The World Jones Made - Philip K. Dick

Author's product rating:   

Would you read it again?	Yes
Story	Good
Characters	Good
Readability	Good
How does it compare to other works by the same author?	Very good

Advantages:	Interesting ideas and story, may appeal to non - sci - fi fans
Disadvantages:	Bit dated (set in 2002)

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The World Jones Made was the second of Philip K. Dick's sci-fi novels, originally published in 1956, and, coincidentally, the second I read. While he's undoubtedly best known for his later Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - the novel which became the film Blade Runner - I can't comment on his progression as a writer, merely what I thought of this book.

I do know enough of Dick's work to know that the near-future post-apocalyptic setting would become something of a staple in his writing. For some, it may take some getting used to a sci-fi novel now set in our past (c2002), but it seems Earth was radically shaken by a widespread nuclear war that only ended in the early 1980s (there are a few passing mentions of Hitler, Nazis - who were no doubt very much in Dick's mind in 1956 - but it's unclear whether this war was an extended WWII or a separate event). The radiation produced many freaks and mutants, but perhaps more significant was the political change.

The entire planet is now ruled by Fedgov (federal government) according to the dictates of Hoff's Relativism. Reasoning that claims to absolute knowledge and true value judgements led to war, now such claims are illegal. One can say 'I prefer X to Y' but not 'X is better than Y', all must live and let live. While minor incidents escape, a secret police ruthlessly seek out any who try to impose their own values on others as truth. Of course, the irony is that relativism is the one truth that cannot be challenged (as secret agent and main protagonist Cussick reflects, "It's a paradox, a contradiction, a criminal offense to say it. But we're right. Secretly, covertly, we've got to believe it" (ch.9/p.82))

The action of the novel is generally spurred by two challenges to this orthodoxy: firstly, the appearance of strange single-celled alien life-forms known as drifters, which threaten the limits of people's tolerance, and secondly the emergence of Floyd Jones, a psychic with limited precognitive powers, allowing him to see a year into the future. The doctrine of Relativism requires one to be able to prove all one says, but Jones really can back up his predictions, and seems to offer the promise of the absolute knowledge that Relativism denies.

Having set the scene, I don't really want to say any more about the plot, for fear of spoilers. Some have accused Dick of being more of an 'ideas person' than a novelist, but I found the story gripping. A number of characters are weaved into a near-seamless plot, which I thought fast-moving and unpredictable (as with his previous novel, The Solar Lottery, I enjoyed what seemed a particularly delicious twist towards the denouement). While there are plenty of characters, to the point where I had trouble keeping track of a few, the main ones - Cussick, his wife Nine and Jones - seem adequately characterized. In particular, it's easy to sympathize with the different perspectives - in keeping with Relativism, this is no clear good-versus-evil story, but one that makes you question everything and everyone.

I suppose what I really enjoyed most was this intellectual side to the story. That's not to say the characters and plot are mere pegs on which to hang ideas - they have to be sufficient to bring those ideas to life - but I like something that makes me think a bit. If you're looking for something to switch off and flick through on the beach, then this isn't it. On the one hand, it seems to suggest a total relativism is incoherent, but on the other it underscores the danger inherent it claims to certain knowledge. I suppose perhaps the moral is that we should do our best to uncover and adhere to truth, but always remember our limits and fallibility. Perhaps this is a lesson that could be well-learned by ideological fanatics of all kinds, but unfortunately (and perhaps predictably) it isn't one learned in the book, which ultimately leaves the reader wondering who really is more human.

Having only read one other Dick novel, I can't say this is necessarily the best place to start, but it certainly seemed a reasonable one to me. In particular, for those not generally into sci-fi, this may be a good one because - if you're prepared to accept some post-nuclear mutants and the drifters - it's not crazily unrealistic. Given the political themes, I could certainly see this appealing to Orwell fans. If you've read many of Dick's others, then I suppose there's a danger that this may seem too similar, even though it was earlier, and, for that very reason, under-developed - but if you're already a fan, that shouldn't discourage you too much.

My copy, with the cover pictured on Ciao, was published by Gollancz (ISBN 0575074574) and had a RRP of £6.99 - though I picked it up for £3 from Amazon.

[For some reason, the categories below seem to apply to audio books, but ignore that]