The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick

It's hard to say what really happens in this novel. The characters don't know; they can't tell if they are experiencing reality or hallucination or drug-induced psychosis or an alternate reality. The reader doesn't know; he/she is presented with so many rapid-fire possibilities and divergent philosophical and religious interpretations that it is impossible not to get lost in the maze. Disquietingly, Philip K. Dick doesn't even appear to know; it's as if the book were written by his subconscious mind, and he, too, is lost in a maze.

Rolling Stone magazine called The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch "...the classic LSD novel of all time." Dick maintained that he had not tried LSD when this book was written, and, as he was quite open about his drug use, that is probably the truth. One can only conclude (presuming that the writers at Rolling Stone knew about LSD first hand) that life for Philip K. Dick was like one long "trip," and what a "long, strange trip" it was.

The plot goes a little something like this: On Earth, Barney Mayerson works for the giant corporation run by Leo Bulero which manufactures Perky Pat Layouts, essentially play houses complete in every detail for Barbi-type dolls, which are sold to the people who have been conscripted to settle Mars and other outposts of humanity, to connect them to life back on Earth. Under the table and illegally, the corporation also sells Can-D, a drug that allows the homesick outlanders to be "translated" into Perky Pat and her boyfriend Walt for a short period of time. And then Palmer Eldritch arrives back from a ten-year space voyage with a new drug, Chew-Z, with the slogan, "God promises eternal life. We can deliver it." It allows partakers to experience an alternate reality for what seems like years, decades, perhaps forever, while only minutes pass by in "real" time.

And that's just the set-up for the really strange goings-on.

I forgot to mention that Earth is experiencing global warming so severe that Antarctica has become the resort destination for the rich. Or that the very rich can pay for E Therapy which speed them through thousands of years of evolution so that they come out with heat-resistant bodies and huge brains. Or that Palmer Eldritch has one metal arm and teeth of steel and a slitted visor instead of eyes, his three stigmata.

Dick haphazardly presents so many intriguing concepts that they become dizzying, all before embarking on the focus of the novel -- who or what is Palmer Eldritch? Is he the receptacle for an alien presence or entity? Is he a god? Or perhaps the evil one? Will mankind be sacrificed to save the god?

People either dislike Philip K. Dick or they love him. If they really, really love him, they call themselves Dickheads. Dickheads consider this novel one of his best.