This is a review of The Penultimate Truth by PKD.
Overall, I liked the book. But, there were some things that could have been done better I guess.
The story is set in the aftermath of a nuclear war that started on Mars and then moved to Earth - the West versus the Commies. It seems that the war is fought by robots - called leadies in the book.
Most of the population of Earth was relocated underground just before the war spread to Earth. The people underground work to make robots for what they understand is the continuing war above them. On a regular basis, they get messages via TV from the Protector, "Talbot Yancy", meant to keep up their morale.
Not to give too much away, but the war has actually ended years before the book opens, and the surface is covered in trees, and the land is divided up into estates for an elite who get the robots made by the people underground as servants. And, Talbot Yancy is actually a robot, but a special one.
There are several major characters and plot lines that converge here and there. There is a man, St. James, from underground who goes to the surface to locate an artificial pancreas for a man very important to his crew. There are also the Yance Men - they live on the estates on the surface. One of the Yance Men, Lantano, seems to time travel, and another, Adams, gets caught up in a special project with evil intent. A horrible old man, Brose, seems to be the real power on Earth. Other characters include Foote, who runs a private police corporation, and Runcible who builds condos, really gilded cages, for people who come up from the underground settlements - they can't be allowed back to tell the people there what is really going on. Lots of power struggles.
The book is fairly short, less than 200 pages in the edition I read, but a whole lot happens. I guess the moral of the story is that governments are not to be trusted, at least not all the time. Do the people underground learn the truth before the books ends - read it and see.
One problem I had was the very small print in the edition I read - is there a paper shortage? Also, the author used some very convoluted sentence structure like multiple semicolons and dashes in the same sentence. This did make the book a slower read than necessary.
The ending was not as satisfying as I had hoped for when I got to the last few pages, but I think readers will have a good idea of how things get wrapped up, even if the author does not come out and tell you by the end.
Despite these issues, the book is still a worthwhile read.
Overall, I liked the book. But, there were some things that could have been done better I guess.
The story is set in the aftermath of a nuclear war that started on Mars and then moved to Earth - the West versus the Commies. It seems that the war is fought by robots - called leadies in the book.
Most of the population of Earth was relocated underground just before the war spread to Earth. The people underground work to make robots for what they understand is the continuing war above them. On a regular basis, they get messages via TV from the Protector, "Talbot Yancy", meant to keep up their morale.
Not to give too much away, but the war has actually ended years before the book opens, and the surface is covered in trees, and the land is divided up into estates for an elite who get the robots made by the people underground as servants. And, Talbot Yancy is actually a robot, but a special one.
There are several major characters and plot lines that converge here and there. There is a man, St. James, from underground who goes to the surface to locate an artificial pancreas for a man very important to his crew. There are also the Yance Men - they live on the estates on the surface. One of the Yance Men, Lantano, seems to time travel, and another, Adams, gets caught up in a special project with evil intent. A horrible old man, Brose, seems to be the real power on Earth. Other characters include Foote, who runs a private police corporation, and Runcible who builds condos, really gilded cages, for people who come up from the underground settlements - they can't be allowed back to tell the people there what is really going on. Lots of power struggles.
The book is fairly short, less than 200 pages in the edition I read, but a whole lot happens. I guess the moral of the story is that governments are not to be trusted, at least not all the time. Do the people underground learn the truth before the books ends - read it and see.
One problem I had was the very small print in the edition I read - is there a paper shortage? Also, the author used some very convoluted sentence structure like multiple semicolons and dashes in the same sentence. This did make the book a slower read than necessary.
The ending was not as satisfying as I had hoped for when I got to the last few pages, but I think readers will have a good idea of how things get wrapped up, even if the author does not come out and tell you by the end.
Despite these issues, the book is still a worthwhile read.
