I have absolutely no idea how this book lost its fourth star and ended up as a very strong 3. Ironically, in one respect, this was a breakthrough novel for me because something about PKD’s reality-blurring narrative style of addled consciousness really clicked with me for the first time. Now I loved The Man in the High Castle and thought that A Scanner Darkly was both original and very moving. However, my enjoyment of those works occurred despite his confused/warped non-reality format, not particularly because of it. This book may have changed that. PKD is someone who I have found has a lot to say about the human condition. While on the surface, he can often be harsh and critical in his portrayal of humanity, I’ve always sensed an underlying note of optimism in his work. I think he spent most of his time pessimistically waiting for the world to blow itself up and yet he strongly believed/hoped that humanity would somehow overcome these obstacles of our stupidity and find a way to move forward. Ultimately, I think he believed in us and this book exemplifies that philosophy. PLOT SUMMARY:In a nutty shell, this story traces the lives of a group of people living in the U.S. through the aftermath of a nuclear war. Dick assembled out of his prodigious imagination a wonderful ensemble of off-beat players to portray various aspects of the human reaction to such a catastrophic even. You have: Dr. Bloodmoney: aka Bruno Bluthgeld, an Oppenheimer-like nuclear physicist who’s universally hated as the scapegoat for mankind’s atomic stupidity. Of course, as a classic PKD character, he is uber paranoid, megalomaniacal and believes that he has magical powers…which may or may not be true.Hoppy Harrington: A phocomelus (i.e., born with no arms or legs…and yes, I had to look it up) who was constantly discriminated against as a result of his condition and finds himself with strong telekinetic powers in the aftermath of the war and see his chance to climb the power ladder. Stuart McConchie: An African-American salesman whose natural optimism and contrasting normalcy remain largely the same both pre-war and post-war. Stuart exemplifies the adaptability of the human animal to extreme changes in circumstances and represents PKD’s ultimate optimism. Walter Dangerfield: On his way to colonize Mars when the bombs went off, Walter ends up stuck in orbit and playing disc jockey for the survivors. Edie and Bill Keller: A very unusual pair of siblings that I will not say more of here, but stick in my head as memorable PKD characters. …and another handful whose roles or impact on me don’t feel like they warrant a special intro. But they are there and you should read about them because some of them are very nice. Written in 1965, the story takes place chronoillogically over about 10 year period beginning in 1981. In typical PKD fashion, the world-building is sketchy and revealed slowly and piece-meal with hints and info nuggets air-dropped in occasionally to add color. At the beginning of the story (pre-kaboom), you have a large segment of the population that suffers from phocomelia and other genetic disorders as a result of both chemical poisoning (e.g. Thalidomide) and a 1974 atmospheric atomic explosion that for which Dr. Bloodmoney became the public scapegoat. In addition, the U.S. is fighting the Soviet Union and Communist China in Cuba and Mars is set to be colonized in the next phase of the space race following the disastrous and deadly Russian colonization of the Moon. THOUGHTS:I had to suspend my disbelief quite a bit with this one to be able to accept a massive nuclear exchange in 1981 that would permit communities to begin to rebuild a mere 7 years later. Ditto for the amount of mutation necessary to allow cats and dogs to attain rudimentary sentience in that short period of time. However, this is a very minor quibble. This is PKD and the emphasis is on people, psychology and the human condition. Take the world-building as you find it and concentrate on the characters. They are quirky, flawed and wonderfully drawn. I really enjoyed the interaction and dialogue between the characters. It seemed both unusual and not what you would expect and yet this somehow gave it more of an air of authenticity. Hard to explain, but it was very interesting, as were the numerous internal monologues of the characters as you try to parse through what is strange reality and what is delusion. Still, somehow over the last quarter of the book, I seemed to have lost a bit of momentum for the story and I am not sure why that is. I do know that this book, even more so than The Man in the High Castle, which I liked better, has encouraged me to read more of PKD’s work. There is something special in his stories and I want to continue to search until I find it. What all of the above should tell you is that this novel really deserves its 4th star. If you happen to find it, please let me know.4.0 3.0 stars. Highly Recommended!!
