The Divine Invasion - Philip K. Dick

Author's product rating:   

Would you read it again?	Absolutely
Story	Outstanding
Characters	Good
Readability	Excellent
How does it compare to other works by the same author?	Excellent

Advantages:	fascinating
Disadvantages:	confusing

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Philip K Dick is probably best known to the world at large for having writen the books that 'Bladerunner', 'Total Recall' and 'Minority report' were based on. It would be fair to say that none of these films really do credit to the author's mad, disturbing genius. I will say now that if you like your reality dependable, predictable and to be exactly where you thought you left it, then Philip K Dick is not for you. Equally, if you like indepth explorations of gadgets, lots of shooting monsters and exploring weird planets, go someplace else - it's not that sort of science fiction.

The story. Herb Asher has emigrated to earth. He lives on a distant planet where he spends most of his time listening to a computer designed singer - Linda Fox (you may draw comparisons with our music industry.) Asher lives alone in a dome on a small mountain. The previous occupant, Yah, a deity is still living there and occupies himself by wiping tapes and making strange noises. In the next dome is a woman called Rybys, who is very ill and inexplicably pregnant, despite being virginal. It is Herb Asher's unusual destiny to become the legal father of God and to smuggle the deity back to earth - an earth god no longer has any control over.

Except, when the book begins, Herb is not on the dome, he's in suspended animation, remembering the past, and it all starts to get a tad confusing.

There's several intersting things going on in this book. One of them - often a theme in Dick's work is the layering of reality as memory, history and dream blend together in suprising ways. What is real? Then there's the theme of fate and predestiny, again something you will run into repeatedly with Dick - do we really have any autonomy, any say over what becomes of us? Finally, there's a very unusual theological theme exploring the nature and mind of god.

I think to get the most out of this book you have to have some knowledge of the Judeo-Christian tradition because the book is laden with referencs and short of explanations. It also helps if you can accept a reality with a god in it - people who like their science fiction to be firmly atheistic may struggle here. The book is a curious blend of religion and science, philosophy and plot. It is brilliantly ritten, full of surprising twists ( a few of which I'm afriad I've had to give away or I would have been writing a very short plot synopsis, but most of which you have not encountered here - largely I've not gone beyond what you'd get on the back of the book.)

There isn't much in depth characterization - with many of the characters, most notably Herb himself, you never really get much of a handle on why he is like he is, what motivates him. He reads like a pawn, as does Rybys. God as a character is a curious figure - part lost child, part angry avenging deity, its a weird blend but it does work somehow.

I would have read this book cover to cover in one go had it not been for the demands of a baby! However, I think it works better if you take it a few pages at a time, allowing plenty of time for digestion and pondering. I thought it was an excellent read and would recommend it.