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Counter-clock World
  

Counter-clock World (Paperback)

by Philip K. Dick (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From Library Journal

Released in 1967 and 1956, respectively, these volumes offer Dick's usual bleak outlook for the future. In CounterClock World, time begins moving backwards, and, as a result, there is a reanimation of the dead, including a religious leader who has amassed a sizable number of followers since his demise. Back above ground, he finds himself worshipped by millions who will do anything he says, making him quite dangerous. Japed follows a similar theme in the character of Allen Purcell, a highly placed politico who has the power to change the world. Dick fans and Blade Runner nuts will be glad to see these.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.


Product Description

In Counter-Clock World, one of the most theologically probing of all of Dick’s books, the world has entered the Hobart Phase–a vast sidereal process in which time moves in reverse. As a result, libraries are busy eradicating books, copulation signifies the end of pregnancy, people greet with, “Good-bye,” and part with, “Hello,” and underneath the world’s tombstones, the dead are coming back to life. One imminent old-born is Anarch Peak, a vibrant religious leader whose followers continued to flourish long after his death. His return from the dead has such awesome implications that those who apprehend him will very likely be those who control the fate of the world.


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. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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4 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4.0 out of 5 stars A darker shade of Dick, Jun 5 2004
By Doug Mackey (Fairfield, IA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Counter-Clock World (Paperback)
This novel, first published in 1967, has a more serious and darker tone than most of Dick's earlier works. It is an ambitious novel, underread and underrated in the Dick canon, in which the author attempts to integrate religious and metaphysical thought from a wide variety of writers across history. The premise is that time has started to run backwards due to something called the Hobart Phase. Dead people come back to life in their graves; living people grow continually younger until they reenter their mothers' wombs. Food is regurgitated into its original form, and while eating is considered obscene, waste ("sogum") is "imbibed" through tubes in public. People say "goodbye" when they greet each other and "hello" when they part. Critics have derided Dick's use of time reversal as completely illogical and inconsistent. That doesn't seem to matter really. The novel's serious concerns, about the frailty of life and love in the face of monolithic external forces, lift it above its own contrivances.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Four stars for imagination., Dec 1 2003
By R. Douglas "firesrage" (Hamden, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Counter-Clock World (Paperback)
Though the pace can at times make you feel like your in labor, this novel has an incredible plot, and is simply another in the plethora of PKD's dystopic wonders. Honestly, not his best effort, but definitely worth the time.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer audacious bravery in the face of commercial pressure., Oct 5 2003
By "massivekipple" (anywhere but Alphane) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Counter-Clock World (Paperback)
PKD faced the old problem of commercialism vs. integrity. I consider this book to be a testament to Dick's integrity. Exploring often mentioned, but never developed, ideas.
For example, the Wizard Merlin supposedly lived backwards in time. Yet this idea has only been presented, not developed in the stories I have read. Several religions suggest a rapture or ressurection of the dead, without filling us in on the details.
Dick must have really felt the avenue of backwards time was worth exploring or he never would have finished it. It was brave for Dick to see these ideas through to their conclusion. While facing the realities of rent and editors, etc.
This book is not as morbid as earlier reviews might suggest. The characters are sincere and even light-hearted at times.
I found this to be one of Dick's easier and smoother reads.
I break it down this way. If you go to a movie and willingly submit to a fantasy experience, read this book. If you go to movies to test your analytical and deductive skills don't bother.
If you suspect that time is really just one big cosmic "Wow!" that has already ensued, I highly recommend it.
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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story, flimsy premise
Anyone who has seen the Red Dwarf episode "Backwards" will know the basic premise of Counter-Clock World. Read more
Published on Sep 23 2003 by Steve West

2.0 out of 5 stars Something of a "clunker" (2.5 stars)
I'm reviewing this book, because I've just read it; also, I'm a bit appalled at the number of high reviews of Dick's work in general. Read more
Published on Jan 20 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars A Strange Book
This is not one of Dick's best books, and I kind of found myself getting annoyed a lot of the time at the way time "moved backwards" in the story. Read more
Published on Nov 29 2002 by Tiny Hedgehog

3.0 out of 5 stars A counter-clock comment
Started of with too many characters and too many conversations, this book almost forced me to give it up straight away. Read more
Published on Nov 17 2002 by Dian Wahyu Utami

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