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Philip K. Dick: The Dream Connection
An exploration of Philip K. Dick's strange experiences with other-dimensional intelligences that he came to call VALIS, or Vast Alien Living Intelligence System written by an intimate of the author.
- GenresScience Fiction
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 11, 2024
This will not be a very detailed review, but in the wake of Philip K. Dick’s posthumous stardom several books have been published that are just interviews with the guy. Several of the ones from the post-VALIS publication. This interview was just one of many that were held as a part of Apel's Oral history of Science Fiction (A book I just picked up). It also includes numerous essays, including one Robert Anton Wilson on PKD's mystical experiences, R. Faraday Nelson on collaborating with PKD on the unpublished High Castle sequels, a rare (at the time) short story about PKD's mystical experiences,
The interview is not as focused as some of the others. It may have something to do with the timing, during his brief relationship with Joan Simpson, when he was living in transition. Must have for die-hard PKD scholars, general Dickheads not so much.
The interview is not as focused as some of the others. It may have something to do with the timing, during his brief relationship with Joan Simpson, when he was living in transition. Must have for die-hard PKD scholars, general Dickheads not so much.
May 5, 2026
Part memoir, part wyrd exploration of a amazing experiment. Really loved this. Would pair well with my book, Ong's Hat: Compleat. That's not a shameless plug, but a true statement of simpatico.Highly recommend for fans of high strangeness.
January 11, 2018
A collection of short non-fiction and fiction pieces relating to the last years of Philip K. Dick's life. As they vary quite a bit, I'm breaking the book down and commenting on each chapter in turn.
Phil as I Knew Him: D. Scott Apel and Kevin Briggs first met Phil Dick in 1977, as two aspiring writers working on a collection of profiles of science fiction authors active in the 1970's. Apel's description of Dick's appearance in those years has been repeatedly quoted by his other biographers: "He was large, physically imposing and hairy. He was wearing slacks and an open shirt, as if his hairy barrel chest and barrel belly couldn't stand being confined." Apel and Dick struck up a friendship that lasted until Dick's death in 1982. Apel's keen observations on Dick's behavior and personality give the reader a firsthand perspective that many later biographers don't have. A warm and personal essay on his friendship with a larger than life figure.
Philip K. Dick Interview: This is the text (slightly edited) of the interview referenced above. Their easygoing conversation ranges over the topic of writing and the creative process, and Dick rates some of his own books. Dick also discusses at some length a favorite topic: the authentic, empathetic human versus the "android." He makes an attempt to explain his experiences in February and March of 1974.
This is an amazing piece of primary source material. A good deal of what we know about PKD and the evolution of his thought during the late 70's comes from this skillfully conducted interview. Apel and Briggs did fine work here.
The Eye of the Sibyl: A short story by Philip K. Dick. This is believed to be Dick's first attempt to tell part of the story of his 1974 experiences in fictional form. It serves as a companion to the novel Radio Free Albemuth, which develops in more detail the idea first presented here: that alien guardians watched over the earth and assisting humans in their struggle against oppression. This story serves as an important link tying together the novels Radio Free Albemuth and The Divine Invasion.
A Dream of Amerasia: An essay by Ray Nelson, who collaborated with Dick in life, and whose later dreams about Dick inspired his work. Interesting insights into Dick's vision for sequels to The Man in the High Castle. As far as I know, Nelson did not write the sequel he talks about here (at least it was never published).
The Dream Connection: Apel describes a period of time for several years after Phil Dick's death when he believes Dick attempted to speak to him through his dreams and via spiritual mediums. I found this section tedious, and it dragged down the book's overall rating. I vacillated between 3 and 4 stars, finally going with 4. The other sections are so interesting and valuable to the reader interested in Philip K. Dick that I hated to "punish" the entire collection for one poorly conceived section.
In my opinion, Apel's evidence for Dick's contacts from "beyond the grave" comes down to little more than credulity and the well known phenomenon of "apophenia," the brain's natural tendency to see nonexistent connections between random occurrences. Apel's long lists of nonsensical "synchronicities" become absurd after a time. Sorry... I doubt that Phil Dick sent postmortem messages via Trapper John reruns. I can easily believe that Apel's grief for a charismatic friend he admired and respected manifested itself in intense, lifelike dreams about that friend. I don't easily believe that those dreams were spiritual messages from Phil Dick in the next world. And this essay does nothing to alter my impression of spiritual mediums as upscale con artists.
The essay's premise is far fetched, but it is in some way a tribute to the bond of friendship between a young writer and an older author who served as an inspiration, and a kind of strange mentor.
"Afterwards:" Robert Anton Wilson's gleefully anarchic commentary on the proceeding essay. Wilson's ideas are just as half-baked as Apel's, but his presentation is a lot more entertaining.
Appendices: The letter from Dick to Apel is another welcome window into the author's personality. The Ted Sturgeon piece is a fascinating bit of primary material on Dick, and his interaction with another great writer. The "Tagore letter" has been frequently reprinted, but is interesting to me in that it underlines what appears to be Dick's developing concern about environmental issues near the end of his life. Presented in a uniquely phildickian fashion, one wonders whether it could have formed the kernel of a novel, sort of a Valis for the earth's ecosphere.
