Philip K. Dick's books are strange under normal circumstances. This book was writen later in his career when any possible drug was merrily interacting with his creative thought process only adds to the peculiar quotient.The result here is more trip than novel and if you've never read a book by the author before I suggest you start with one of his earlier works or you might think him totally off the wall.I enjoy the concepts in his earlier books better. You're never sure precisely what is going on or what exactly is real. Plus as an added bonus there is the underlying current of paranoia.This book has too much psychological religious mumbo jumbo dialogue. It almost makes it seem like the characters are being pushed around on a big cosmic chessboard.There still are those classic moments in this novel that only Philip K. Dick could come up with, but this just isn't one of his best books.If the author is new to you, I would suggest starting either with the Hugo award winning The Man in the High Castle or Clans of the Alphane Moon (who wouldn't like a talking Ganymedean slime mold named Lord Running Clam) or just about any book of his short stories which are spectacular.
