wptk 's review for:

The Simulacra by Philip K. Dick

4.0

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

---

The worldbuilding has some great touches—the political setup and the constant uncertainty about who’s “real” versus manufactured is classic PKD—but not everything lands. The chuppers feel more like half-baked curiosities than meaningful elements, and they never really make sense in the story’s logic. Likewise, the psi effects pop up exactly when the plot needs a push, coming across more as convenient shortcuts than organic developments. Still, there’s something oddly compelling about how the novel meanders from one bizarre situation to another without ever really building toward a grand conclusion. In that way, it’s almost like a sci-fi Seinfeld—a book about strange people in a stranger world, doing things that sometimes don’t add up, but somehow leave you intrigued enough to keep turning the pages.