Phil as I Knew Him: D. Scott Apel and Kevin Briggs first met Phil Dick in 1977, as two aspiring writers working on a collection of profiles of science fiction authors active in the 1970's. Apel's description of Dick's appearance in those years has been repeatedly quoted by his other biographers: "He was large, physically imposing and hairy. He was wearing slacks and an open shirt, as if his hairy barrel chest and barrel belly couldn't stand being confined." Apel and Dick struck up a friendship that lasted until Dick's death in 1982. Apel's keen observations on Dick's behavior and personality give the reader a firsthand perspective that many later biographers don't have. A warm and personal essay on his friendship with a larger than life figure.
Philip K. Dick Interview: This is the text (slightly edited) of the interview referenced above. Their easygoing conversation ranges over the topic of writing and the creative process, and Dick rates some of his own books. Dick also discusses at some length a favorite topic: the authentic, empathetic human versus the "android." He makes an attempt to explain his experiences in February and March of 1974.
This is an amazing piece of primary source material. A good deal of what we know about PKD and the evolution of his thought during the late 70's comes from this skillfully conducted interview. Apel and Briggs did fine work here.
The Eye of the Sibyl: A short story by Philip K. Dick. This is believed to be Dick's first attempt to tell part of the story of his 1974 experiences in fictional form. It serves as a companion to the novel Radio Free Albemuth, which develops in more detail the idea first presented here: that alien guardians watched over the earth and assisting humans in their struggle against oppression. This story serves as an important link tying together the novels Radio Free Albemuth and The Divine Invasion.
A Dream of Amerasia: An essay by Ray Nelson, who collaborated with Dick in life, and whose later dreams about Dick inspired his work. Interesting insights into Dick's vision for sequels to The Man in the High Castle. As far as I know, Nelson did not write the sequel he talks about here (at least it was never published).
The Dream Connection: Apel describes a period of time for several years after Phil Dick's death when he believes Dick attempted to speak to him through his dreams and via spiritual mediums. I found this section tedious, and it dragged down the book's overall rating. I vacillated between 3 and 4 stars, finally going with 4. The other sections are so interesting and valuable to the reader interested in Philip K. Dick that I hated to "punish" the entire collection for one poorly conceived section.
In my opinion, Apel's evidence for Dick's contacts from "beyond the grave" comes down to little more than credulity and the well known phenomenon of "apophenia," the brain's natural tendency to see nonexistent connections between random occurrences. Apel's long lists of nonsensical "synchronicities" become absurd after a time. Sorry... I doubt that Phil Dick sent postmortem messages via Trapper John reruns. I can easily believe that Apel's grief for a charismatic friend he admired and respected manifested itself in intense, lifelike dreams about that friend. I don't easily believe that those dreams were spiritual messages from Phil Dick in the next world. And this essay does nothing to alter my impression of spiritual mediums as upscale con artists.
The essay's premise is far fetched, but it is in some way a tribute to the bond of friendship between a young writer and an older author who served as an inspiration, and a kind of strange mentor.
"Afterwards:" Robert Anton Wilson's gleefully anarchic commentary on the proceeding essay. Wilson's ideas are just as half-baked as Apel's, but his presentation is a lot more entertaining.
Appendices: The letter from Dick to Apel is another welcome window into the author's personality. The Ted Sturgeon piece is a fascinating bit of primary material on Dick, and his interaction with another great writer. The "Tagore letter" has been frequently reprinted, but is interesting to me in that it underlines what appears to be Dick's developing concern about environmental issues near the end of his life. Presented in a uniquely phildickian fashion, one wonders whether it could have formed the kernel of a novel, sort of a Valis for the earth's ecosphere.
January 31, 2016
This book fell well below my expectations. The author cobbled together two interviews that he conducted with PKD shortly before his death; PKD's short story, "The Eye of the Sibyl;" the "Tagore Letter;" an essay by a writer who believed that PKD had contacted him in dreams and assigned to him the task of writing a sequel to "The Man in the High Castle;"and a long winded account of the author's (Apel's) attempt to contact PKD post-mortem, through dreams, spirit mediums, and "synchronicities." There's an amusing Afterward by Robert Anton Wilson, which for all its craziness and ribald sense of humor may well be the best thing in the book.
The PKD interviews are only mildly interesting. "The Eye of the Sibyl" is not a memorable story. And Mr. Apel's wild attempts to communicate with the dead (and then write it all down!) seem like a terrible waste of time and energy.
I'm fascinated by PKD, as many readers are. But I think from now on, I'll stick to PKD's own work and stay away from derivative stuff.
The PKD interviews are only mildly interesting. "The Eye of the Sibyl" is not a memorable story. And Mr. Apel's wild attempts to communicate with the dead (and then write it all down!) seem like a terrible waste of time and energy.
I'm fascinated by PKD, as many readers are. But I think from now on, I'll stick to PKD's own work and stay away from derivative stuff.
December 15, 2014
A worthy addition to the literature about Dick, and his later years in particular. A good balance of interview, essay, and short fiction. Previously very difficult to get hold of in print, so it is a welcome e-book at a very reasonable price.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews