Philip K. Dick: Valis and Later Novels (Loa #193) - (Library of America Philip K. Dick Edition) by Philip K Dick (Hardcover)

About the Book

Following "Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s" and its companion work "Five Novels of the 1960s & 70s," this third and final volume gathers the best novels of Dick's final years, when religious revelation became a dominant and irresistible theme.

Book Synopsis

In 2007, Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s became the fastest selling title in The Library of America's history. The 2008 companion volume, Five Novels of the1960s & 70s, broke series records for advance sales. Now comes a third and final volume gathering the best novels of Dick's final years, when religious revelation, always important in his work, became a dominant and irresistible theme.

In A Maze of Death (1970), a darkly speculative mystery that foreshadows Dick's final novels, colonists on the planet Delmak-O try to determine the nature of the God-or "Mentufacturer"-who plots their destiny. The late masterpiece VALIS (1981) is a novelistic reworking of "the events of 2-3-74," when Dick's life was transformed by what he believed was a mystical revelation. It is a harrowing self-portrait of a man torn between conflicting interpretations of what might be gnostic illumination or psychotic breakdown. The Divine Invasion (1981), a sequel to VALIS, is a powerful exploration of gnostic insight and its human consequences. The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (1982), Dick's last novel, is by turns theological thriller, roman à clef, and disenchanted portrait of late 1970s California life, based loosely on the controversial career of Bishop James Pike-a close friend and kindred spirit.

LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

About the Author

Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) was the author of 36 novels and more than 120 stories, including such celebrated works as The Man in the High Castle and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the basis for the film Blade Runner). He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005.

Jonathan Lethem is the author Fortress of Solitude and many other novels and story collections.