The Crack in Space in Philip K Dick

Nov 25, 2009 Morgan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi, pulp

The more PKD I read, and the more I learn about him and about literature theory, the more impressed I am with what he was able to accomplish, albeit mostly posthumously.

Some observations:
PKD was a genius, that has been stated over and over. Philosophical, imaginative, social commentary about a future that varies book to book. Common threads, sure, but all intrinsically different by a massive degree.

That being said, when you really step back and take a look, his writing is SHIT.

Technical shit. Re The more PKD I read, and the more I learn about him and about literature theory, the more impressed I am with what he was able to accomplish, albeit mostly posthumously.

Some observations:
PKD was a genius, that has been stated over and over. Philosophical, imaginative, social commentary about a future that varies book to book. Common threads, sure, but all intrinsically different by a massive degree.

That being said, when you really step back and take a look, his writing is SHIT.

Technical shit. Red herrings, plot holes, story lines that start and then stop suddenly, sometimes never to be revisited, the kind of stuff that really doesn't fly today with modern ideas of structure and mechanics. But he does it! And it works! So what if a character makes a hypothesis and then on the next page it's the fact of the novel and you can actually see Dick work things out as he writes.

I had several of those moments while reading this one, probably the first time I've had that break with the text. But that's what I think I liked the most about this, because to a degree you really can see the man behind the curtain, you can see Dick think out "what does this mean" to Jim Briskin and how does it influence the story. Not that I didn't like the story proper, I did, but it was those moments that made me think, "This is bloody awful," that made me appreciate it all the more. And I also think I give him a certain leeway, because he is Philip K. Dick and he was a genius and he was paranoid and I have been hard pressed to find anyone that can write a story with even a fraction of the magnitude of his imagination or write one like it myself, that almost entitles him to have those plot holes and red herrings that give just that much more character to his books. If any other author were to do that, I'd quickly jump on it and tear it to pieces in true critic form: "What about this? It seemed important, but it wasn't developed" blah blah blah.

Not with Dick. With Dick it's more like, "Well, now that we have a crack to a parallel-Earth that we could populate with our frozen Cols, who cares what happens to Lurton Sands?" (The fact that Lurton Sands actually makes a reappearance was impressive to me; normally that doesn't happen. Take, for example, how Myra Sands drops away completely.)

Just a final thought, as it suddenly strikes me: similarities between Jim Briskin, as first colored presidential candidate, and Barrack Obama, as first colored US president. ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Jul 15, 2011 Themistocles rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi, p-k-dick

Not one of Dick 's best, but still highly entertaining and very enjoyable! ...more

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May 13, 2014 Ann M rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction-genre-ish

Funny that televisions still have to warm up in the future. I was disappointed that this book ended just as it was getting interesting. Quick, disappointing wrap-up.

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Jun 24, 2008 Themistocles rated it liked it

Shelves: p-k-dick, scifi, science

Even when PKD is not at his best he still manages to produce great work. In Crack in Space he deals with social and racial issues with all the usual Dickian accoutrements. Certainly not among his best works, but still worth a read.

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