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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

The Valis Trilogy

Clemn XuLa - tha mike rula

02:08 / 03.03.05

Okay, I loved VALIS and have recently (finally) tracked down a copy of The Divine Invasion and I wanted to know how the rest of the trilogy holds up to the first part. Am I going to be disappointed with the follow ups to VALIS? Are there important ideas in the second two that I shouldn't miss?
I guess I'll probably read them both anyway, just looking for some pre-read feedback.

Sax

09:57 / 03.03.05

Haven't read them all, but this thread might help.

PatrickMM

22:20 / 03.03.05

I loved the 'rough draft' version of VALIS that was released as Radio Free Albemuth. It doesn't have as many interesting concepts as VALIS, but as a story, I'd say it's the stronger work.

Clemn XuLa - tha mike rula

04:09 / 04.03.05

Hey alright, that other thread really did help. I had a feeling the three books weren't really all that trilogy-ish and I like the idea of three different filters for PKD's experience with Zebra/VALIS/cat on a bowling ball.
Thanks. Time to get reading.

sleazenation

11:16 / 05.03.05

Yep, that's pretty much it - the four novels and much of the exegesis can be read as Dick exploring the events of 3/4/74 where Dick felt he was contacted by some kind of intelligence in the form of a pink light which told him his son was ill...

Part of the fascination of his later novels is the ever evolving ways in which he explores what this intelligence could have been... never quite settling on any single explanation...

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