Dick’s novels aren’t easy or enjoyable for me. Unlike other science fiction authors whose work I’ve read many (e.g., Silverberg, Zajdel), Dick’s style is quite challenging.
The main character has a now-useless job and spends most of his time playing a game in front of a computer screen. The world he inhabits is a post-war dystopia where citizens have limited access to information and freedom of speech. Most of the inhabitants live in poverty. Our hero receives an offer he can’t refuse from a mysterious figure from another planet—Glimmung. And this is where the real adventure begins.
Many ideas are interwoven here - a dystopian vision of a fallen state, a story about searching for purpose in life, a bit of philosophy mixed with mythology and religious themes. Of all Dick’s novels, this one was the most difficult for me to read. I didn’t fully understand all the main character’s thoughts or what the author wanted to convey. There were too many abstract ideas, symbolism, and plot threads that were left unfinished and undeveloped.
Dick is undoubtedly a great writer, but I was a bit disappointed with this novel.