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In Pursuit of VALIS: Selections from the Exegesis
Excerpts from the late science fiction writer's personal journal include autobiographical material as well as discussions of mystical experiences, philosophical speculation, comments on his fictional works, and plot outlines
278 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1991
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272 people want to read
About the author
Philip K. Dick
2,006 books22.5k followersPhilip Kindred Dick was a prolific American science fiction author whose work has had a lasting impact on literature, cinema, and popular culture. Known for his imaginative narratives and profound philosophical themes, Dick explored the nature of reality, the boundaries of human identity, and the impact of technology and authoritarianism on society. His stories often blurred the line between the real and the artificial, challenging readers to question their perceptions and beliefs.
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick’s most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick’s legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His work continues to challenge and inspire, offering timeless insights into the human condition a
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick’s most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick’s legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His work continues to challenge and inspire, offering timeless insights into the human condition a
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 27, 2015
My rating on this book is predicated on its use as a companion reader for dedicated PKD fans. If you have no idea what his "exegesis" is, go read 5 or 6 of his novels (and one of those must be VALIS) then read this if you want to see the author's multiple and often contradictory interpretations of what his own work, and life, meant. This is a well edited book that shows the process of Dick's thinking in fascinating detail. Even the best editing, however, can't change the fact that none of this writing was intended for public consumption. It can be very raw and it can be a bit difficult to puzzle out exactly what he means at times.
That being said, this book will fascinate anyone who is serious about trying to puzzle out the theology and philosophy in PKD's works, and it has deepened my appreciation of his writing.
That being said, this book will fascinate anyone who is serious about trying to puzzle out the theology and philosophy in PKD's works, and it has deepened my appreciation of his writing.
April 28, 2009
Finally, a look at some of the 8000 pages Philip Dick wrote in an attempt to explain what happened to him in 1974 and later in his life.
Depending on your degree of new-agery, you will see it as an esoteric text that examines the underlying truth of this false reality we live in, or you will see it as the confused and often-contradictory obsessive writings of a schizophrenic. Either way, it's pretty interesting.
Depending on your degree of new-agery, you will see it as an esoteric text that examines the underlying truth of this false reality we live in, or you will see it as the confused and often-contradictory obsessive writings of a schizophrenic. Either way, it's pretty interesting.
January 4, 2015
ok, so i bought this out-of-print paperback for $70. I know, a crazy amount of money, but I felt it's worth it because it's the only print I know that contains selections from the exegesis, dick's 1000-page tome of explanations for what happened to him when he saw through the fabric of reality in the mid-70s, after recovering from dental surgery.
May 24, 2007
Insanity ahoy!
July 15, 2009
Excerpts from Dick's Exegesis. Great research for my PKD short comic.
April 15, 2023
I found this book abandoned in a box in Portland, Oregon over a year ago. It came with me across the country, and it sat on my shelf for some time. I dedicated myself to reading a fairly sizeable amount of PKD's works in that time, though certainly not as much as I would have liked, and I didn't think much about this book sitting on my shelf. Then I read Valis, and the rest of the Valis trilogy, discovered that an Exegesis existed, that Valis was entirely based on PKD himself, and that I had a copy sitting on my shelf. So I took it off my shelf and began to read it.
This is the first book I have read in quite some time that I had to pause while reading at certain moments because of the weight of the feeling that the words that were being written here encompassed and at times perfectly described thoughts, feelings, and anti-thoughts that I have experienced for some time and assumed that I would never make complete sense of, never be able to relate to anyone, and never have anyone to relate to. PKD proved me wrong.
I am not sure how I feel about the editing of the book, and to be honest I didn't really enjoy Terence McKenna's bit at the end. That being said, I am giving this book 5 stars, because PKD was ahead of his time, and this book (which I will now cherish on my shelf) contains thoughts, feelings, and anti-thoughts that I have not seen so aptly expressed in any other piece of media.
One day I will read it again, and when that day comes I will be armed with all of PKD's other works as well as a more formal and complete foundation in philosophy and perhaps at that time I will be able to write an exegesis as beautiful as this one.
TLDR: If you like PKD's ideas, read this book. Don't try to understand it, simply understand it. If you won't, then you can't.
This is the first book I have read in quite some time that I had to pause while reading at certain moments because of the weight of the feeling that the words that were being written here encompassed and at times perfectly described thoughts, feelings, and anti-thoughts that I have experienced for some time and assumed that I would never make complete sense of, never be able to relate to anyone, and never have anyone to relate to. PKD proved me wrong.
