Philip K. Dick: Essays of the Here and Now David Sandner (Editor), Series Editors: Donald E. Palumbo, C.W. Sullivan III

 

Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy (#69)

Philip K. Dick: Essays of the Here and Now David Sandner (Editor), Series Editors: Donald E. Palumbo, C.W. Sullivan III 

226 pages, Paperback
Published March, 2020 by McFarland

(This book and Flux by Ron Goulart were my flight to PKD fest reads)

 

Another David in PKD Circles! He must be the 5th David in a photo we take at the next PKD fest.   David Sandner is a professor at Cal State Fullerton, and this book is a collection of essays and interviews…essentially the programming from the PKD conference held at Cal State Fullerton. So this book is a reflection of both the conference and the editor's ability to put together a solid book of critical study on Philip K. Dick.  Most of the entries are academically flavored deep dives into PKD studies, which I enjoyed. 

 

Besides the articles, there were also the interview transcripts with Jonathan Lethem talking about the PKDS newsletter and the informal Q and A with Tim Powers and James Baylock. Those were the easiest and most entertaining reads.  They were important for getting this history down; therefore, those discussions were enough to sell the book. It is funny because before I read Lethem’s talk in here this was already a topic on my agenda for the podcast. Lethem wants PKD fans to understand the grassroots-level activism that the newsletter took to keep Phil’s work alive. 

 

Baylock and Powers were important because this back-and-forth was two old friends remembering a human being, not just a fantastic author. Two very different things as Phil often wrote in letters. 

 

Of course, the academic articles are of equal if not more importance. Of the articles, I like the attention paid to Galactic Pot Healer in the paper by Gary Westfahl (whose books have been on my agenda for awhile). I love that novel, so I enjoyed reading a deeper look at the many themes. Because it is a very funny novel, the deeper meaning often gets overlooked.  

 

 Umberto Rossi’s ‘From Soft Totalitarianism to TV: Philip Kindred Dick and The Tube,’ was of course an enlightening read. I am aware that David Gill believes Rossi’s writing on PKD to be some of, if not the most important analysis of the work. I admit I am late to get to his work, but this is an excellent piece.  I also had the weird experience of reading Rossi writing about the bible hypertext in The Divine Invasion while a woman on the plane (I was taking to the PKD fest) was reading the bible on her phone.

 

Every single one of the papers had value. Other highlights include Ubik Does Not Yet Exist: Reading Ubik as a case of Extro-Science Fiction by Sean Matharoo. I thought this was a thoughtful take on the strange ideas behind Ubik placing it in the simulated realities stories.

 

‘Re-reading Dick’s Mainstream Fiction within a Science Fiction Framework by Gabriel Cutrufello,’ resonated with me a lot as we are just now covering the mainstream novels for the Dickheads podcast, and yes he does a great job of pointing out that many of the same themes are to be found in PKD’s fiction no matter the genre.  Philip K. Dick The Earth Shaker by Gregg Rickman makes a similar point not just for the value of the mainstream novels, but also for the themes they convey. 

 

Maybe it is because I am bringing back the fest to OC, but the list of the locations in Orange County was a neat appendix.

 

This is not a must-have book for the casual Dickheads, but if you are a researcher for his work or a serious Science Fiction researcher it is a good volume. I am very glad to have it on my shelf. It is a big thumbs from this serious Dickhead.