The 3,000-Page Philip K. Dick Mega-Novel You Need in Your Life
12 science fiction classics arranged by in-universe chronology
Philip K. Dick. Where to begin?
If you’re into science fiction at all, you probably know something about PKD. He’s a legend. Even if you haven’t been reading his novels (a shortcoming you’ll want to correct right away), you probably know him through screen adaptations like Blade Runner (from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall (from “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”), Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, The Man in the High Castle, and the anthology series Electric Dreams.
Phil was a man of big ideas, and adaptations of his work tend to latch onto one or two ideas from the source material and then change up the rest of the story quite a bit. Then there are other movies (The Terminator, The Truman Show, The Matrix, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc.) that just sort of borrowed an idea or two and so don’t qualify as adaptations. To call the man influential would be a supreme understatement.
In his personal writings (compiled into a massive philosophical work known as The Exegesis), Phil said of his SF novels:
They are said by readers to depict the same world again and again, a recognizable world. Where is that world? In my head? Is it what I see in my own life and inadvertently transfer into my novels and to the reader? At least I’m consistent, since it is all one novel.
This isn’t to say that every world depicted in a PKD novel meshes up seamlessly with the rest, but there is quite a bit of internal consistency to the universe (or perhaps multiverse) that he depicts. Even when set in the future, Dick’s novels weren’t predictions about what might happen in our reality so much as glimpses into alternate realities, which in his worldview—or Weltanschauung, as he was fond of saying—did and do actually exist on some level.
Without further ado, let’s get on with the list: twelve of his most essential SF (read “sci-fi” or “speculative fiction,” as you prefer) novels, arranged chronologically by the in-universe dates he’s supplied.
Eye in the Sky
Written: 1955. Setting: 1959.
Following an accident with a cutting-edge particle accelerator, eight people find themselves to be surprisingly unharmed. But the universe itself has been altered. This one is definitely a product of its time, but it’s an excellent introduction to PKD’s multiverse because it highlights our shared predicament so clearly: Each of us lives in our own personal world, and nobody actually has a clue what true “reality” might be, if there even is such a thing.
The Man in the High Castle
Written: 1961. Setting: 1962.
TMitHC presents an alternate history where the Axis powers won World War II and divided the United States into two occupation zones. The novel follows various characters as they navigate this dystopian world while searching for hope and meaning in their lives. In this version of America, the I Ching is routinely consulted for advice, and Dick actually did this himself to make plot decisions as he wrote. The central story revolves around a mysterious novel portraying an alternate history where the Allies won the war: The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. This banned book becomes a symbol of resistance for many. It’s worth noting that while the version of reality described in Grasshopper is similar to our own, it isn’t exactly the same, just another possible variant of the universe.
VALIS
Written: 1978. Setting: 1974.
This one draws heavily on Phil’s own life and mystical experiences, particularly the revelatory events known collectively as “2-3-74.” The story follows a character named Horselover Fat (an English translation of the Greek philippos and the German dick), who experiences a series of strange visions and encounters that lead him to believe that he’s in contact with a higher intelligence called VALIS (“Vast Active Living Intelligence System”). As Fat tries to make sense of his experiences, he becomes increasingly obsessed with a film called Valis (note the difference in capitalization), which depicts events eerily similar to those of the novel (and of course, to Phil’s real life). VALIS is a deeply philosophical and introspective work that—like much of Dick’s oeuvre—explores themes of spirituality, mental illness, and the nature of reality.
Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb
Written: 1963. Setting: 1972, then 1981.
Follows a varied cast of characters as they navigate a world that has been devastated by nuclear war. Mutations have become common, with some humans possessing superhuman abilities and formerly domesticated animals having formed their own tribal units. The narrative jumps between various characters and communities as they struggle to survive and rebuild society. We observe the delusional psychosis of the titular character, Dr. Bluthgeld (another name translation), and in true Phildickian style, we have to question how much of what we thought were delusions may actually be true.
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
Written: 1970. Setting: 1988.
In a dystopian society where the government has absolute control over people's lives, we follow a television celebrity named Jason Taverner, who wakes up one day to find that he no longer exists in the eyes of the government or society. As he tries to figure out what’s happened to him, he encounters a series of characters who are all struggling to survive in a world where their identities and freedoms are constantly under threat. Meanwhile, a police officer named Felix Buckman becomes obsessed with finding Taverner and bringing him to justice, even as he begins to question the morality of the government he serves.
Ubik
Written: 1966. Setting: 1992.
