The Man in the High Castle
-
-
3.4 • 120 Ratings
-
-
- £5.99
Publisher Description
WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THE ALLIES HAD LOST THE WAR?
_______________________________
'Truth, she thought. As terrible as death. But harder to find.'
America, fifteen years after the end of the Second World War. The winning Axis powers have divided their spoils: the Nazis control New York, while California is ruled by the Japanese.
But between these two states - locked in a cold war - lies a neutral buffer zone in which legendary author Hawthorne Abendsen is rumoured to live. Abendsen lives in fear of his life for he has written a book in which World War Two was won by the Allies . . .
Now a major Amazon TV series, this book for fans of Robert Harris' Fatherland, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and anyone who has ever wondered 'What if . . . '
'California's own William Blake. Visionary and prophet. Novelist of ideas' Daily Telegraph
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Unsettling, upsetting and captivating through every page, The Man in the High Castle forces us to deal with a chilling "what if": how today’s geopolitical landscape would look if the Nazis and their allies had won World War II. Sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick draws us into a subjugated world where nations, including the United States, are divided between Axis powers. As we follow the novel’s thrilling crisscrossing plots of counterfeiting, espionage and assassinations, we marvel at Dick’s talent for reminding us that history works a lot like a coin toss.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dick's Hugo Award-winning 1962 alternative history considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost WWII. Some 20 years after that loss, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), Dick provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality. Tom Weiner reveals an impressive vocal range that delivers the host of characters with distinct culture, class and gender personas, which helps to sort the various plot strands. His prose reading is engaging, though sometimes lacks sufficient emphasis and energy.
Customer Reviews
Good idea poorly executed
I read this book after seeing a trailer for the TV series on Amazon. I found the language and the writing style throughout to be poor. The author clearly was trying to create a visually stunning piece but fails epically. The descriptions are basic and almost childlike in places not to mention the poor grammar associated with the Japanese characters (which I assumed was to create an accent??). The reason I continued to read was the basic premise of the book. The idea behind the story was very original and interesting but Philip K Dick didn't seem to have to skill or insight to see it through. Eventually, after slugging through such pain, we as readers are rewarded with a conclusion that fails to deliver and tries to be too arty/intelligent for the characters the story involves. The work simply fizzles out into nothingness....