The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

Not all science fiction books are created equal. This is my third book by Philip K. Dick, and they are all engaging. It is still not my favorite genre, but I think it addresses some current issues, especially addiction to escape!

Here is why James Mustich thinks it should be one of the 1000 Books You Read Before You Die:

James Mustich

If one were assigned the unenviable task of selecting a single book as a showcase for all of Philip K. Dick’s tropes, tactics, tricks, themes, and tics, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch might well be the best choice. In its pages, we see in incredibly effective form the majority of the imagery, incidents, characters, and themes the author became known for: consumerist brainwashing; peculiar drugs; simulacra; Manic Pixie Girlfriends Who Are Truly Other Than What They Seem; psychic powers, especially precognition; the universe as a hostile minefield; egomaniacal sociopaths who become both more and less than human; sassy cybernetic constructs; shifting internal monologues; the inanity of mass media and pop culture; shifting levels of reality. They’re all here, wrapped around, underlying, and enclosing a captivating story line.