Dr Bloodmoney

[Justin_B]

Does anyone know the Author of a book, either Titled or about, a "Dr Bloodmoney"

Any ideas appreciated.

 

[J-Sun]

Philip K. Dick wrote it - subtitled "or How We Got Along After the Bomb" - it's generally well regarded but not my favorite of his.

 

[clovis-man]

I thought it was pretty good. Actually fairly topical for the time. Dealt with such anomolies as Thalidomide babies in PKD's own special way.

 

[Justin_B]

Thanks guys!

I was sure it was PKD but after looking through one of the threads on books by PKD I didn't see it anywhere so though I was wrong.

Thanks again.

 

[ElectricOwl]

I'm reading it right now. I love everything about Happy Harrington so far.

 

[Ookami]

I'm reading it right now. I love everything about Happy Harrington so far.

I'm reading it right now too and Hoppy creeps me out. He's too powerful and insecure.

My favorite character is the little rat that could play the flute <3

 

[Fried Egg]

I've just finished it. My thoughts:

This is probably the weakest PKD book I've read. Not that it was especially bad, it just didn't really work for me on any level.

At no point did I find myself particularly engrossed and enjoying the story. The narrative, fragmented by numerous points of view of the disperate characters who's futures eventually become loosely entwined later on in the novel, and punctuated by random time intervals between chapters, it didn't flow well at all, especially for the first half of the novel.

Here are some familiar themes such as mental illness, paranoia and megalomania and other new ones such as a post apocylptic scenario, not one but a couple have already happened and another unfolds in the narrative. Also, a full range of psychic powers are explored such as telekinesis, telepathy, future visions and communion with the dead.

One can usually expect a mish-mash of ideas in a PKD novel but they didn't really come together very well here, as he somehow manages to pull off elsewhere. There was a wry humour throughout that occaisionally made me chuckle though. All in all, not a book I would particularly recommend.

 

[Connavar]

I wouldnt rate it as badly as you did but i felt the ideas didnt mix together well. I like the characters but i couldnt get emotion up for the story. You are used to more complex story,themes.

Hehe it looks like this is your A Maze of Death. That is the weakest i have read.

 

[Diggler]

This was my least enjoyable PKD experience. The reasons for this was I found myself getting lost, due to too many characters, and not enough time with them.

This is definitely my Maze of Death (which I really liked)

 

[gully_foyle]

I liked it. It was quite chilling and grotesque and very laden with cold war neuroses. The ensemble cast didn't worry me, although I understand that some people are used to a single battling protagonist in Dick's stories, whereas this book didn't have one. The title was a bit lame and too referential. But all in all, I think it is a good Dick.

 

[D_Davis]

It's one of my favorites - easily in my top 10 PKD. It's so different than a lot of his stuff.

 

[Connavar]

It's one of my favorites - easily in my top 10 PKD. It's so different than a lot of his stuff.

It is so different from his others, i wish he had written more post apocalyptic stories. With better characters it could have been among his top 3 for me.

I have not read 10 PKD novels but its not in my top 5 of the 7,8 i have read. I felt some of the others had better balance between character,themes,story.

 

[D_Davis]

His best character piece is The Transmigration of Timothy Archer.

 

[Nelson60]

Yes well stated Connavar; I also wish he had written more dystopian novels.
A shorter form of Dr. Bloodmoney was in a short story called A Terran Odyssey.
Intelligent animals appear in Three Stigmata also.

 

[Sigfrid von Shrink]

The title was a bit lame and too referential.

PKD didn't choose the title, and was not best pleased with his publisher's choice apparently.

This book grew on me. I found the opening quite all over the place, but he really drew it all together in the second half.

I was interested to read the afterword written by PKD and published in the Gollancz masterworks edition lots of interesting thoughts. Personally, I found the postwar world deeply chilling, but Dick says "despite the war ... it is a good future. I would have enjoyed being there with them in their microcosm, their postwar West Marin world". He also says that he identified most with Stuart, the TV/rat-trap salesman, and himself used to work in a TV shop on the same street. He doesn't consider Hoppy evil, but loathes Bluthgeld and his type ("they hate me back and would do exactly to me what I would do to them").