Scan barcode
A review by abandonedmegastructure
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
People like to describe The Man in the High Castle as alternate history first and foremost. This is wrong: it's so wrong that Dick has someone show up in the closing chapters, look directly at the camera (so to speak) and spell out that this work isn't about that.
So what is it about? Many things - predestination, the problem of evil, human nature, historicity, culture, identity and honesty. And racism, of course - the book does the ridiculously impressive thing of presenting points against racial essentialism even as it follows rabidly racist viewpoint characters. It's a work of unquestionable literary merit. Themes are elegantly woven throughout, characters undergo interesting arcs, and every single character comes across deeply (and sometimes horrifyingly) believable. The setting is bleak, realistic enough to serve as a support for the story, and revealed to us cleverly and gradually, and the use of I Ching divination, however implausibly, gives the story an unique and memorable dimension that greatly improves it overall. A few eyebrow-rising elements speak to the story's scifi roots, but this never really interferes with the plot itself.
Of course, this is still a book written in the 60s with a cast that's about half fascist and half fascist-tolerant, so expect some uncomfortable scenes - I'd be surprised if the slur-to-page ratio ever dips below 1, and even sympathetic characters find their thinking warped along racial lines.
As for flaws on the literary level: Dick's unique way of capturing internal monologue through quick, partial sentences is interesting, but starts to grate after some time. The narrative, too, feels abandoned once it's delivered the necessary symbolism - it's not the point, but it still would've been nice to see a cleaner wrap-up of all the plot threads put up.
Aside from some minor flaws, The Man in the High Castle is a masterwork, a milestone of scifi literature with great merit even for those otherwise utterly uninterested in the genre. A pity to see it have inspired so many mindless imitations that didn't grasp what made the original so good.
So what is it about? Many things - predestination, the problem of evil, human nature, historicity, culture, identity and honesty. And racism, of course - the book does the ridiculously impressive thing of presenting points against racial essentialism even as it follows rabidly racist viewpoint characters. It's a work of unquestionable literary merit. Themes are elegantly woven throughout, characters undergo interesting arcs, and every single character comes across deeply (and sometimes horrifyingly) believable. The setting is bleak, realistic enough to serve as a support for the story, and revealed to us cleverly and gradually, and the use of I Ching divination, however implausibly, gives the story an unique and memorable dimension that greatly improves it overall. A few eyebrow-rising elements speak to the story's scifi roots, but this never really interferes with the plot itself.
Of course, this is still a book written in the 60s with a cast that's about half fascist and half fascist-tolerant, so expect some uncomfortable scenes - I'd be surprised if the slur-to-page ratio ever dips below 1, and even sympathetic characters find their thinking warped along racial lines.
As for flaws on the literary level: Dick's unique way of capturing internal monologue through quick, partial sentences is interesting, but starts to grate after some time. The narrative, too, feels abandoned once it's delivered the necessary symbolism - it's not the point, but it still would've been nice to see a cleaner wrap-up of all the plot threads put up.
Aside from some minor flaws, The Man in the High Castle is a masterwork, a milestone of scifi literature with great merit even for those otherwise utterly uninterested in the genre. A pity to see it have inspired so many mindless imitations that didn't grasp what made the original so good.