I’ve been re-reading a few of the SF books I read many years ago when I was at University and was well into science fiction. Philip K Dick was a favourite author then. He’s become quite well known as a number of his books have been adapted for the big screen. “The Man in the High Castle” is the third of his books that I’ve read recently.
The story is based around an alternative history where Japan and Germany won the second world war. There are several interlinked stories based on a handful of main characters. There’s a strong philosophical streak – Dick was clearly influenced by some aspects of oriental mysticism.
The plot starts strong and some of the individual stories are promising, but, to me, it runs out of steam towards the end, almost as if Dick has lost interest, and some of the sub plots aren’t fully explored. Nevertheless, I enjoyed rereading it after all these years.
Rating 3.5/5
