas.
I totally understand the lovers of Dick who praise, rightfully, his creativity, but I just don't find him a good storyteller. He should have been a consultant. Almost everything he's written would have turned out better if he had let another author take the reigns.
The Man in the High Castle is one of the best examples of that. If I told you what the main ideas were in this book, you'd drool. They're so good—even better if you love a bit of world history and wartime politics. But what does he do with these drool-worthy ideas? I still couldn't tell you. It's hard to explain what happens in this story with any genuine enthusiasm or interest.
If you try to hype it up, you find yourself referring back to the spirit of the ideas at play, the lore, the potential ways you might look at reality and grand narratives... but you don't actually talk about anything that happens in the story itself. For a work of fiction, why does it have the same intangibility as a textbook?
By the end, I felt like Dick himself was phoning it in. It lacks a lot of focus, really. Maybe too much I-Ching at play, who knows? You'd think that having an assassination plot would be somewhat interesting, but even Dick sort of just calmly sprinkles it in like the "to taste" salting of an hours-old soup. It's a bunch of great ideas I wish I could read in an equally great book, but, alas.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated