- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; New title edition (Aug 10 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1400030129
- ISBN-13: 978-1400030125
- Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 0.9 x 20.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 222 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #225,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“The finest American novelist of our time.” —Hartford Advocate
“Dick was…one of the genuine visionaries that North American fiction has produced in this century.”–Steve Erickson, L.A. Weekly
“If there’s such a thing as a ‘black science fiction,’ Philip K. Dick is its Pirandello, its Beckett and its Pinter.” –Harlan Ellison
“Dick was…one of the genuine visionaries that North American fiction has produced in this century.”–Steve Erickson, L.A. Weekly
“If there’s such a thing as a ‘black science fiction,’ Philip K. Dick is its Pirandello, its Beckett and its Pinter.” –Harlan Ellison
Book Description
Objective, unbiased and hyperrational, the Vulcan 3 should have been the perfect ruler. The omnipotent computer dictates policy that is in the best interests of all citizens—or at least, that is the idea. But when the machine, whose rule evolved out of chaos and war, begins to lose control of the “Healer” movement of religious fanatics and the mysterious force behing their rebellion, all Hell breaks loose.
Written in 1960, Philip K. Dick’s paranoid novel imagines a totalitarian state in which hammer-headed robots terrorize citizens and freedom is an absurd joke. William Barrios, the morally conflicted hero, may be the only person who can prevent the battle for control from destroying the world—if, that is, he can decide which side he’s on.
Winner of both the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards for best novel, widely regarded as the premiere science fiction writer of his day, and the object of cult-like adoration from his legions of fans, Philip K. Dick has come to be seen in a literary light that defies classification in much the same way as Borges and Calvino. With breathtaking insight, he utilizes vividly unfamiliar worlds to evoke the hauntingly and hilariously familiar in our society and ourselves.
Written in 1960, Philip K. Dick’s paranoid novel imagines a totalitarian state in which hammer-headed robots terrorize citizens and freedom is an absurd joke. William Barrios, the morally conflicted hero, may be the only person who can prevent the battle for control from destroying the world—if, that is, he can decide which side he’s on.
Winner of both the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards for best novel, widely regarded as the premiere science fiction writer of his day, and the object of cult-like adoration from his legions of fans, Philip K. Dick has come to be seen in a literary light that defies classification in much the same way as Borges and Calvino. With breathtaking insight, he utilizes vividly unfamiliar worlds to evoke the hauntingly and hilariously familiar in our society and ourselves.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.4 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
suspenseful and fun; perhaps not for Philip K. Dick fans, July 30 2003
By lazza - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Vulcan's Hammer (Hardcover)
Vulcan's Hammer is a very conventional early science fiction story about the future of the world dominated by a computer. Naturally the humans catch on that this situation has drawbacks, and a rebellion is launched. But with Vulcan's Hammer the computer doesn't take kindly to any encroachment on its reign.Unlike the author's later works there aren't any deep-rooted social commentary with Vulcan's Hammer. And this story is completely readable; I believe many Philip K. Dick fans enjoy deciphering his often unintelligible prose. Best of all the story reads as a suspense novel, with the author deftly placing in twists to keep the reader hooked .. and it worked for me.
Bottom line: a fun if somewhat unremarkable read. Recommended.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Man and machine, Oct 27 2002
By "mythologue" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Vulcan's Hammer (Hardcover)
In the world of `Vulcan's Hammer', humans have apparently given up on their political power. They are under the authority of Vulcan III, a massive underground computer that ended war, unemployment and poverty years ago. Two human factions are set against each other: the Union, led by many high-profile directors including William Barris, and the `Healers', a rebellious group seemingly led by a mysterious figure named Father Fields. Many questions are submitted daily to Vulcan III, but the machine has not yet said a word about the group; people are quick to blame head-director Jason Dill, the only one allowed to submit such questions. In addition to the powerful Vulcan III, there's also the older Vulcan II, which is destroyed but still reveals crucial insights about the Healers and Vulcan III when some of its remains are reconstructed. The `Union versus Healers' opposition can be multiplied by at least three, because there is some discord a) in the Union itself, b) in the Healers movement, and, most interestingly, c) between the machines. Both of the Vulcan computers play as big a role as the humans, and often seem just as `alive' as they are. The entire work can be seen as an ongoing mind game, sometimes between men, sometimes between man and machine, sometimes between the machines themselves; it is a lot more substantial than its dismal reputation would lead the unsuspecting reader to believe.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hammer misses, Aug 22 2004
By Doug Mackey - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Vulcan's Hammer: A Novel (Paperback)
This minor novel in Dick's oeuvre is the tale of a giant computer, Vulcan 3, to which humanity has acceded absolute power over the fate of the world. Its flying "hammers" are deadly extensions of itself, spying on everybody and killing whomever it perceives as a threat. One needs to be very paranoid indeed to survive against this paranoid machine. Vulcan 3 is not as memorable a character as another killer computer, HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Both, however, are representations of the disembodied intellect becoming self-aware and preempting the unmechanical wisdom of the feelings. Vulcan is a metaphor for the failure of the rational thinking mind to integrate the irrational feeling side of the personality. The result is that the ego is mechanized, or Vulcanized, and the wrath of the fire god is visited upon a self-destructive humanity. These mythic overtones aside, the book is mainly of interest to the Dick afficianado; those new to PKD could more profitably begin with almost any of his other science-fiction novels.
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