Classic science fiction published in 1964 in which the government has a simulacrum as a figurehead. It tells a story of maintaining control through sustaining the status quo and limiting access to information. It is quite forward-thinking for its time of publication, anticipating the equivalent of video chat, increased roles for women, environmental degradation, self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, and machines that are mixtures of the biological and the mechanical.

This book in particular explores the idea that the status quo will be maintained until it falls into complete disorganization. The author applies scientific principles to social systems and plays with them in interesting ways. It also anticipates a social stratification based on access to information. The “Bes” are basically at the lowest access level. They only get carefully edited information based on officially approved broadcasts. The “Ges” are the highest level. They know precisely what is going on and they engage in power plays with each other to gain ultimate control over the government. Speaking of government, this future world has the United States of Europe and America (USEA), where Germany and other European countries have joined the US as a single conglomerate.

It includes an ability for people to escape the earth and live on Mars next to a family of simulacra neighbors, the capability of teleporting people from the past, laws outlawing the practices of mental health therapists, and a colony of modern Neanderthals living in the Pacific Northwest. It feels a bit fragmented at first, but once the puzzle pieces come together, it is quite compelling. I always find Philip K. Dick’s works creative and thought-provoking.
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I thought this novel was pretty bad, the worst Dick novel I had ever read. There were lots of good Dickian ideas introduced but most of them fizzled. There were TOO many ideas thrown in for a 200 page novel. Some of them were introduced but Dick seemed to lose interest or just wanted to get rid of them without completely deleting them. A lot of these ideas were better dealt with in later novels like [b:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?|7082|Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?|Philip K. Dick|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327865673s/7082.jpg|830939] or [b:Ubik|22590|Ubik|Philip K. Dick|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327995569s/22590.jpg|62929].

The problem for me is the plot was just totally ludicrous and silly. The interconnections between the characters were so improbable that even coincidence beggared belief. This is a common criticism of Dick plots but here it was just stretched to the point of self-parody which I don't think was Dick's intention. The whole thing had the feel of a dash-off by Dick that contained ALL the ideas he was toying with at the time.

The best, most developed, idea was that life is full of simulacra or facades for the real thing: government, the first lady, the president, Martian pets, insects, jalopies, your Martian neighbors, even reality itself (I've always claimed The Matrix was stolen from Dick).

There were some hilariously funny totally Dickian things in the book: Kongrosian's bizarre psychosomatic delusions were frequently funny in themselves or led to funny situations. I thought Loony Luke's jalopy lots were the best. Jalopy lots, whose only semi-legal cartel was controlled by Loony Luke, sold crummy personal vehicles that were only good for a do-it-yourself emigration to Mars colony. These junkers were only good enough to get you to Mars before they broke down. The lots themselves being only semi-legal are forced to move about frequently.

Another great innovation was commercials which took the form of simulacrum insects that gained access to your personal space and promptly started in on their spiel in a squeaky little voice. Again these were controlled by a cartel. Everyone hated them and smashed them, stomped them, shot them, etc. as soon as they could.

An interesting read that introduces but fails to adequately develop a number of Dick's themes. A good read for Dick fans to see how these will be developed in more mature novels, but a poor place to go for the casual Dick reader. There are a LOT more better Dick novels and stories. ( )

I bought this book about a year ago and finally got to read it. I enjoyed it quite a bit even if it was another PKD book that has me guessing and wondering what's going on until I get to the last one or two chapters. Other authors that use this style would annoy me, but with PKD, he can get away with it. Though unlike other PKD books, this book ended not answering all the questions I had but it didn't bother me as much as other books might. It tied up enough lose ends that I was satisfied with where it stopped. ( )

3.5 stars
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Philip K. Dick is one of those authors who I often enjoy reading for his peculiar ideas, cool technologies, bizarre plots, and neurotic characters. But every time I read one of his stories, I need a break from him �?? thereƒ??s a feeling of frantic paranoia permeating his work that makes me feel like I just need to chill out for a while. If youƒ??ve seen the movie The Adjustment Bureau, which was based on one of his stories, youƒ??ll know what I mean. In that story, the main character discovers that the reality he thought he knew was totally wrong. Instead, there is something big going on behind the scenes and his life is being manipulated by The Unseen People Who Are Really In Charge (TUPWARIC).

This theme is common in PKDƒ??s stories, and The Simulacra is another example. The government of the United States of Europe and America, which appears to be a matriarchy, is a sham ƒ?? the President is really a simulacrum. When TUPWARIC gives the contract for building the next simulacrum to a different simulacrum company, and Hermann Goering is fetched from the past with a time-travel device, problems ensue and the USEA government is in danger of being taken over by fascists.

Quirky characters include the First Lady who never seems to age, the telekinetic piano player who thinks that a commercial has given him phobic body odor and that heƒ??s becoming invisible, the psychotherapist who has lost his job because a pharmaceutical cartel has managed to have the practice of psychotherapy banned, a couple of brothers who work for simulacra companies and are fighting over an ex-wife, and a couple of guys in a jug band who want to play for the First Lady. Then thereƒ??s the reclusive group of Neanderthals, descendents of radiation-exposed humans, who live in Northern California and seem to be waiting for something important to happen...

The Simulacra juggles a huge set of characters and several subplots which at first seem unrelated but which Dick successfully brings together into a coherent whole by the end of the novel, which is not necessarily a guarantee with PKD. The whole thing is chaotic, zany, creative, funny, and contains Dickƒ??s usual undercurrent of frenzied paranoia. With so much weird stuff going on, I thought that a plot disaster was imminent, but Dick pulls it off. The Simulacra ends at the climax, though, and a sequel would probably have been well-received.

I listened to Brilliance Audioƒ??s version of The Simulacra, which was read by ƒ??Golden Voiceƒ? and ƒ??Voice of the Centuryƒ? Dick Hill. Mr. Hill, who is always superb, handled all of those characters and that madcap plot with ease. And you should hear him play a jug. ( )

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