I am not sure how I feel about the editing of the book, and to be honest I didn't really enjoy Terence McKenna's bit at the end. That being said, I am giving this book 5 stars, because PKD was ahead of his time, and this book (which I will now cherish on my shelf) contains thoughts, feelings, and anti-thoughts that I have not seen so aptly expressed in any other piece of media.
One day I will read it again, and when that day comes I will be armed with all of PKD's other works as well as a more formal and complete foundation in philosophy and perhaps at that time I will be able to write an exegesis as beautiful as this one.
TLDR: If you like PKD's ideas, read this book. Don't try to understand it, simply understand it. If you won't, then you can't.
November 12, 2017
Neydi 2.3.74? 8000 sayfalık bir günlük, sadece gerçeği yakalamak için miydi yoksa onu ters çevirmek için mi? Elimdeki metin kısa olsa da Dünya'nın Büyük Teosofi Sisteminin Gizli Anlamı, İlk Kez Açıkça Ortaya Konuluyor adlı parça görünen gerçekliğinizi bozacak nitelikte. Merak daha fazla aramanıza hatta bazı misafirler tarafından aranmanıza sebep olabilir. PKD yazdığı bilimkurgu metinleriyle (roman demiyorum özellikle) bir başka boyuta ulaşmak için kullanmış olabilir. Hatta yazıyı bu kurgunun içine girmek için alet etmiş bile olabilir. Olasılıklar üzerinden konuşuyorum çünkü VALİS'i (Vast Active Living Intelligence System/Büyük Aktif Yaşayan Akıl Sistemi) kabul ettiğiniz taktirde Sophia/Işık Tanrısı ve Mimar/Demiurgos didişmelerine savaş açacak cesareti yakalamışsınızdır. Belki de?
June 17, 2017
Okültizm ve özellikle gnosis ilginizi çekmiyorsa ve giriş seviyesinde bilgi sahibi değilseniz kitapta anlatılanların çoğunu anlamayacaksınız. Dipnotları çevirenler mi yoksa kitabı derleyen kişi mi hazırlamış pek anlayamadım ama çoğu referans gnostik öğretiler yerine 4 İncil perspektifinden verildiği için pek açıklayıcı değil. Her şeye rağmen çok güzel bir kitap ve çok emek harcanmış. Sırf PKD'in kendi düşüncelerini anlattığı kısımlar için bile okumaya değer.
Read
July 19, 2009In the tail end of my Memorial Day PKD binge, I also started reading this book, which is a selection from PKD's exegesis document. It confirmed that he was a truly warped cat; ultimately I could only take so much paranoid speculation and stopped about 30 pages from the end.
August 23, 2015
Sadly, I actually ended up having to sell this before finishing it, but it's an amazing artifact from the sad, strange, incredible mind of one the most interesting, troubled, prophetic and philosophical writers.
November 16, 2011
Simply amazing. The width and depth of PKD's mind is just absolutely astounding. In Pursuit of Valis and The Shifting Realities of PKD are must reads for anyone interested in philosophy and religion.
February 5, 2017
2 sayfa dışında çöp, almayın ağalar.
September 15, 2023
Bunu toplanıp 4-5 kişi çevirmiş ve önsözüne kitapta çok değerli ama karmaşık bir adamın kafasından dökülen rasgele fikirler var gibi anlatmışlar ama bildiğin adam paranoid şizofren ve okuduklarım da onun kafasındaki çarpık fikirler. neo-jesus.
bunu neden zahmet edip basmışlar anlamadım.
bunu neden zahmet edip basmışlar anlamadım.
February 21, 2019
What I find particularly interesting is how Valis explores the subtle comparison between schizophrenia and shamanic states which is covered in this book.
July 7, 2019
Read PKDs Exegesis instead, you get more information of what he was thinking. This just seemed to be a bit too simplified.
September 3, 2023
This book just felt like I was reading a man's hallucinations about Christianity, honestly.
December 28, 2008
Man, PKD was one crazy, crazy man by the end of it. I skipped through the last few chapters, as I really couldn't follow his thoughts. But it's an interesting read, for sure.
June 17, 2016
Yine üzücü bir çeviri ve neredeyse her paragrafta tokat gibi çarpan tashihler. Olgun okuyucudan çok yeni yetmelere yönelen bu yayınevinden önemli yazarlar el çektirilmeli.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews