Philip K. Dick

by Douglas A. MacKey

One of science fiction's most prolific authors, Philip K. Dick is also one of the genre's most intellectually challenging explorers of the multidimensional subjective nature of reality. In Philip K. Dick, author Douglas A. Mackey has undertaken the formidable task of elucidating the psychological and philosophical issues that permeate all of Dick's work and that, Mackey argues, earn him a place with Borges and Kafka among twentieth-century writers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

157 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1988

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philip K. Dick is a mobius artichoke. You peel off the outer layers, and then find inner layers. Peel off enough inner layers, and you come up with -- if not the ultimate reality -- more outer layers. That artichoke heart is elusive, and perhaps cannot be found at all.

I have loved reading Dick's work for decades. This is the first time I ever tried to read a book about him. Douglas A Mackey in his survey of the author and his work, suitably entitled Philip K Dick, tries to come to terms with his subject, and does a creditable job at it. At one point, he quotes an unpublished work by the author:

At one time my heme was the search for reality, which I posed as: What is real? What isn't? But I think really my theme, What is human? What isn't? is more vital and was there all the time underlying the other. After all, the subdivision of reality most important to our ability to make something we can treasure out of our life is the reality of other humans. To define what is real is to define what is human, if you care about humans.

That last phrase I find most illuminating. There are people among us so wrapped in their pets, their TV-fed fantasies, and their craziness that they may very well not care about humans. Not when they can pick up a military assault rifle and shoot up a kindergarten.

Fortunately, Dick does care about humans. He does encounter some problems, however, dealing with his female characters. Males care about humans in general in a very different way that males care about women. The result is that it is difficult (but not impossible) for male authors to create convincing women and vice versa. It is a small failing in Dick, who was married five times and couldn't really sort out his problems with women during an incredibly creative lifetime.

Dick in his endless search for reality has produced at least a dozen works that easily cross over from science fiction to literature. It is no accident that three volumes (comprising thirteen novels) of the prestigious Library of America have been devoted to his work.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid critiques of Philip K. Dick's novels, with some brief commentary on the short stories. MacKey tends to use Jungian concepts to examine Dick's work; a reasonable choice, since Dick himself often thought in those terms.

[Stephen Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

MACKEY REMEMBERS IT WHOLESALE

This is an erudite examination of the best works of Philip K. Dick. Mackey divides Dick’s career into several chronological sections that mark turning points in his development and analyses the most notable of his stories and novels from each period. His assessment of what constitutes Dick’s best is in tune with popular opinion. He demonstrates an in-depth understanding of Dick’s themes and motifs and his analysis of each of his chosen pieces is carefully considered and thorough. Whether Dick was always conscious of the philosophical aspects of his work at the time of writing is something we’ll never know for sure but Mackey’s interpretations are always interesting and thoughtful. This is quite dense stuff however, and best suited for Dick aficionados.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of Dick's work, which covers all the novels, and some of the more important short stories.