The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K Dick

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read a number of comments about the Amazon series The Man in the High Castle, most of them very favorable. So I decided to read the book the show is based on. The novel, of the same name, was written by Phillip K. Dick and published in 1962. The “what if” question behind the story has to do with what life would be like if World War II had been won by the Axis powers. The USA is now split in three: The eastern section controlled by Germany, the Western section controlled by Japan, and a neutral zone in the middle. Life is full of propaganda, assassins, and racial / religious bigotry, resulting in slavery for some and imprisonment or death for others. Life goes on, but with different rules. Some people hide their identities so they can work. Those lucky enough to belong to the approved groups still have to demean themselves when dealing with the conquerors.

PKD's ideas are fascinating and more focused on believable scenarios than a lot of the “B” movies, the ones that feature jack-booted thugs marching all over America. My one, big complaint concerns the plot. The book includes a number of stories about people with interconnected lives. All the stories start out in interesting ways, but stop without conclusions or fully connecting. Maybe that's why the Amazon executives decided to base a series on this novel. However, I feel the book would have worked better if it had been longer.

Steve Lindahl – author of Hopatcong Vision Quest, White Horse Regressions, and Motherless Soul


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