The Man in the High Castle

by Philip K. Dick

[rohshey]

Alternative history stories telling about the Nazis taking over the world are not uncommon, the possibilities are obviously horrifying and Dick did not shy away from this motif. So what then can an alternate history first published more than a half-century ago tell us about our present circumstances?

Of course, when considered literally Dick’s fictitious tale has nothing to do with our present situation, but there is a threatening truth to his parable because we must remember that the German populous in the last free elections in the early 1930s chose the Nazi Party to guide their destiny. Many thought that their new leader could not be taken at his word when he castigated particular ethnic, religious, and political groups and the collapse of the great German nation. He promised to make Germany great again. Dick speaks about how people become subservient when faced with tyranny.

But with all its virtuous and piercing significance to present day politics, I got the sense that it could have been better written and that the ideas being expressed didn't really make for a coherent whole. it left me with the curious feeling that Dick had simply stopped writing the book half way through, with much of the story still to be told.