By turns hilarious and horrifying, Ubik is considered by many to be Dick’s masterpiece. It takes place in a futuristic world where psychic powers and advanced technology have transformed life as we know it. The story follows a group of characters who work for a company that specializes in anti-psi security and are tasked with investigating a mysterious and dangerous phenomenon affecting their reality. As they delve deeper into the mystery, they begin to question the nature of their own lives and the world they thought they knew. A mind-bendingly surreal work that explores themes of time, memory, and the nature of consciousness. Lev Grossman called it “a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you'll never be sure you've woken up from.”
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Written: 1966. Setting: 1992 (in the original pre-film version).
Also published as Blade Runner to match the name of the landmark cyberpunk film, Electric Sheep takes place in yet another dystopian future where most of humanity has emigrated to other planets and the remaining population lives on a polluted and decaying Earth. Living animals are an extreme rarity, so owning a pet is the ultimate status symbol. Of course, most of these “pets” are secretly mechanical contraptions, because who could afford a real sheep? The story follows a bounty hunter named Rick Deckard, who is tasked with hunting down rogue androids that have escaped from their off-world colonies and are hiding in the city. As Deckard tracks them down, he begins to question his own humanity and the morality of his actions. If you skip the book and only watch the movie, you’ll miss out on half the story, including the “mood organ” and the Sisyphean religion of Mercerism.
A Scanner Darkly
Written: 1973. Setting: 1994.
Takes place in a near-future society where drug use is rampant and the government has implemented strict surveillance and law enforcement measures to combat it. The story follows an undercover police officer named Bob Arctor, who is tasked with infiltrating a drug ring that has connections to a highly addictive narcotic called Substance D. As Arctor gets more deeply involved with the drug users (and becomes an addict himself), he begins to lose touch with his own identity and sanity, and his relationships with the people around him become increasingly strained. This haunting exploration of addiction and mental illness is a deeply personal work for Dick, who based much of the story on his own experiences with drug use and dedicated the book to numerous friends of his “who were punished entirely too much for what they did.”
Time Out of Joint
Written: 1958. Setting: 1998.
Ragle Gumm lives in a seemingly idyllic 1950s suburb with his family. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that things are not as they seem. This is a PKD novel, after all. I don’t want to give away the ending, so let’s just say this: Movies like The Matrix and The Truman Show owe a debt to Philip K. Dick. The idea of an artificially constructed reality is pretty commonplace these days, but back in 1959, it was groundbreaking stuff.
The World Jones Made
Written: 1954. Setting: 2002.
In a post-apocalyptic world devastated by a nuclear war (starting to sound familiar?), a man named Floyd Jones has the ability to see into the future and predict major world events. Using his gift, he becomes a powerful political figure and leader of a revolutionary movement that seeks to overthrow the existing social order. As Jones gains power and influence, he becomes something of a cult leader, inciting violence against his political opponents (I know this is sounding familiar). Meanwhile, humanity’s future takes root on Venus.
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Written: 1964. Setting: 2016.
One of PKD’s darkest novels (and that’s really saying something), Three Stigmata takes place in a future where Earth’s temperature has risen to an unbearable degree and people are forced to colonize the only slightly more bearable neighboring planets, like Mars. To escape the harsh monotony of their lives, these colonists use a drug called “Can-D” in combination with toy “layouts” and dolls like “Perky Pat.” They are able to enter shared hallucinations and connect with the dolls so that they feel like they actually are the dolls living in their constructed layouts. This whole process becomes a sort of religion. (Could this scenario possibly be any more Phildickian?) This is all working well for the company that produces Perky Pat until an explorer named Palmer Eldritch discovers a new, even more powerful drug (“Chew-Z”) that threatens to upend everything.
A Maze of Death
Written: 1968. Setting: far future, unspecified year.
A group of colonists are sent to a distant planet to establish a new society. When their communication system fails, they explore the planet and encounter other beings (both real and artificial), including large gelatinous cubes called “tenches,” which duplicate items and offer cryptic advice similar to the I Ching (bringing us full circle). The group experiences various calamities, and some members are killed under mysterious circumstances. The best part of this novel is its unique religion, which Phil developed with his friend William Sarill while they were living together. In a nutshell, God is known scientifically to exist and takes on four distinct forms: The Mentufacturer is responsible for bringing the universe into being. The Walker-on-Earth is a physical manifestation who travels the universe helping people. The Form Destroyer represents entropy, disorder, and death. And finally, the Intercessor is a manifestation of God who can stand in for us collectively, a redeeming Christ figure.
And there you have it. A single-author SF playlist that’ll take you on one hell of a wild ride. If you’re new to the works of Philip K. Dick and not sure whether you’re ready to get into all this, then honestly, you probably aren’t. This is heady stuff, not exactly palatable for everybody. But if you’re a true seeker and up for the challenge, then by all means, dive in! See you on the other side.