JJ.Boston reviewed The man in the high castle by Philip K. Dick
Great premise, terrible execution.
1 star
Great premise, terrible execution.
paperback, 272 pages
Published March 18, 2014 by Booket.
El hombre en el castillo
3 stars
(31 reviews)
The Man in the High Castle is an alternate history novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. Published and set in 1962, the novel takes place fifteen years after an alternative ending to World War II, and concerns intrigues between the victorious Axis Powers—primarily, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany—as they rule over the former United States, as well as daily life under the resulting totalitarian rule. The Man in the High Castle won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1963. Beginning in 2015, the book was adapted as a multi-season TV series, with Dick's daughter, Isa Dick Hackett, serving as one of the show's producers.
Reported inspirations include Ward Moore's alternate Civil War history, Bring the Jubilee (1953), various classic World War II histories, and the I Ching (referred to in the novel). The novel features a "novel within the novel" comprising an alternate history within this alternate history …
The Man in the High Castle is an alternate history novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. Published and set in 1962, the novel takes place fifteen years after an alternative ending to World War II, and concerns intrigues between the victorious Axis Powers—primarily, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany—as they rule over the former United States, as well as daily life under the resulting totalitarian rule. The Man in the High Castle won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1963. Beginning in 2015, the book was adapted as a multi-season TV series, with Dick's daughter, Isa Dick Hackett, serving as one of the show's producers.
Reported inspirations include Ward Moore's alternate Civil War history, Bring the Jubilee (1953), various classic World War II histories, and the I Ching (referred to in the novel). The novel features a "novel within the novel" comprising an alternate history within this alternate history wherein the Allies defeat the Axis (though in a manner distinct from the actual historical outcome).
Julian reviewed The man in the high castle by Philip K. Dick
Recommended
I love this book; this and Ubik are my favorite PKD books, and I'm nearly a completist.
Dick takes an idea which is becoming commonplace - multiple universes - but pioneers it and give it his own unique spin. Essentially, the people in the book are living a post WWII tragedy, where the bad guys won - and to them, our universe is the good one, they'd much rather be in. From this premise PKD weaves in multiple characters and storylines from when he was essentially at the top of his game. Excellent book.
Review of 'The man in the high castle' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
The book of brilliant ideas, yet lamentably, not the book of great presentations.
Strakul reviewed The man in the high castle by Philip K. Dick
Review of 'The man in the high castle' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This was an interesting book, but having read it after watching the TV series makes me feel I did not appreciate it as much. While the setting seemed well crafted, the plot and characters suffered somewhat from my comparisons to the series. There are a few odd quirks (notably the emphasis on the I Ching) and a somewhat weak ending, but other than that it's a decent book.
For my full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2016/11/book-review-man-in-high-castle-by.html
cargide reviewed El Hombre En El Castillo by Philip K. Dick
Review of 'El Hombre En El Castillo' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Tengo que decir que lo menos interesante del libro es la "historia transversal", porque solo con la ambientación da para que quieras seguir leyendo tres veces más de lo que dura el libro. Los personajes están muy bien retratados y no es difícil ponerse en su piel en casi todas las situaciones.
Mencionar que Amazon ha hecho una serie basada en el libro de la que solo he visto el piloto, pero que en común tienen la ambientación y poco más.
The Gnome King reviewed The man in the high castle by Philip K. Dick
Review of 'The man in the high castle' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I made a mistake with this book, I'd never heard of it before and started watching the TV series without realising it was based on a book, by the time I found out it was too late I was hooked on the series. They did an amazing job producing an excellent series from this quite dull book. It's a nice idea, a bit of a "what if the Germans and Japanese won the war?" and that was the books biggest failing for me, Philip K Dick doesn't paint a vivid enough picture of what that life is like, he focuses too much on a small group of characters and their vaguely linked lives.
I found the writing tough at times, lots of I Ch'ing phrases and not well explained, and Mr Tagomi's speech and thoughts were very confusing to follow.
A real shame, I was looking forward to this book …
I made a mistake with this book, I'd never heard of it before and started watching the TV series without realising it was based on a book, by the time I found out it was too late I was hooked on the series. They did an amazing job producing an excellent series from this quite dull book. It's a nice idea, a bit of a "what if the Germans and Japanese won the war?" and that was the books biggest failing for me, Philip K Dick doesn't paint a vivid enough picture of what that life is like, he focuses too much on a small group of characters and their vaguely linked lives.
I found the writing tough at times, lots of I Ch'ing phrases and not well explained, and Mr Tagomi's speech and thoughts were very confusing to follow.
A real shame, I was looking forward to this book and ultimately was left disappointed.
Zéro Janvier reviewed The man in the high castle by Philip K. Dick
Review of 'The man in the high castle' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
"Et si l'Allemagne et la Japon, vainqueurs de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, occupaient les Etats-Unis ?". C'est le point de départ de cette uchronie qui se déroule en 1962. Derrière cette idée intéressante, l'histoire du roman est cependant un peu décevante.
