Cantata-140

Vote for Jim Briskin! Or should that be Barack Obama?
Well, at 1am this morning I finished reading Cantata-140. Another interesting read full of typical PKD quirks. Mutants, Strange races, space (and time) travel were just a few of the themes of the book, but surprisingly the main theme of the novel was in fact politics. Focusing around Jim Briskin, a presidential candidate, if elected he would be the first black Americana president.
The novel focuses around the mass overpopulation of earth and the 100 million people frozen in warehouses and how this issue can be dealt with. Moral issues surrounding overpopulation are also large features such as legal prostitution (to discourage pregnancy), colonization and war. And interesting and thought provoking read, but not my favourite so far I have to admit. It is rather unusual for a PKD novel and focuses on multiple alternate reality's as opposed to the questioning or reality itself (which he does so well.). Still worth a read and enjoyable, a few little surprises to make you smile, but not recommended as a first PKD read.

As an after note, not intentional by Philip K Dick, there were some amusing similarities between Jim Briskin's election campaign and Barack Obama's. As a current topic it did bring something more to the read, and some comical parallels can be drawn.

What next? Ive opted for a decade earlier with 'The World Jones Made'.

I am Legend.

Well ... after a day of deliberating whether to continue on my Philip K Dick quest or take a short break and read I am Legend I decided upon reading Richard Matheson's 'I am Legend', still a classic Sci-Fi novel, but with elements of horror mixed in also.

Well what can I say? I finished it in 2 days. It was very interesting and gripping. Starting off slow I believe it lulled the reader into a false sense of security with its slow pace and Robert Neville's monotonous daily tasks, then as you discovered more about his past through flash backs (a nice element retained in the 2007 film) more events begin to occur, picking up the pace of the book, and with twists and turns the reader is left turning pages at an alarming rate. And what an ending, different to the film but with many parallels. Another fantastic read and I recommend it highly.

Ive begun reading 'Cantata-140' now in a return to PKD. Let the SF commence!

Solar Lottery.

Just a twitch of the bottle is all it takes! Solar lottery is complete! Eagerly read across the span of numerous journeys sitting on trains and platforms with my nose stuck deep into Solar Lottery. What an interesting book! Thoroughly gripped me and like all PKD books had a few twists I never expected. Its also interesting to view the themes of the book (it being PKD's first published work) compared to later stories, and many key themes are there; synthetic life forms, space travel and illusion.

The key themes of the book develop slowly and gradually all is revealed to the reader (and the characters!) about the government and its nature.

Another highly enjoyable read! But I so desperately want to know how Ted Bentley gets on with his new position!

In other related news ... During one of my journeys accompanied by Solar Lottery I once again visited the PKD goldmine bookstall in search of some second hand gems. Much to my enjoyment I returned with 'The Game Players of Titan', 'The Cosmic Puppets' and 'Cantata-140', so I'm building up quite a PKD library on my desk!

And once again the question arises, what book next? I may ponder on that for a few days, but I am very eager to read 'I am Legend' by Richard Matheson, a move away from PKD, but I'm curious how the book compares to the various films. We shall see!