Joe
Amazing that this was PKD's first big success. I get it, "what if the Axis won?" is a hook anyone can understand, but the novel resists being consumed as catnip for guys who know too much about WWII in every way it can. Hell, by volume, this thing is mostly about the I Ching! Sure, you get tidbits about how things are being governed and there are elements of international intrigue, but ultimately this is a novel about the effects of fascism on the mind of the average person. This is a book where even people who hate the Nazis express their hopes for their favorite "lesser evil" candidate to take control of the Third Reich. Who knows, maybe they might kill slightly less people! It's not exactly subtle. The ending is a horrifying, reality shattering moment that spells it all out: they might not have won the physical war, but they won the war in our heads. Just look outside.
Amazing that this was PKD's first big success. I get it, "what if the Axis won?" is a hook anyone can understand, but the novel resists being consumed as catnip for guys who know too much about WWII in every way it can. Hell, by volume, this thing is mostly about the I Ching! Sure, you get tidbits about how things are being governed and there are elements of international intrigue, but ultimately this is a novel about the effects of fascism on the mind of the average person. This is a book where even people who hate the Nazis express their hopes for their favorite "lesser evil" candidate to take control of the Third Reich. Who knows, maybe they might kill slightly less people! It's not exactly subtle. The ending is a horrifying, reality shattering moment that spells it all out: they might not have won the physical war, but they won the war in our heads. Just look outside.