“The single most resonant and carefully imagined book of Dick’s career.” –New York Times
It’s America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, theI Chingis as common as theYellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war—and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.
This harrowing, Hugo … Japan.
This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to wake.
Winner of the Hugo Award
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‘The Man in the High Castle’ was my first foray into the works of the enigmatic PKD. Set in an a world altered by alternative events of the past, the USA has lost WW2 and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan. The story itself is multi-POV and follows a range of interesting and complex (albeit, somewhat stereotyped) characters who, to varying …
The gist of The Man in the High Castle: What if FDR had been assassinated in 1936 and history had been written differently? This alternative-reality fiction gem examines the status of America if the Axis powers had won World War 2. The US has been divided into spoils. Japan has annexed the continent from the West Coast, and Nazi Germany has taken …
I really wanted to like this novel because I love the Amazon series based on it, but the two are very different! Many of the main characters appear in both, but they have different story lines and are much less likable in the novel. The writing style is choppy, clunky, and just not good. Much is implied, without actually being said, but then never …
Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle presents an alternate reality in which the Allies lost World War II and the Axis won. The book was written in, and takes place in, the early 1960’s. Unlike many of today’s dystopian alternate-history novels, which tend to be dark and somber, Dick’s story is darkly humorous.
Instead of focusing merely on …
Has that signature PKD strangeness about it, but with more structure around altered-actual events to keep it feeling real. It’s much more spiritual than the TV adaptation, with much less closure. So, be prepared.
Alternative history is one of my favorite subgenres of science fiction. It is the one form of writing where moral lessons can be discussed without having to camouflage them with a lot superfluous decorations. The what-if heart of alternative history provides a device for clearly showing the prospects of evil vs. good. You know, for instance, if …
The Man in the High Castle is a book depicting a world where Japan and Germany won WW2. It shows a lot of people across the “Pacific States of America” and how they live their lives under this regime. There’s a Jewish man trying to sell jewellery, and hiding behind a different name. There’s his divorced wife, who teaches Judo. Then there’s a …
I haven’t watched the TV series but I probably will as I suspect I will like it. The book was a let down as it was fairly slow paced and the characters were underdeveloped. However, I suspect that this reflects the writing of the time and the actual concept was great – which is why I will probably watch the TV series. PKD is the type of author who …
I read this long before the series hit Amazon Prime. The series is faithful enough, but can’t capture the full brilliance of the book. Such is life if you love reading.
This is the go-to Philip K Dick book, I, and many others, will recommend for first time PKD readers. Some of his novels get deeply and wonderfully weird. It pays to get a sense …
Science fiction knitted with history, highlighting human values despite all. Really interesting to complement and compare by watching the tv show.
Hard to follow at times. Interesting subject. Had a hard time getting into the story.
Every time I read a so-called Classic, I remember why I don’t read them. I guess I’m not intellectual enough to “get” what the author is trying to say. I have not watched the Amazon Series, so I had no idea what this book was about.
This is actually a book within a book, with one of the characters writing a novel with a alternative history. Since …
Yes, this is a three star, but I am recommending it.
The book is beautifully written. The story is original and for that, it has to be read.
But, I found the story, overall, to be very boring. When the most intriguing part of the story is two guys making jewelry and trying to find a market to sell it, you’ve lost.
I felt the book fizzled out. …
It had been a long time since I had read a book by Philip K. Dick, and I had forgotten how well he wrote; his vision and ingenuity are never in question. However, one would think that over the course of nearly sixty years, one would have taken care of the typos – peddle instead of pedal is inadmissible – a couple of missing words, and the …
While The Man in the High Castle is certainly a well-written and thought-provoking book, I got halfway and had to stop reading. I found myself dreading going back to the book, because it was so…ugh…well, for lack of a better word, “foreign”.
I needed a shred of familiar or relatable in something or someone to keep me engaged. But all I could …
Not like the TV show. More of a character study with a light plot on top.
A thought-provoking entertaining read, and an excellent story overall, but it left me wanting a little more – so, a little disappointing, but enjoyable.
Ending not worth the effort
I’m still reading it! It is so good! Not like the television series!
I expected so much more 🙁 Never finished it