Probably one of PKD's weakest novels. Some interesting ideas nonetheless. ( )

Like The Game-Players of Titan, this is set in a near future California where aliens have arrived and changed everyday life in significant ways. In this case, there are two sets of aliens -- the LiliStars who look just like us and the insectoid reeg. In a callout to Vietnam (the book was published in the mid 60's), the aliens are at war, and Earth has allied with the LiliStars, who are losing, and may be the bad guys. It wouldn't be Dick in the 60s without a hallucinogenic drug. No one did better than Dick at describing trips that cracked perceptions of reality and, in this case, time. And, as with The Game-Players, there's a highly dysfunctional marriage. There are some great encounters with Dick's surprisingly sympathetic talking cabs. There's even a trip to Mars, but it's the weakest part of the story, since we never see Mars, just a recreation of historical period of Earth. Like a chef, Dick was always experimenting with different ways to mix the same ingredients. The opening chapters looked like this would be one of his failed recipes, but things do settle down to an enjoyable action plot that eventually morphs into a nice discussion on personal responsibilities.

Highly recommended for Dick fans, but perhaps a bit advanced for those new to his fiction. ( )

Living in Different Times

Those old enough can recall the 1960s, specifically the mid 60s when the hallucinogenic LSD became the rage. The epicenter of the LSD era was in San Francisco, home to the Merry Pranksters and the first LSD lab, established by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, sound engineer for the Grateful Dead and midnight chemist. It was also home to Philip K. Dick. So it’s no surprise that Now Wait for Last Year (1966, also sees a raging Vietnam War and fierce domestic opposition) features a drug as a featured player, something more than a mere hallucinogenic and far more pernicious. There lurks within the questions of what’s real or delusion and what people, specifically what one-time lovers, owe each other. It’s as much a novel about men and women and the conflict between them as it is about alien invasion, war, and time travel.

Dick sets the novel in the near future, now nearly tomorrow for us. Earth is caught in the middle of an ages old epic war between Lilistar (‘Starmen), who resemble us, and the reegs, multi limbed insects (shades of Heinlein here?). Earth has allied with Lilistar, though the Earth leader and Eric Sweetscent, too, come to believe the reegs would be better allies; this switching of alliance comprises the central plot of the novel. JJ-180 enters the picture to toss Eric around on a roiled sea of reality, delusion, and personal angst.

Eric works for Tijuana Fur & Dye Company as physician to the mega wealthy and nearly ancient Virgil L. Ackerman. Eric specializes in artiforg, the transplanting of organs using an alien space amoeba that takes on the form of anything, including human organs and luxury furs. He has been using them to prolong Ackerman’s life. Kathy Sweetscent also works for Ackerman, acquiring historical pieces for his retreat called Wash-35, a replicate of 1935 Washington D.C., Ackerman’s hometown and his cherished memory. It’s located on Mars. Eric and Kathy have an acrimonious relationship that Eric explores in detail. Kathy, in addition to tormenting Eric in a variety of ways, also illustrates Dick’s rather skewed view of women as manipulative, hyper-critical shrews.

In the course of events, Eric gets assigned to the UN Secretary General, who is the leader of Earth, Gino “The Mole” Molinari. He’s a sickly man but a great strategist, essential to the survival of Earth. The ‘Starmen know about this assignment and to gain information and influence with Eric they addict Kathy to the new deadly drug JJ-180. She, in turn, secretly hooks Eric on it.

JJ-180 psychologically transports a person back in time (Kathy), or in some rare cases, forward (Eric), or still yet, and revelatory to Eric, between dimensions (Gino). Early in the novel, there’s some question as to whether the transporting is purely in the minds of the addicted or real. Eric uses the drug to see into the future both to foresee how the war will end and to find a cure for his addiction. Throughout, however, his main concern and obsession is Kathy and their relationship. The final question he faces in the end is what to do about a very sick and helpless Kathy. It’s really a question about living in reality or abandoning it for something easier, and one that he cannot answer for himself. He famously asks and takes the advice of an automated cab.

Readers with recognize many Dickian hallmarks within the novel, but none more than its sense of spontaneity and disjointedness, as if Dick were pulling things from the ethers left and right in a sprint to the end.

( )

Living in Different Times

Those old enough can recall the 1960s, specifically the mid 60s when the hallucinogenic LSD became the rage. The epicenter of the LSD era was in San Francisco, home to the Merry Pranksters and the first LSD lab, established by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, sound engineer for the Grateful Dead and midnight chemist. It was also home to Philip K. Dick. So it’s no surprise that Now Wait for Last Year (1966, also sees a raging Vietnam War and fierce domestic opposition) features a drug as a featured player, something more than a mere hallucinogenic and far more pernicious. There lurks within the questions of what’s real or delusion and what people, specifically what one-time lovers, owe each other. It’s as much a novel about men and women and the conflict between them as it is about alien invasion, war, and time travel.

Dick sets the novel in the near future, now nearly tomorrow for us. Earth is caught in the middle of an ages old epic war between Lilistar (‘Starmen), who resemble us, and the reegs, multi limbed insects (shades of Heinlein here?). Earth has allied with Lilistar, though the Earth leader and Eric Sweetscent, too, come to believe the reegs would be better allies; this switching of alliance comprises the central plot of the novel. JJ-180 enters the picture to toss Eric around on a roiled sea of reality, delusion, and personal angst.

Eric works for Tijuana Fur & Dye Company as physician to the mega wealthy and nearly ancient Virgil L. Ackerman. Eric specializes in artiforg, the transplanting of organs using an alien space amoeba that takes on the form of anything, including human organs and luxury furs. He has been using them to prolong Ackerman’s life. Kathy Sweetscent also works for Ackerman, acquiring historical pieces for his retreat called Wash-35, a replicate of 1935 Washington D.C., Ackerman’s hometown and his cherished memory. It’s located on Mars. Eric and Kathy have an acrimonious relationship that Eric explores in detail. Kathy, in addition to tormenting Eric in a variety of ways, also illustrates Dick’s rather skewed view of women as manipulative, hyper-critical shrews.

In the course of events, Eric gets assigned to the UN Secretary General, who is the leader of Earth, Gino “The Mole” Molinari. He’s a sickly man but a great strategist, essential to the survival of Earth. The ‘Starmen know about this assignment and to gain information and influence with Eric they addict Kathy to the new deadly drug JJ-180. She, in turn, secretly hooks Eric on it.

JJ-180 psychologically transports a person back in time (Kathy), or in some rare cases, forward (Eric), or still yet, and revelatory to Eric, between dimensions (Gino). Early in the novel, there’s some question as to whether the transporting is purely in the minds of the addicted or real. Eric uses the drug to see into the future both to foresee how the war will end and to find a cure for his addiction. Throughout, however, his main concern and obsession is Kathy and their relationship. The final question he faces in the end is what to do about a very sick and helpless Kathy. It’s really a question about living in reality or abandoning it for something easier, and one that he cannot answer for himself. He famously asks and takes the advice of an automated cab.

Readers with recognize many Dickian hallmarks within the novel, but none more than its sense of spontaneity and disjointedness, as if Dick were pulling things from the ethers left and right in a sprint to the end.

( )

Time-altering drugs
unjust way to fight a war
or your weak husband. ( )