The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

There were parts of this that I loved, and parts that I hated. It's interesting to read it in hindsight, as there are a lot of the ideas here in their embryonic form that later become PKD's hallmarks - the questions of identity, sanity, the face of god, and drug use that he later became known for are all here, but in such a way that seemed like he was still trying to figure out exactly what his thoughts on those topics were. I'd say this is a necessary read for people who are fans of PKD's work, but for those that are interest in just dabbling in his work, there are other books that would serve better.

I'm a fan of Philip K. Dick, but I read his stuff years ago. I eagerly sought this book out because I heard from a couple of people that this one was one of his best. Maybe I merely disagree, maybe my affection for PKD has waned, maybe I need more now than he can give.

Dick is famous for his drug use and for taking speed before cranking out an entire novel in fifteen hours flat. This book, to me, feels like his most drug-influenced book. Not because of his crazy ideas, those are to be expected. It's because you get the feeling that he throws things into the story as they occur to him and made no effort to smooth things over in a subsequent draft. He switches gears on a whim and those whims come at the rate of about fifteen to twenty per scene.

If you're a big fan of PKD, go ahead and check this out. If not, you'll probably want to avoid it.