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Thomas World
Thomas Phillips knows he's losing his mind. He's been losing it for as long as he can remember. And yet, when a strange old man asks him to consider that he, out of everyone in the world, knows the real truth, Thomas' life begins to spiral out of control. He loses interest in his job and is fired. He refuses his wife's suggestion of psychiatric care, and she leaves him. In the end, Thomas is alone. Except he's not, because someone seems to be following him. What if you were Thomas? Where would you go? What would you do? What if you realized every person in your life had been scripted to be there? What if you were haunted by the idea that you'd lived all these encounters before, hundreds or even thousands of times before? And what if the person watching all this time was you?
Thomas World explores what happens when the borders of reality start seeming a bit pores... when things start bleeding through the edges, challenging ones perceptions of the universe. The grand tradition of Dickian, New Wave SF is explored by Richard Cox in this 21st century thriller!
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
Thomas World explores what happens when the borders of reality start seeming a bit pores... when things start bleeding through the edges, challenging ones perceptions of the universe. The grand tradition of Dickian, New Wave SF is explored by Richard Cox in this 21st century thriller!
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
- GenresScience Fiction
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
5 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Richard Cox
5 books59 followersRichard Cox was born in Odessa, Texas and now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His latest novel, House of the Rising Sun, was published on July 7, 2020. Richard has also published The Boys of Summer, Thomas World, The God Particle, and Rift. Richard has also written for This Land Press, Oklahoma Magazine, and TheNervousBreakdown.com.
When he's not writing or reading, Richard loves spending time with his wife and two girls. And hitting bombs.
He also wrote this bio in third person as if writing about someone else. George likes his chicken spicy!
When he's not writing or reading, Richard loves spending time with his wife and two girls. And hitting bombs.
He also wrote this bio in third person as if writing about someone else. George likes his chicken spicy!
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 24, 2011
http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...
I read Thomas World by Richard Cox while on a plane to San Francisco. It wasn't my first choice. I fully planned on sitting down to read God's War by Kameron Hurley. When that didn't totally grab me, I tried Necropolis by Michael Dempsey (both are also Night Shade titles and both have subsequently become more compelling). It didn't get me either. After about ten paragraphs of Thomas World, I was hooked. That's not to say it's an exciting read. In fact, it's a little slow and lacks any action to speak of. So what made it so hard to put down? It's a first person look at a man losing his mind wrapped around an ode to Philip K. Dick. In other words, it's just super cool.
For those considering reading Thomas World, my only caution would be to make sure you don't mind reading a book written inside the head of someone losing his mind. Blackouts, alcoholism, drug use, and paranoia are just a few of the hoops Cox makes Phillips jump through. He walks a fine line between convincing his reader that Phillips is insane and providing enough information to think we might be wrong. A few times throughout I asked myself, "Why do I care that this guy is bat shit crazy?" Cox answers that question with compelling pace and prose that urged me forward in learning the root of Phillips' psychosis.
The novel's narrative is relatively straight forward, if not always linear. Things are occasionally disjointed but mostly as a necessary plot point (i.e. blackouts) rather than a symptom of Cox's writing. Much of the novel is spent with Phillips going in circles as he comes to grips with reality disintegrating around him. At times I wondered if Thomas World started off as a short-story or novella before becoming a novel. The novel's conclusion only takes a few dozen pages and it's possible the concept might have been more powerful in a shorter format. Of course, no one buys novella's, so I find its length perfectly defensible.
Thematically, the use of Philip K. Dick's work is incredibly prevalent. Cox explores how we conceptualize reality and identity. He uses mental illness and drug use as plot devices. All of these are notions that Dick explored extensively in his catalog of work. Specifically mentioned throughout are novels like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ubik, and VALIS. In this sense, Thomas World is an homage to Dick and should probably be read a such.
To a reader who has only read a little Dick (A Scanner Darkly and some short fiction) - did I get more or less out of Cox's novel? Had I read more of Dick's work would I have found myself drawn into the intertextuality of it all? Or because I was only somewhat familiar with Dick, was Thomas World fresher than it might otherwise be? Since I can't answer these questions, I will say this - Cox made me want to read more Philip K. Dick. I guess that's a rather back-handed compliment, but it should elevate Dick more than it denigrates Cox.
As a 6'4" man I'm going to give a pretty ridiculous compliment - Thomas World made me forget I was on an airplane. Cox communicates his plot beautifully interlacing heartwarming scenes with the bleakness of a man's life coming down around him. In fact, the book's final line is so divorced from the rest of the novel, that I wondered if I'd understood what Cox was doing. Was this really a novel in the mold of Dick who questions what's real? Or instead is Cox saying screw reality, find happiness where you can? I don't know! But it's pretty fun to find myself pondering these questions after reading.
