Zap Gun

Unfortunately, Zap Gun feels like a dud in Philip K. Dick's vast oeuvre. While introducing some of the Christian elements and themes that preoccupy his later work (agape, caritas) and drug-induced trance, plus a hilarious sub-plot involving a Surley Febbs with a Napoleon complex, this tale of a fake Cold War between the Sino-Soviet Bloc and the Wes-Dems falls flat in other ways. The chitinous life-forms from Sirius, which are invading earth through satellites that are taking entire cities hostage for slave labor, are never depicted. Unlike Now Wait for Last Year or Clans of the Alphane Moon, no alien characters are depicted at all, and the full threat of the invasion feels undercooked. However, the aforementioned sub-plot is quite amusing, as are the numerous references to comic books and the absurdity of the Cold War (instead of developing real weapons, Lilo and Lars, the two mediums who design weapons, know that they are meant to be plowshared and East and West are not really at war). As Cold War arms race parody, this works, but perhaps not PKD at his best.