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The Game-Players of Titan [Paperback]

Philip K. Dick (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Release Date: Jun 30 1992 | Series: Vintage
In this sardonically funny gem of speculative fiction, Philip K. Dick creates a novel that manages to be simultaneously unpredictable and perversely logical.

Poor Pete Garden has just lost Berkeley. He's also lost his wife, but he'll get a new one as soon as he rolls a three. It's all part of the rules of Bluff, the game that's become a blinding obsession for the last inhabitants of the planet Earth. But the rules are about to change--drastically and terminally--because Pete Garden will be playing his next game against an opponent who isn't even human, for stakes that are a lot higher than Berkeley.

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Review

'One of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction' Sunday Times 'A great philosophical writer' Independent 'Dick quietly produced serious fiction in a popular form and there can be no greater praise' Michael Moorcock --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928 and lived most of his life in California. He attended college for a year at Berkeley. A prolific writer, his other main interest was music. He won the Hugo Award for his classic novel of alternative history, The Man in the High Castle (1962). He was married five times and had three children. Philip K. Dick died in March 1982. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Typical 60s PKD--and that's a good thing Jun 7 2004
By Doug Mackey
Format:Paperback
In criticial estimation, The Game Players of Titan suffers by comparison with Dick's masterpieces The Man in the High Castle, Martian Time-Slip, and Dr. Bloodmoney, also written in the early 1960s, because it does not have their serious themes or strong sociological dimension. Nevertheless, this book partakes of the brilliance of the overall concept that runs through Dick's work in this period. What's more, it is a very funny novel. The vugs, whose natural form is that of amorphous, gelatinous blobs, have occupied Earth after winning a war in which humanity nearly managed to sterilize itself through radiation exposure. Vugs have the capability of controlling humans' minds or simulating their form, behavior, and memories, often taking names such as U. S. Cummings and E. B. Black. The plot revolves around the game of Bluff, which is somewhat akin to Monopoly, which is used to decide mates and property rights. The plot culminates with an interspecies game of Bluff between the humans and vugs, who have the advantage of psychokinetic powers, which they use to change the values of the cards as they play. There are mind-altering drugs, psychosis, talking cars, and crazy humor. In short, a feast for the Dick fan.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly great July 3 2003
By alchemist42
Format:Paperback
The Earth has been taken over by the Vugs and humanity is reduced to gambling for money, property, and marriages. Players who are good at the Game (which is some wierd combination of poker and monopoly) get the chance to reproduce and live in the lap of luxury. The story follows the usual PKD lines (if the word usual can ever truly be applied to him!). We have paranoia, astral teleportation, strange aliens, pre-cogs -trying to cheat in the Game- and a whole lot of sarcastic humour.

There are also the usual PKD failings, lack of characterization and long bits of non-plot-related ramblings. Of course, anyone who is familiar with his work will know that these are not reasons to avoid the book. He more than makes up for any deficiency by sheer genius and imagination.

But the main reason to read this book comes toward the end (so I won't spoil it by telling you all about it) where you, the reader, can see how the vugs view the humans. I think this is the best piece of Dick's writing that I have ever read. These few pages are worth the book's price alone.

This is early PKD, and I recommend it to any fans out there. It is a fast read, and it gives you plenty to think about. If you are new to this brilliant author, I would start somewhere else, though. Perhaps with some of his more accessible works, like Ubik or The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Premise Handled With Great Skill Jun 28 2001
By Ricky Hunter
Format:Paperback
I cannot claim to know much about Philip K. Dick as this is, thus far, the only one of his novels I have read. But based on a reading of The Game-Players of Titan, it will not be the last. The premise of the inhabitants of Earth playing the game, Bluff, for spouses and land is wonderful and the story only grows weirder and more original with each passing chapter. The only small quibble is the ending is somewhat anti-climatic after the strongly built, witty, creatively heightened build up but this book is about the journey and one could have no better guide than the author for this unique trip.
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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Oh.. my... GOOOOD!!!!!!!
This review is for people that know P.K.D. It's not about the plot ,because plotwize ,it's typical; Paranoid protagonist ,reality-distorting drugs ,telepaths ,pre-cogs ,unexpected... Read more
Published on May 11 2001 by "phyed-rautha"
3.0 out of 5 stars SF NOVELS OPUS TEN
In 1963, Philip K. Dick published only one novel THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN, a novel you will enjoy very much if you are already familiar with Dick's imaginary world or dislike if... Read more
Published on Mar 28 2001 by Daniel S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Avoid this one if you're subject to paranoia
The Game-Players of Titan appeared around the same time as William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, and it reminds me very much of Burroughs' book, minus the confrontational sexual and... Read more
Published on Mar 23 2001 by Gerald Mullett
4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BEGINNING AND END
This was not the first PKD book that I read, but it is the one responsible for making me go to second-hand bookstores and buying up every PKD book in sight. Read more
Published on Mar 22 2001 by EMAN NEP
4.0 out of 5 stars Shattered Story, Unbroken Souls
I'm having a hard time writing about Game-Players of Titan, and I think I've finally figured out why. Read more
Published on Feb 9 2001 by benshlomo
1.0 out of 5 stars One of the worst things I've read, sci-fi or otherwise...
I'd read Dick's _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_, (the basis for the great film _Blade Runner_), and enjoyed it a lot. Read more
Published on May 26 2000
4.0 out of 5 stars Favorate PKD novel
This book is a great deal of fun. I have enjoyed all of the books I have read by him. The Game-Players of Titan is multi-layered, on the surface it is quite humerous, dig deeper... Read more
Published on May 6 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars Best PKD book and one of the few great classics of Sci-fi
This book has it all: the usual PKD's theme about the nature of reality and the human perception of it and the fragility of the human mind, plot twists that keep you from putting... Read more
Published on April 24 1999 by Talal Azzouka
5.0 out of 5 stars Another neglected PKD gem
There are certainly seven, and maybe a dozen, books that have rightfully made PKD's reputation (THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, MARTIAN TIME-SLIP, THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER... Read more
Published on Jan 6 1999 by Eric M. Van
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely my favorite Dick novel.
It's one of my favorite books ever. I've just read it a second time, and it was just as good as the first. Read more
Published on Dec 9 1998
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