[JJR]⋙ Read Deus Irae A Novel Philip K Dick Roger Zelazny 9781400030071 Books

Deus Irae A Novel Philip K Dick Roger Zelazny 9781400030071 Books

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Deus Irae A Novel Philip K Dick Roger Zelazny 9781400030071 Books

I always wondered how two writers collaborate to write one novel. Does one start and write til he's stuck, then send it over to the other? Or is one responsible for the dialogue, the other plot and exposition? Do they trade chapters back and forth?

Deus Irae is immediately recognizable Dick. God & theology theme, wacky mutants, and dialogue that cause you think about and examine our basic Christian beliefs. Why not a God of Death and Retribution?

I can't say I've read any Roger Zelazny, so I don't recognize his style, plotline, or contribution to the book. However, if he was responsible for toning down the paranoia and rambling to which Dick sometimes succumbs, I guess it was a good mix.


Tags : Deus Irae: A Novel [Philip K. Dick, Roger Zelazny] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In the years following World War III, a new and powerful faith has arisen from a scorched and poisoned Earth,Philip K. Dick, Roger Zelazny,Deus Irae: A Novel,Vintage,1400030072,Science fiction.,DICK, PHILIP K. - PROSE & CRITICISM,Fiction,Fiction - Science Fiction,Fiction Science Fiction General,Fiction-Science Fiction,GENERAL,General Adult,Science Fiction,Science Fiction - General,United States,ZELAZNY, ROGER - PROSE & CRITICISM

Deus Irae A Novel Philip K Dick Roger Zelazny 9781400030071 Books Reviews

"Deus Irae" is in many ways a revisitation of Dick's earlier novel "Dr. Bloodmoney" with the addition of the societal control themes of religion favored by Roger Zelazny. It is not the best work of either gentlemen but it is a good read. Philip K. Dick illustrates his use of post-apocalyptic settings as social criticism to good effect here along with his ever questing questions of "What is real?" and "What is human?" while Zelazny ponders the role of myth and religion in society building. The collaboration works very successfully, but each writer is better on their own - the possibility of a creative synthesis fails to deliver a grandeur product.

What it does deliver is a massive level of philosophical thought in only 182 entertaining pages something few writers - much less two - are normally capable of achieving. They cover the nature of art, the relationship of God and Man, the psychology of artificial intelligence, and the wisdom of the mutual assured destruction doctrine. They also look at the meaning of friendship and truth in individuals and society at large. And in a world recovering from a nuclear holocaust the meaning of death and survival.

If you have exhausted the supply of PKD and/or Roger Zelazny you definitely want to read this novel. If you find either of them alone tedious this book may be your access point for their creativity.
Here's a novel with important pieces missing.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Most of us would probably prefer a novel with important pieces missing to one with everything spelled out. Then again, there's a fine line between making readers think for themselves and leaving them in the dark. In this case, the authors may have stepped over the line. Let's have a look.

In post-apocalyptic America, a new religion has come into being. They worship a new god, the Deus Irae, or God of Wrath. They believe that this god also has a human form (or maybe just a human servant) in the person of one Carleton Lufteufel, a former government official who gave the order that set off the nuclear devastation. Since this god's works plainly surround the people at all times, the Church of Wrath attracts a lot of followers, and the old Christian church is in a bad way.

The Church of Wrath commissions Tibor McMasters to paint a mural on one of their buildings - a wise choice, since he's the greatest artist of the age despite having no arms or legs. To that end, the Church sends him on a journey to find Carleton Lufteufel, take a picture, and include his genuine likeness in the work. A local Christian novice, Pete Sands, decides to go along. He tells himself he's doing this to protect Tibor from harm. He may have other motives - his church would clearly prefer that Tibor fail in this quest. And Tibor has some grave doubts about the whole thing. Will Tibor and Pete find Carleton Lufteufel? And more importantly, if they do, what will they do about it?

