Philip K Dick

am about finished with "The Simulacra"-first Dick book I have read-real easy to compare to Vonnegut, but Dick is more spastic unhinged-The characters in Vonnegut have a clear humanist streak-here in "Simulacra" the male characters are shattered by the Oedipal complex-the character of Nicole is herself but not of herself-the sense of disbelief is acute-I am more attracted by the results of time and thepry that Dick liberally sprinlkes as to whether these characters have some kind of classy ending

still, a whirlwind-something tells me this is not considered one of his essential works
any recommendations as to what I should read next?

[Edited on 11-5-2004 by John bull 1]

I'm three quarters of the way through "The Man in the High Castle" which is Dick's vision of what the world would have been like if the Allies had lost World War Two.

Very well written.

Unfortunately gotta move this to BTS.

I have had Valis in my Amazon wish list forever, but never got around to buying it as I became obsessed with the insanity of Carlton Mellick III and had to get everything he has written.

I have read tons of Dick. My favorites are, in this order:

The Divine Invasion
UBIK
Confessions of a Crap Artist (non sci-fi)
Radio Free Albemuth
Flow My Tears The Policeman Said

The first Dick I read was VALIS. Talk about trial by fire. It was very absorbing, very maddening, frustrating. The last 4 books Dick wrote (Transmigration of Timothy Archer, VALIS, Divine Invasion, Radio Free Albemuth) all revolved around his belief that he was in contact with a stream of intelligence called VALIS: Vast Active Living Intelligence System. (I think) He believed that the Earth has been orbited since time immemorial by a satellite that beamed this stream of intelligence to our famous artists, scientists and politcal thinkers. You can either take this that he was insane, or pulling one over on us, or he really was. (The whole madman/liar/truth argument so often put forth by Christian apologeticists to validate the claims of Jesus) To me, it doesn't matter. He brings up really interesting things, really good ripping yarns that make me think.

I have found with Dick that some books are actively bad. Galactic Pot Healer, for instance: I thought it stunk. But when he is brilliant, he is amazing. His worlds are almost always dark. His characters are almost always damaged. But they all are seeking the truth, and most of them mean well. Except his women: Dick must have had terrible relationships with women, because his female characters are often emasculating shrews. BUT all this is worth overlooking, I think, to get a glimpse into his darkly brilliant mind.

I'm not too familiar with PK Dick's fiction, however I do know of a rather interesting essay he wrote.
I believe he read it at a college graduation where he was a speaker.
How to Build a Universe that Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later is one the essay. He's a neat guy, from what I know, and this piece really reflects that. It's a lot to dredge through, but it's worth it -- he tells some good anectdotes, particularly about his "experience" with his novel "Flow my Tears, The Policeman Said."
This experience is also mentioned in the movie "waking life" if anyone's seen it...