Thank God for editors. PKD proposed two titles for this post-nuclear apocalypse novel: In Earth's Diurnal Course and A Terran Odyssey. Donald Wolheim at Ace come up with Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb. Wolheim's title might have been a flagrant effort to cash in on Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, but at least it did not include the word "diurnal," and it did give some hint to what the book is about.This is one of the dozen or so novels PKD wrote in 1963/64, but due to the build up of back inventory, it was not published until 1965. It is surprisingly idyllic given the subject matter and the amount of amphetamines the author was ingesting at the time. There had been two post-nuclear bestsellers in the late 1950's, Pat Frank's Alas, Babylon -- still I understand a favorite for middle school book reports -- and Neville Shute's On the Beach, which as both a novel and film seemed determined to prove just how tedious it would be to wait for death from radiation poisoning. PKD gets in a sly dig at the latter in his own novel. Walt Dangerfield, a would-be Martian colonist stuck in eternal earth orbit, broadcasts music and readings for survivors on Earth. One of their most requested songs is Waltzing Matilda, the traditional Australian ballad that served as theme music to On the Beach.As is his habit, PKD has little interest in what might be the actual effects of an atomic war. His characters go about their lives in Marin County pretty much as they would pre-holocaust. They hold town meetings, they have affairs, they gather mushrooms. They have a resident psychiatrist. They mostly walk or ride bicycles rather than use wood-burning or horse-drawn automobiles. As a community they are insular and suspicious of outsiders, but they should be since jealous outsiders might want to "nap" some vestiges of the good life they maintain. They are also blessed with the best handyman around, Hoppy Harrington, a "phoce," a diminutive for phocomel, those with a congenital deformity that produces flipper-like arms and legs. But Hoppy more than makes up for his shortcomings with his mobile machine and some very special powers. In an early scene, he fixes a turntable by healing it. He gets more dangerous later on.I just finished this book yesterday, and I am trying to remember if it has a plot. I don't think it does. It really is a sort of pastoral -- with mutants. Rats have learned to play the nose-flute. Cats have developed their own secret language, and dogs make a pitiful attempt at speaking English. By the novel's end, mail routes are opening again, and some of the characters feel the lure of the big city. They plan to go into the cigarette manufacturing business.
What do You think about Dr. Bloodmoney (2002)?
This is my new favourite Philip K Dick book. It was totally fantastic! Post-apocalyptic and apocalyptic and grand. It's confussing and intrieguing. It seems like the apocalypse has already happened and people are living in a much harsher version of 1981 and then the bombs fall. There are some brilliant and amazind descriptions of the awfullness of being bombed. The post-apocalyptic society is interesting in that it doesn't change as much as many other post-apocalyptic novels. It's an odd blend between things being better after the bombs and being worse. One of my favourite scenes was when they were interviewing someone to be the new teacher and they were finding out what practical skills and knowledge he had, then casually mentioned how they killed their last teacher. There's a lot more character development in this than in other Philip K Dick books. The change in people's lives in the pre-bombs and post-bombs days is quite dramatic but the threads are all there so it feels like a really nice continuity. There's an afterword in the back by Philip K Dick saying how he didn't get any predictions right in the book but he sees it as hopefull and that the characters are very natural. I think that is partly why I liked it so much. It is a hopeful apoocalypse for all that it is disturbing and sad. As soon as I finished reading it I turned back to page one and started to read it again. Knowing the journey of the characters and having spent time with them I wanted to go back and see them again, knowing how they'd end up and seeing their journey with that new knowledge. I totally loved this.
—Mel
This was just weird, even for PKD standards. Doctor Bluthgeld, a physicist purportedly responsible for some terrible tragedy that aversely effected the world, develops a psychological complex similar to schizophrenia and, fearing that everyone is out to get him, wills a nuclear apocalypse to happen somehow. The story mainly follows the aftermath of this Emergency Day through a handful of characters centering on a little outoftheway suburb. The characters are diverse enough, but never reasonably showcased in a way that makes you connect with them, and the powers of some of these radiation mutated beings that the story is rife with is, in my opinion, a little too out there for the tone. Not one of PKD's stronger works.
—Scott A. Nicholson
I'm a big fan of Dick (wait, that came out wrong...), but I didn't like this book very much. I'm not sure exactly why, but on thinking about it now I come to the conclusion that it's largely just because it made me uncomfortable. Hoppy is a great and unique character, but he seems to have all sorts of weird implications to his origins. Even within the story, he makes people uncomfortable. It's this strange mix of the undeniable pity-producing tragedy of his situation, his complete lack of any social skills, and his utter malevolence. Furthermore, the eponymous Dr. Bluthgeld seems to elicit some discomforting notions on mental illness, Bonny Keller's sexuality is predatory and awkward, Stuart McConchie's rat-eating is just disgusting, and worst of all is Edie and her (view spoiler)[conjoined/internal psychic fetal brother (hide spoiler)]
—Lauren