To fans of Philip K. Dick, or films like Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I think Thomas World will be right in the wheel house. To everyone else, check out some sample chapters and see how it goes. It's a cool experience, but I have a feeling it's not everybody.
Sidenote: The novel includes an Afterword from Richard Cox about an experience he had in his life with regards to "on-line reality." It provides a great deal of context to what steered him toward writing Thomas World. I can't recommend this section highly enough. It's very well done.
Thomas World is due out August 30, 2011 according to Amazon where it is already in stock.
I read Thomas World by Richard Cox while on a plane to San Francisco. It wasn't my first choice. I fully planned on sitting down to read God's War by Kameron Hurley. When that didn't totally grab me, I tried Necropolis by Michael Dempsey (both are also Night Shade titles and both have subsequently become more compelling). It didn't get me either. After about ten paragraphs of Thomas World, I was hooked. That's not to say it's an exciting read. In fact, it's a little slow and lacks any action to speak of. So what made it so hard to put down? It's a first person look at a man losing his mind wrapped around an ode to Philip K. Dick. In other words, it's just super cool.
For those considering reading Thomas World, my only caution would be to make sure you don't mind reading a book written inside the head of someone losing his mind. Blackouts, alcoholism, drug use, and paranoia are just a few of the hoops Cox makes Phillips jump through. He walks a fine line between convincing his reader that Phillips is insane and providing enough information to think we might be wrong. A few times throughout I asked myself, "Why do I care that this guy is bat shit crazy?" Cox answers that question with compelling pace and prose that urged me forward in learning the root of Phillips' psychosis.
The novel's narrative is relatively straight forward, if not always linear. Things are occasionally disjointed but mostly as a necessary plot point (i.e. blackouts) rather than a symptom of Cox's writing. Much of the novel is spent with Phillips going in circles as he comes to grips with reality disintegrating around him. At times I wondered if Thomas World started off as a short-story or novella before becoming a novel. The novel's conclusion only takes a few dozen pages and it's possible the concept might have been more powerful in a shorter format. Of course, no one buys novella's, so I find its length perfectly defensible.
Thematically, the use of Philip K. Dick's work is incredibly prevalent. Cox explores how we conceptualize reality and identity. He uses mental illness and drug use as plot devices. All of these are notions that Dick explored extensively in his catalog of work. Specifically mentioned throughout are novels like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ubik, and VALIS. In this sense, Thomas World is an homage to Dick and should probably be read a such.
To a reader who has only read a little Dick (A Scanner Darkly and some short fiction) - did I get more or less out of Cox's novel? Had I read more of Dick's work would I have found myself drawn into the intertextuality of it all? Or because I was only somewhat familiar with Dick, was Thomas World fresher than it might otherwise be? Since I can't answer these questions, I will say this - Cox made me want to read more Philip K. Dick. I guess that's a rather back-handed compliment, but it should elevate Dick more than it denigrates Cox.
As a 6'4" man I'm going to give a pretty ridiculous compliment - Thomas World made me forget I was on an airplane. Cox communicates his plot beautifully interlacing heartwarming scenes with the bleakness of a man's life coming down around him. In fact, the book's final line is so divorced from the rest of the novel, that I wondered if I'd understood what Cox was doing. Was this really a novel in the mold of Dick who questions what's real? Or instead is Cox saying screw reality, find happiness where you can? I don't know! But it's pretty fun to find myself pondering these questions after reading.
To fans of Philip K. Dick, or films like Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I think Thomas World will be right in the wheel house. To everyone else, check out some sample chapters and see how it goes. It's a cool experience, but I have a feeling it's not everybody.
Sidenote: The novel includes an Afterword from Richard Cox about an experience he had in his life with regards to "on-line reality." It provides a great deal of context to what steered him toward writing Thomas World. I can't recommend this section highly enough. It's very well done.
Thomas World is due out August 30, 2011 according to Amazon where it is already in stock.
October 6, 2011
You don't really have to do anything more than the following to get me to love a book:
Get me to very seriously think about the likelihood that I'm living in a simulated reality.
And this book did that. Plus, it was a fun read! So you know, bonus. This review is just a simulation.
Get me to very seriously think about the likelihood that I'm living in a simulated reality.
And this book did that. Plus, it was a fun read! So you know, bonus. This review is just a simulation.
