In Philip K. Dick's 25th science fiction novel, "Ubik," a group of a dozen people is trapped in an increasingly bizarre world, in which objects revert to their previous forms, reality itself is suspect, and the 12 bewildered people slowly crumble to dust, murderously done in, "Ten Little Indians" style, by an unknown assailant. In his next published novel, "A Maze of Death," Dick upped the ante a bit. Here, we find a group of 14 people, seemingly marooned on a very strange planet, while a murderous force picks them off one by one, driving them to madness and homicide. But while the two novels have those elements in common, they are otherwise as different as can be, with different themes and tones. "Maze" has been called one of Dick's "darkest" books, whereas "Ubik," despite the outre happenings, maintains a comparatively humorous tone throughout.Released as a Doubleday hardcover in 1970, with a selling price of $4.95 (!), "Maze" was the author's attempt to construct "an abstract, logical system of religious thought." God exists, in this novel, and can be petitioned (despite Jim Morrison's cry to the contrary) by mechanical means: by attaching conduits to the permanent electrodes in one's pineal gland. Indeed, of the 14 hapless colonists who find themselves on the mysterious world of Delmak-O (in what we must infer is several years after 2105), one arrived due to a prayer that he had sent out, and another couple, Seth and Mary Morley, only survive the trip through space with the help of the Christ-like figure known as The Walker on Earth. Delmak-O is one of the more macabre of Dick's worlds. Its only life-forms seem to be mechanical insects (with miniature cameras built in) and the "tenches": mounds of protoplasmic gelatin capable of reproducing any object placed before them. And then there is the mysterious structure known as The Building, the signs on which read differently for anyone who looks at them. I would be hard put to describe the eerie mood that Dick manages to engender in this work, or the strangeness of the many deaths that ensue. Ultimately, it all comes together in another one of the author's mind-bending finales, which goes far in explaining away much of the mishegas that had come before, even as it reduces the bulk of the novel to a barrelful of several dozen red herrings. Still, what a memorable experience, and what food for thought the author leaves us with!"Maze" is not a perfect book, and shows signs of being hastily written. The author can be accused of using the word "said" too often (as in this small section: "Give me a few minutes," Maggie Walsh said... "I'll say it," Belsnor said... Seth Morley said, "I'd like permission to go on an exploratory trip..." "Why?" Belsnor said), and makes the terrible mistake of giving Seth and another of the colonists, Bert Kosler, the same occupation at the novel's end (I'm trying to be coy here and avoid spoilers). Still, the book is compulsively readable and endlessly fascinating, and is filled with interesting and well-drawn characters. The many death scenes are unfailingly shocking, and the afterlife experiences of Maggie Walsh--which the author tells us in his foreword were based "in exact detail" on one of his LSD trips--are both psychedelic and revealing. From what I have read online, the two elements of the book that have most confused readers, stirring up debate and bull sessions without number, are the Walker's appearance near the novel's end (an actual manifestation, sez me) and the chapter headings (such as "The rabbit which Ben Tallchief won develops the mange") that have absolutely nothing to do with the chapters themselves (the only Dick novel with such chapter headings, to my knowledge)! While I do have my theory as to this latter conundrum, I really cannot go into it without giving away the novel's surprise twists, which is something that I would never dream of doing. Suffice it to say that "A Maze of Death" finds Dick near the top of his game, providing intelligent sci-fi thrills as well as brow-furrowing speculation for the generations to come....
A Maze of Death is one of Phillip K. Dick's most aggravating books. It is almost unbearably dark and loaded with insensitive protagonists who often act like spoiled brats. And just as you think you figured it out, it becomes even more nihilistic and disorganized.It is also one of Dick's best novels.It starts out like a science fiction version of a horror novel where the characters are sure to get picked off. I kept thinking about Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None for it has a similar idea. A group of strangers end up on an island planet not knowing the reason they are there and are put in a situation that may mean death for some or all. But this is Phillip K. Dick so nothing is as it seems. In many ways this is a transitional work in which the author's Gnostic interests start to dominate his writings. In the book, God exist as a perceived reality, prayers are sent electronically and people live by their bible titled How I Rose From the Dead in My Spare Time and So can You. It is also one of Dicks' few works that explores the idea of death in detail. Freud's Death Instinct hovers throughout this nihilistic work. Yet I found this story totally engaging as it wobbles into the end where the strange and selfish reactions of our usually dislikeable characters actually make sense. This is clearly not the Dick novel to start with. But if you already read some quality works of his like Man in the High Castle and A Scanner Darkly you just may like where this morose novel takes you. I'm rating it four and a half stars only because I feel I have to compare it to Dick's masterpieces such as the two already mentioned. As I said, it is a transitional work.
What do You think about A Maze Of Death (1994)?
I did not enjoy this book. It was a philosophical sci-fi, which appeared to be questioning the nature of God and angels and miracles and life. However, the ambience was bleak and empty, and there was nothing about the joy of being alive. All the characters were homicidal and the nature of their existence, which was revealed at the end, was one of waiting for death.I'm not sure what I was supposed to take from this book, but any book that tries to put a limit on God (or whatever name we choose for a higher power) is pointless, in my opinion. How can one define and limit the infinite and limitless?
—Lisa
The first thing I want to say about this book is that it makes me want to read more science fiction, which is a good thing. I've forgotten how much fun those books can be. I think this is the first book of Dick's I've ever read, and his style strikes me as a mix of Isaac Asimov and Bukowski - his characters say a lot of surprisingly blunt, funny things, and the dialogue kept me as engaged as the story itself.I feel like the bones of a better story are here, and I don't love the plot choices Dick makes, including the double-twist of an ending, but I still enjoyed reading this.
—Brian Grover
The beginning of Dick's later God novels, but still predating his 2-3-74 pink beam episode and his later VALIS Trilogy (Gnostic Trilogy [God Trilogy]), 'A Maze of Death' is a philosophical SF novel that explores the nature of God, religion, and the way we as both individuals and a society try to deal with the various levels of reality and the inevitability of death. Reading this, it was hard not to see huge chunks of this novel that were cribbed by LOST (good tv borrows, great tv steals). The marooned crew, experiments, theological mash-ups, insanity, dream-like fugues, paranoia, etc., all float around in the same dreamy, frenzied universe as LOST. JJ Abrams you are a book thief.
—Darwin8u
