Book Review: Man in the High Castle (Philip K Dick)

What would the world look like if the Allies lost WWII? In this speculative novel, Philip K Dick offers his typical "slice of life" view of an alternate world where Germans and Japanese claim America, and their cultures become fused with ours. It's not as scary of a future as you'd see in other modern interpretations (the only ones of which I actually know of being the game Wolfenstein: The New Order, or the film The Philadelphia Experiment 2 - both are pretty extreme views that emphasize action more than storytelling). But there are subtleties that may get under your skin. The threat of fascism, and the inherent racism of the Nazis, gives the book the poignancy it needs.

Unfortunately, this is a book I didn't consistently enjoy. I found myself digging parts of it, but then I felt it dragged, and the sum of the parts never congealed into a story that fully captivated me. Part of the issue is the same problems I had with The Martian Time-Slip and Dr. Bloodmoney - I couldn't really relate to or care for the characters, and then I couldn't really follow them through the meandering plot. Much like the other PKD novels I mentioned, the plot itself eludes me - no central conflict stood out, so it felt like a random bunch of people doing whatever. There are parts where it felt like there was direction, and the ending is not bad. There are themes to be had and characters worth exploring. I just couldn't follow it as well as I wanted to.

The book itself is pretty well-written, as expected. PKD does have a style that's perfectly read-able and he does a great job of getting inside the characters' heads and immersing readers in the world he describes. This is a world that seems well-researched, incorporating a lot of different cultural references to make this future feel more real. The prose overall is great.

There's nothing much wrong with this book, and sci-fi fans ought to check it out. It just didn't grab me personally.

3/5