Deus Irae is one of the stranger Philip K. Dick novels. Coauthored with Roger Zelazny, it's quite brief, and although quite seamless, feels disjointed by the length of time the writers took to complete the novel. Nonetheless, it feels like something of Dick's. One of the main characters, Tibor, is a phocomelus, a human without limbs, which also appeared in another of Dick's works. Of course, in a post-apocalyptic setting, one needs new religious cults and moorings, so the Servants of Wrath compete with Christianity to make sense of the wasteland world. Although much could be said about this short novel and its ruminations on the meaning of life, religion, and Christianity, I am unsure how to begin tackling it...but perhaps its hilarious take on religion and the question of truth or validity for the dissemination of religious ideas is the best take-away. Phildickian sense of humor drives this absurd tale of a limbless man on a pilgrimage, and only Dick could make that work.
No comments:
Post a Comment