September 12, 2011
Thomas World is an intriguing mind twister and if you liked the way the movie, The Matrix made you question your reality, you’ll probably love this one book as much as I did. It explores what happens when the borders of reality start bleeding through the edges, challenging our perceptions of the universe.
Thomas Phillip’s world is becoming very strange and he’s wondering if he’s going crazy. We wonder too. Is this guy just seriously paranoid? Initially, it seems that way, but as the story progresses it becomes clear that the hallucinations, the strange feelings of being watched, of having done this or having been there before, the sound of violins playing and numbers being recited aren’t without basis. Just as Thomas wants to work out what’s going on, so do we and this is what keeps us reading as inexplicable coincidences pile up, seemingly innocent characters reveal that they know more about Thomas than they should and random strangers know his name. The parallels between how the characters in Thomas’s world feel about their relationship with him and how characters in a story revolve around the centre character also add another layer of depth to the mystery.
It’s a psychological mystery/thriller of unexplained occurrences that cleverly builds to the point where it’s obvious that things are very wrong. When we do eventually find out what’s going on, (via the nice touch of Thomas looking something up on wikapedia) the answer is something that was hinted at all the way through, but I never could have figured it out. The crux of the story is Thomas’s choice. Does he want reality, or a simulated version of reality? The last chapter leaves us to infer his answer for ourselves.
My favourite part is the chapter of numbers. It’s bold and brilliant and perfect for the story. I give it 4 stars.
Thomas Phillip’s world is becoming very strange and he’s wondering if he’s going crazy. We wonder too. Is this guy just seriously paranoid? Initially, it seems that way, but as the story progresses it becomes clear that the hallucinations, the strange feelings of being watched, of having done this or having been there before, the sound of violins playing and numbers being recited aren’t without basis. Just as Thomas wants to work out what’s going on, so do we and this is what keeps us reading as inexplicable coincidences pile up, seemingly innocent characters reveal that they know more about Thomas than they should and random strangers know his name. The parallels between how the characters in Thomas’s world feel about their relationship with him and how characters in a story revolve around the centre character also add another layer of depth to the mystery.
It’s a psychological mystery/thriller of unexplained occurrences that cleverly builds to the point where it’s obvious that things are very wrong. When we do eventually find out what’s going on, (via the nice touch of Thomas looking something up on wikapedia) the answer is something that was hinted at all the way through, but I never could have figured it out. The crux of the story is Thomas’s choice. Does he want reality, or a simulated version of reality? The last chapter leaves us to infer his answer for ourselves.
My favourite part is the chapter of numbers. It’s bold and brilliant and perfect for the story. I give it 4 stars.
September 3, 2012
I approached this one a little warily: it looks cheesy. It's a little too thick for its premise. It's modeled off of Philip K. Dick, for godsakes. And it's meta. I'm so over metafiction. I was surprised by how engaging it was, and it managed to break the fourth wall with originality and humor. It give fair nod to Philip K Dick's core concepts without being stifled by them. I found myself genuinely concerned for the supporting characters and muttering aloud "he can't do that!" or "man, he's in a pickle"...mad props to Cox for getting me to blur the lines between fiction and reality myself.
August 27, 2013
This book was amazing. The way it challenged everything has given me a headache, and I have read it cover to cover in less than a day.
I know, I'm crazy.
And yet... something calls to me in the way the author perceives the world, in the way his own beliefs seem to have shaken as he has met Veronika, and the effect it has had on his novel, and on me.
It saddens me that I may live and die without knowing the truth of this story and others like it which challenge our reality. Maybe that's why I love this book; because the protagonist knows his position in the end.
Unlike us.
I know, I'm crazy.
And yet... something calls to me in the way the author perceives the world, in the way his own beliefs seem to have shaken as he has met Veronika, and the effect it has had on his novel, and on me.
It saddens me that I may live and die without knowing the truth of this story and others like it which challenge our reality. Maybe that's why I love this book; because the protagonist knows his position in the end.
Unlike us.
January 7, 2012
Leaning more towards a 3.5 here. I was definitely not sure what was going on up until the end. A strange novel. Link to SF Revu review on February first. Will repost here March first.
May 29, 2012
Nothing short of spectacular. Philip K. Dick himself would be impressed.
May 22, 2018
Is the author me?
