≫ [PDF] Gratis CounterClock World Philip K Dick 9780375719332 Books

CounterClock World Philip K Dick 9780375719332 Books

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CounterClock World Philip K Dick 9780375719332 Books

The master of more-than-meets-the-eye pulp takes on time, relationships, and existence in this well-crafted futuristic hymn to death, religion, and the nature of love. One of his shorter dime-length pieces, Counterclock is an ethereal masterpiece that shows time in reverse, dirty plated being filled with food and the dead rising from their graves to be reborn and remember the lives they lived previously. When vitariums and the government compete over profits and the high-profile resurrection of an incredibly influential religious leader, the world is sent into chaos with only a few small players able to intercept and influence the future of reverse-humanity.

The thing about Dick is that he had gone from a pulp fiction mastermind, ratcheting out a respectable library in his lifetime to a cult phenomenon after his death, and then a respected author of great skill and having his collection released by The Library of America only a few years ago. With the Hobart Phase, Dick challenges us to reconsider our relationship with theology and existence, and while it does not have as exciting a whizz-bang environment as many of his other texts, it is an introspective and gritty noir reflection of our own sensibilities that makes it such a great little book. I am most impressed in this volume with his ability to use philosophy and allusions to great writing throughout in a subtle and accessible manner.

While I had read many of his works as an adolescent fascinated with the genre, I can certainly respect and appreciate his words and his skill a great deal more as an adult.


Tags : Counter-Clock World [Philip K. Dick] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In <b>Counter-Clock World</b>, one of the most theologically probing of all of Dick’s books, the world has entered the Hobart Phase–a vast sidereal process in which time moves in reverse. As a result,Philip K. Dick,Counter-Clock World,Vintage,0375719334,Chronology;Fiction.,Religious leaders;Fiction.,Science fiction.,Chronology,DICK, PHILIP K. - PROSE & CRITICISM,Fiction,Fiction - Science Fiction,Fiction Science Fiction General,Fiction-Science Fiction,GENERAL,General Adult,Religious leaders,Science Fiction,Science Fiction - General,United States

CounterClock World Philip K Dick 9780375719332 Books Reviews

PKD creates strange "platforms", which allow ideas to be examined from unusual points of view. This novel is no exception.

One question Dick repeatedly asks in this highly unusual novel is "why do humans make such strong, arbitrary, decisions on what is socially acceptable?"

One example. Why is eating a highly social ritual, yet going to the bathroom causes so much anxiety that we have to hide behind doors (preferably far away from where people are) and generally are afraid to even talk about anything to do with it, including the organs under our underwear?

Dick brilliantly uses the device of time flowing backward to reverse the process of ingestion and excretion to examine this and some characters' feelings towards it as the novel progresses.

Why do we pick 17 years old as an age a woman can cause a date to be (technically) guilty of statuatory rape if her shoes are off, yet at 18 any sexual act imaginable is fine and dandy by the law?

Again, by the reverse time sequence of the novel, such issues can be probed in a very thoughtful manner, without all the emotional baggage they would usually entail.

Brilliant. Weird. Subtle. Riveting. Dark. Philosophy. In short, the classic heart of PKD!
The below is a review of the CD Audiobook (not audible) edition of this work

Philip K Dick stories (or at least the better ones) tend to be fairly original with well-developed stories, characters and pathos. This one, fortunately, has some of each of these but, unfortunately, does not have a conclusion. It leaves the reader up in the air. In addition, the main premise of the story that the dead rise from the grave and then decay backwards towards birth stretches the bounds of believability, even for a Philip K Dick story. Even his imagination exceeds his story telling ability in this case. In addition, the audiobook is not very well read further takes away from the experience. The tone of the reading just does not sound appropriate to the story. In short, a two star book. Only for the hardcore fans of Philip K Dick.
I am a sucker for wacky, non-linear time shifts, and this novel did not disappoint, despite some weaknesses. The story starts with Mrs. Tilly M. Benton, crying out from the grave. She has just woken from death, and is eventually disinterred by Sebastian Hermes and his crew from the Flask of Hermes Vitarium, a business that rescues newly reborn corpses and sells them to relatives and other interested parties. This whole scenario is made possible by a freak of nature, which has caused time to reverse, causing people to age backwards from death, and eventually seek out a womb as they become infants.

There is a religion, or perhaps a cult, which provides an overarching framework for the narrative. Sebastian believes the founder of the religion, who has become a prophet figure, is soon to be reborn. The story revolves around finding this leader, and the dynamic conflict among a) its church, which may have strayed from the prophet's teachings, b) Sebastian and his wife, c) the policeman who originally found Tilly Benton, and d) The Library, which is proxy for an Orwellian shadow government.

The book is 200+ pages. It zips along. The trade-off, however, is that some of the complex plot and character developments are handled in almost a shorthand. I found myself forgiving the author, Dick, for breezing past what really should have been flushed out to make better sense. But then the novel would have been long and had much different pacing. If the novel were written today, it would be 957 pages and be made into a 4-1/2 hour movie.

As neither indulgence is true here, I can recommend this novel. I enjoyed it a great deal. It is fascinatingly weird.
The master of more-than-meets-the-eye pulp takes on time, relationships, and existence in this well-crafted futuristic hymn to death, religion, and the nature of love. One of his shorter dime-length pieces, Counterclock is an ethereal masterpiece that shows time in reverse, dirty plated being filled with food and the dead rising from their graves to be reborn and remember the lives they lived previously. When vitariums and the government compete over profits and the high-profile resurrection of an incredibly influential religious leader, the world is sent into chaos with only a few small players able to intercept and influence the future of reverse-humanity.

The thing about Dick is that he had gone from a pulp fiction mastermind, ratcheting out a respectable library in his lifetime to a cult phenomenon after his death, and then a respected author of great skill and having his collection released by The Library of America only a few years ago. With the Hobart Phase, Dick challenges us to reconsider our relationship with theology and existence, and while it does not have as exciting a whizz-bang environment as many of his other texts, it is an introspective and gritty noir reflection of our own sensibilities that makes it such a great little book. I am most impressed in this volume with his ability to use philosophy and allusions to great writing throughout in a subtle and accessible manner.

While I had read many of his works as an adolescent fascinated with the genre, I can certainly respect and appreciate his words and his skill a great deal more as an adult.