Not a bad setup, you'll agree. What's more, in their journeys Tibor and Pete encounter some nice freakish details, such as talking bugs and lizards, a carnivorous computer and a cranky automatic factory. Their encounters with these oddities are often funny, thank God; the factory, for instance, attempts to fix Pete's bicycle and instead produces a torrent of pogo sticks.

The writing is worth the time, too. I've said before that Philip K. Dick was not a great stylist, but he could be phenomenal when on his game. Roger Zelazny, his co-writer, had a deserved reputation as one of the best stylists in science fiction. Together, they produced a lot of wonderful passages here, such as when Tibor obtains a dog to keep him company. An armless and legless man in a poisonous wilderness would certainly be happy to have a dog - these passages in "Deus Irae" go one step further and make you feel his joy personally.

So it's all the more frustrating to read through "Deus Irae" and find yourself with so many unanswered questions. For instance, what in the world is so godlike about Carleton Lufteufel? At one point, Tibor encounters a powerful presence that descends on him from the sky, speaks to him, gives him arms and legs and then takes them away, so the God of Wrath is no mere specter. What's the connection between this powerful being and Carleton Lufteufel, though? Elsewhere we see Lufteufel himself, living in an old bunker with a developmentally delayed girl, in great pain from the metal shards that the nuclear explosions drove into his head - does this man turn into the God of Wrath periodically? Is he even aware that people consider him to be the God in human form? What the heck is going on?

More sticky yet is the novel's conclusion. Suffice to say here that an abrupt act of dreadful violence brings the whole quest for Carleton Lufteufel to a sudden halt. It's plain enough how this event might plunge Tibor into despair, but there's another witness who realizes at that moment how the event was supposed to play out, and sees that it has not done so. Well, if it had, what would the consequences be? And does the witness wish that things had worked out as planned? And why? In context, these are important questions, and the emotional pitch of the writing bites hard, but the answers are vague at best. Sorry, guys - no pass.

As I said, it's not an author's job to spoon-feed us everything, but this is going a little far. Without answers to some of these basic questions, "Deus Irae" reads like a series of unconnected episodes, and it obviously tried for more than that. The last few chapters, indeed, give some hints about what the authors wanted to achieve, and for that, the imaginative content and the quality of the writing, this novel may be worth a read. Too bad it isn't worth two or more.

Oddly enough, the flaws of "Deus Irae" do not generally appear in the rest of Philip K. Dick's work - his plotting was usually very clear and he rarely concluded his novels too soon. Those flaws are sometimes to be found, however, in Roger Zelazny's work. I read somewhere that PKD invited Zelazny's collaboration because he didn't know enough about Christianity. I'm not convinced of that, frankly - PKD's exploration of religion took up his entire life. I suspect it was Zelazny who suggested the road setting, and who may have allowed the story to run out of gas.

Oh well. It's a PKD story nevertheless. Anyone who has read "Dr. Bloodmoney" will recognize the postapocalyptic America, full of small towns and dangerous mutants, brought on by an evil scientist with a significant German name, and including a figure with no arms or legs. If PKD felt he needed a collaborator, for the second and last time in his career, that was his business.

I also read that when Zelazny learned of PKD's financial difficulties, he reduced his royalty share from one half to one third. I hope God blesses him for that, and I really don't care which God does the job.

Benshlomo says, Partnership is difficult, but worth it.
I always wondered how two writers collaborate to write one novel. Does one start and write til he's stuck, then send it over to the other? Or is one responsible for the dialogue, the other plot and exposition? Do they trade chapters back and forth?

Deus Irae is immediately recognizable Dick. God & theology theme, wacky mutants, and dialogue that cause you think about and examine our basic Christian beliefs. Why not a God of Death and Retribution?

I can't say I've read any Roger Zelazny, so I don't recognize his style, plotline, or contribution to the book. However, if he was responsible for toning down the paranoia and rambling to which Dick sometimes succumbs, I guess it was a good mix.