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From: paul@ism780.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Man in the High Castle - (nf)
Message-ID: <151@ism780.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-May-84 00:01:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: ism780.151
Posted: Wed May  2 00:01:29 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 3-May-84 08:20:13 EDT
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#R:sri-arpa:-1264900:ism780:14200002:000:1387
ism780!paul    Apr 30 20:53:00 1984

***** ism780:net.sf-lovers / sri-arpa!ARPA /  6:38 am  Apr 30, 1984
> I just read Philip Dick's "The Man in the High Castle" ...  Why is this
> book his "greatest masterpiece"?

It happens to be the one that won a Hugo award (1962 or 3?).  He's written
worse, but also much better.  My favorites are "All We Marsmen" (published
as "Martian Time-Slip" by idiot publishers) and "The Divine Invasion".

> What was the point?  Somebody please tell me -- I had to force myself
> through 3/4's of the book, and only the last 3 pages were interesting.
> And I still didn't understand.

When I first encountered Dick's writing, I didn't like it - it didn't read
like "real SF".  Years later I gave him another try, and was hooked.  People
generally react one way or the other.

> Oh, yeah, one more thing.  What makes this book science fiction?  (Other
> than the label on the front cover that says "Berkley (sic) science
> fiction")

Well, the publishing industry defines "science fiction" as "books that have
the words `science fiction' on the cover".  Actually, the fact that it takes
place in an "alternate" or "parallel" universe contemporary with but
different from our own (you DID notice, didn't you :-)) makes it SF, I
guess.

Paul Perkins
...{uscvax|ucla-vax|vortex}!ism780!paul
...decvax!yale-co!ima!ism780!paul
"If you don't see the fnord, it can't eat you.  Don't see the fnord..."