Valis, 1

"Dick is one of the ten best American writers of the twentieth century, which is saying a lot. Dick was a kind of Kafka steeped in LSD and rage."--Roberto Bola o

What is VALIS? This question is at the heart of Philip K. Dick's ground-breaking novel, and the first book in his defining trilogy. When a beam of pink light begins giving a schizophrenic man named Horselover Fat (who just might also be known as Philip K. Dick) visions of an alternate Earth where the Roman Empire still reigns, he must decide whether he is crazy, or whether a godlike entity is showing him the true nature of the world.

VALIS is essential reading for any true Philip K. Dick fan, a novel that Roberto Bola o called "more disturbing than any novel by Carson] McCullers." By the end, like Dick himself, you will be left wondering what is real, what is fiction, and just what the price is for divine inspiration.


Author: Philip K. Dick
Publisher: Mariner Books
Published: 10/18/2011
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780547572413

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 12/16/2011 pg. 14

About the Author
Over a writing career that spanned three decades, PHILIP K. DICK (1928-1982) published 36 science-fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned to deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably, Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2007 the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into twenty-five languages.