July 2, 2024
Honestly, I’m not sure the book really works if you’re not a fan of Philip K. Dick. I am, so it did. It doesn’t really stand on its own, then, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s just….I liked it, I did, it just never felt entirely necessary. I will say, though, that when I was reading this I had a moment, just a second, where it felt that I saw things not from my subjective experience of reality, but from an impersonal objective viewpoint. It’s not the first, last, or most significant experience like that I’ve had, but it was probably the most clear, which is the kind of compliment I think the author would most appreciate…assuming he’s real and not some kind of nudge-nudge-wink-wink Dickian egregore.
August 22, 2025
I saw this in book format at Barnes and noble but I never got around to reading it. I saw it got mixed reviews on audible but I gave it a shot. The plot was engaging and the story's pace was very good. You have to have an interest in speculative fiction in order to enjoy the story. It was like an episode of the x-files or outer limits. The only part that was lacking was towards the end where the narrator reads off a long winded sequence of numbers... For an entire 20 minute chapter. However the good outweighs the bad and it is a story worth listening as long as you like sci-fi
December 15, 2023
Did not like the writing style.
Did not manage to grab my attention, even less to keep it.
Did not manage to grab my attention, even less to keep it.
March 3, 2012
Although the main plot behind the book is intriguing, I felt like the way it was used in the book allowed far too much leeway to not develop good storytelling devices. Characters, story elements, and plot lines all dissolve in a way that may make the reader "feel the need to question things around them" but nevertheless don't tell a compelling story.
This book is a classic reminder to me to pick my rating before entering the title in goodreads, because I often feel myself compelled to move my rating closer to the "average" if I see the average first.
Basically, the work is probably a solid 3.5-3.75 in my system. It is a very fun read, but it is not a literary masterpiece and doesn't ask any new questions in a meaningful way. As some other reviewers have pointed out, it does make you look at things similar to how The Matrix did, but it is not a trendsetter in this regard, and one feels like the vast majority of ideas explored are now old hat, and any new stuff is cut off before it gets interesting.
Because of the structure of this book it really isn't even meaningful to discuss plot development. What I can say is that you will feel like you're in the book at times, which is a good accomplishment. In the end, though, you'll either be relieved at how it ends because you don't have to keep thinking; or you will be left thinking "that's it?"
This book is a classic reminder to me to pick my rating before entering the title in goodreads, because I often feel myself compelled to move my rating closer to the "average" if I see the average first.
Basically, the work is probably a solid 3.5-3.75 in my system. It is a very fun read, but it is not a literary masterpiece and doesn't ask any new questions in a meaningful way. As some other reviewers have pointed out, it does make you look at things similar to how The Matrix did, but it is not a trendsetter in this regard, and one feels like the vast majority of ideas explored are now old hat, and any new stuff is cut off before it gets interesting.
Because of the structure of this book it really isn't even meaningful to discuss plot development. What I can say is that you will feel like you're in the book at times, which is a good accomplishment. In the end, though, you'll either be relieved at how it ends because you don't have to keep thinking; or you will be left thinking "that's it?"
August 27, 2013
Perhaps I like the surreal, perhaps I like when the imaginary world is unified with reality. One thing is sure: I really, really enjoyed reading this book.
It has the right dose of thrills, the main character is believable and lifelike and the plot of course is just great.
Philip K. Dick is referenced at least a dozen times, and I think he would be proud... if what I wrote is real, that is...
It has the right dose of thrills, the main character is believable and lifelike and the plot of course is just great.
Philip K. Dick is referenced at least a dozen times, and I think he would be proud... if what I wrote is real, that is...
October 3, 2011
It had a great start. As an avid Philip K Dick reader it was an extended homage to PKD. It had a unique storyline and ending. It has a very strong beginning but I felt it could have spent less time panning Dick and playing with Pi. I'de recommend to sci fi readers. If you like this, read PKD's Ubik
March 7, 2012
High 3 / Low 4
An interesting look at someone losing their mind. Or are they? Sounds like I'd have gotten more out of it if I'd been a big reader of Philip K Dick, whom I've never read before. Not entirely sure the payoff is worth it, but I wouldn't call it a disappointment either.
An interesting look at someone losing their mind. Or are they? Sounds like I'd have gotten more out of it if I'd been a big reader of Philip K Dick, whom I've never read before. Not entirely sure the payoff is worth it, but I wouldn't call it a disappointment either.
April 24, 2013
I enjoyed this book. However, I think it's because I am a Philip K.Dick fan, and this novel is almost a tribute to Valis. Nonetheless, it's worth a read.
November 28, 2014
In the like of Philp K Dick who is also featured in this book; this trip down the rabbit hole was awesome.
October 5, 2013
This book knocked my socks off.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews