After reading a bunch of PKD short stories before, it was enlightening to finally read one of his novels. There are few better "Ideas men" than PKD... A term he coined in this book by the way. His stories pose some of science fictions best "what if" scenarios, and that's probably why Hollywood is currently in love with him (Blade Runner, Adjustment Bureau, Next, Screamers, A Scanner Darkly, Paycheck, Minority Report And Total Recall are only half the movies made from his stories). Having said that, while he gets 10 out of 10 for concepts and plots, he doesn't always deserve top marks for story telling, dialogue and character development.
The Penultimate Truth is another dystopian yarn and is typically chock full of ideas and a clever plot. What if humanity was forced below ground to survive a nuclear war on the Earth's surface, but the whole thing ended many years ago and was being kept up as a sham with those below none the wiser? How was the lie perpetuated? And why, and who gains? Plot twists abound, and it's an engaging read. Without offering too many spoilers, he predicts voice recognition computers, CGI, and even The Transformers even though this was written 51 years ago.
One major flaw in this novel is PKD's penchant for drip feeding details about the technology and terminology he is describing. Normally that slow reveal exposition might be subtle storytelling but when understanding what the objects and processes he is talking about is crucial to understanding the novel, it just stalls comprehension and slows the reading.
Since some of his tech predictions have been superseded you can get bogged down in his prediction skills, but his themes ... Of trusting bureaucracy, the abuse of power, believing everything we are told and the heavy use of spin by governments in assembling a narrative... Are compelling and have echoes of 1984.
The ending is frustrating and the last chapter seemed as if the author wasn't entirely sure how to wrap it up (or Stephen King Syndrome as I prefer to call it). The time shift elements seemed unnecessary and I sufficiently explained and the conclusion left a lot of questions that weren't simply clever points to ponder. I'd prefer to give it a 3.5 star rating due to some of those flaws but if I have to choose between 3 and 4, I'll go with 4 for sheer invention and story cleverness.
No comments:
Post a Comment