239 pages
English language
Published April 4, 1981 by Timescape Books : distributed by Simon and Schuster.
In The Divine Invasion, Philip K. Dick asks: What if God--or a being called Yah--were alive and in exile on a distant planet? How could a second coming succeed against the high technology and finely tuned rationalized evil of the modern police state? The Divine Invasion "blends Judaism, Kabalah, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity into a fascinating fable of human existence" (West Coast Revew of Books).From the Trade Paperback edition.
This work lacks everything that made VALIS fun, as we lost the chaos, creativity, and insanity of the VALIS.
If VALIS is pure schizo-posting, then The Divine Invasion is a sad, pulpy attempt at christology.
Definitely a unique read.... not sure if I liked it more than Valis or not, they are similar in some regards, but also very different. PKD is definitely far out with this plot that combines elements of almost every major religion and philosophy. The last half is very abstract (like most of his books) and comes off the rails a bit towards the end, but all in all its a very dense and fairly entertaining read.
The insulation of a speculative setting allows for more emotional distance as Dick explores existence and religion further. I hope he was having some fun with this one, though the analogies and historical reference still appear deep to me, coming at it with little background knowledge. The result feels satisfying as a VALIS mythology.
