the forgotten dick

[adelaidesean]

People continue to talk up and make movies of the work of Philip K. Dick, but no one ever mentions my favourite novel from his large and uneven oeuvre: Maze of Death, which I like not just because it marries a dated but still interesting take on religion with Dick's unique knack for naming things, but also because it's Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None on acid.

The scene in which the surviving characters confront a mysterious building and each mis-reads a sign above its main entrance--in their own unique way--is one of my favourites in SF literature.

The day they make a movie of this book, I'll be torn between dancing in the streets and weeping (the latter because, given Hollywood's track-record in this area, it'll probably be shite).

Comments

[pauljessup.livejournal.com]

Yeah I loved that book as well. Even a tad more than Ubik- but not by much.

[drbob00.livejournal.com]

Heh - was holding a copy in my hand a month or so ago and didn't pick it up. Will fix that soon :)

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

It'd be a close call. The religious angle tips me over in the end. I even like the trick ending. It's probably not filmable, but I'd love to see it.

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

Let me know what you think. I read it again just recently and still really enjoyed it. The same with Barrington J Bayley's SOUL OF THE ROBOT. I loved that as a teenager and still liked it as an adult, even though I disagree with the novel's conclusions.

Sometimes you can go back.

[robinpen.livejournal.com]

I'm with you Sean. I really enjoyed that novel and it sticks in the memory as well as his regarded best. Like you it was the religious aspects that gave it strength but the death by death plot that kept it flowing. Having read some articles on Dick in recent years I know Maze of Death has been climbing up the esteem ladder. I'm pretty sure it has been considered for film adaption but then so much Dick has been and will continue to be.

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

I'm really surprised no one's jumped on that angle and created their very own cult (a la Vonnegut). Hell, if I had the chance to pray to something called the Mentafacturer (iirc), I'd jump at it. But I can't even find a reference to it via Google. What a waste!