The Man in the High Castle
Written by Philip K. Dick
Narrated by Jeff Cummings
4/5
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About this audiobook
Now an Amazon Original series
Winner of the Hugo Award
“The single most resonant and carefully imagined book of Dick’s career”—New York Times
It’s America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war—and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.
This harrowing, Hugo Award–winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to wake.
Philip K. Dick
Over a writing career that spanned three decades, PHILIP K. DICK (1928–1982) published 36 science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned to deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly, as well as television's The Man in the High Castle. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, including the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and between 2007 and 2009, the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.
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Reviews for The Man in the High Castle
427 ratings16 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I enjoyed it very much. Whomever listens to or reads it, MUST realize that series on Amazon is a variant departure from this plot. The series is a deeper dive into scenarios and a different take on characters. Overall - this is a great literary treasure.
4 people found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/599.9 times out of 100 the cinema version is worse than the book, but Amazon’s series set my expectation way, way higher than the book delivered. Too bad. So much content misused in the book. Back to Amazon!
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Those accents. Not OK. Will have to read the book instead.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quality narration. For those who are a fan of the show : a few shared characters & settings, completely different plot/story. Approach it as if you know nothing about the books story... because you don’t. With that said, quality story telling and an enjoyable listen.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An amazing book that sent chills down my spine upon completion. A deep look into the internal struggles within man and many parallels to our current world. This is science fiction at it finest, if you like herbet or asimov this is worth the listen. Narration is great as well the characters are unique and come alive in this audio version.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Excellent premise. Execution was a mess. I finished it but it was a rough go.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Horrible ending with certain story lines doing nothing to contribute.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A great read, the occult aspects were foregrounded more than the politics.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I guess it's a classic....however if became too psychological for me by the end. It seemed I was reading a different book by the time it ended. Loved the detailed alternative history created.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The concept of a world where the German Nazis and the Japanese Empire won the war against the Allies is intriguing and the novel left me wanting more. I appreciate speculation about what could have happened if God had allowed madmen to accomplish their goals and if good men had not united to fight against evil in their time. This book touches on key philosophical and theological notes that drive me to deeper thought about my own life and the world I inhabit.
The sexual elements and use of profanity were unnecessary, but reflective of the culture of the 1960s.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another P K Dick masterpiece. His imagination knows no bounds. So many great tales that make ponder.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book! Better than the show even! DEEP THINKING time!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Powered through. Weird book. I'll watch the Prime show now to see if its better.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thought provoking and bizarre. The themes of fatalism and fractured perception felt to me like Nietzsche crossed with Poe. Rich vocabulary felt at times like someone had swallowed a thesaurus, but was not inelegant. Extrordinary use of tension and social anxiety. I think I'll be mulling this one over for a while yet.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5One of the weird cases where the book is not as good as the TV show based off of it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5While this a good book overall, for some reason it hasn't really grabbed me the way alternative historical fiction usually does, for example It Can't Happen Here or Fatherland. I remember noticing this with Dick, long ago when I was heavily into SF as a teenager. Still, I won't say it isn't worth the effort, and I plan to listen to it again. The narrator is very good.
Given that this was written in 1962, one big surprise is that marijuana is legal and completely normalized in mainstream culture. At that time, except for specific subcultures like jazz musicians and the Beatniks, I thought most people believed marijuana was as dangerous as heroin, if they even thought about it at all.