EYE IN THE SKY by Philip K. Dick

Finished Su 7/14/19

This was one of my ancient paperbacks and there is no note as to when I bought it, and apparently I've never read it.

Alternative realities based on different personalities.

Eight people are injured when a walkway above a proton accelerator collapses. They fall through the beam, and they find themselves trapped in alternative universes based on their various personalities.

Most of the action happens in Belmont, California. A real city about thirty miles south of San Francisco. 


“Anti-cat is one jump away from anti-Semitism.”
― Philip K. Dick, Eye in the Sky

"The Eye in the Sky by Philip K. Dick is a smart, satirical, absurdist and brilliant allegory on Conservatism and McCarthyism".

"Imagine a world formed by your very own points of view. By your very own fears and insecurities. Now, imagine a world made by a religious, patriarchic war veteran's personality. Or a conservative, insecure, unmarried, neurotic, man-fearing woman's hang-ups. These, among others, are the main themes of this novel by Philip K. Dick."


From a summary of the novel by Jason Koornick. Here is the link to his full page:

https://philipdick.com/literary-criticism/reviews/review-by-jason-koornick-eye-in-the-sky-1957/

"After an accident at Belmont Bevatron lands Jack Hamilton, his wife and six other tourists on top of a radiation charged particle accelerator, the group begins a journey through their own separate minds and realities. Being trapped in the worlds of a crackpot racist and a self-absorbed socialite is just the beginning of this other-worldly journey. While there are many familiar elements to Hamilton and crew, in these worlds anything can and does happen. Just when they think they understand their predicament, the group is placed in a more confounding situation. The dark realities these characters must face are filled with ironies.

Stereotypes become reality and deep-rooted perceptions create nightmarish situations for the eight person group. Eye In The Sky is filled with many classic Dickian situations and themes. There is an encounter with God at the center of the universe, a house that devours people to survive and a world where people are showered with locusts for telling a lie.

Dick craftsfully leaves the reader vulnerable by altering the laws of time, physics and ultimately perception. The characters in Eye In The Sky are distinctive. While they all appear very normal on the surface, dark secrets lurk in the recesses of their minds.

Eye In The Sky is a perfect example of Dick’s brand of speculative fiction. It questions the stability of people’s belief system and shatters the trust placed in human senses. Philip K. Dick has created a masterpiece in Eye In The Sky. This novel should not be overlooked as one his important works."

This is one of Dick's lesser known books because he really didn't write the great ones until many years later. 'EYE IN THE SKY'  was released in 1957.

Anything by Dick is worth much more than I look, and although I didn't really understand a lot of the book, it was an enjoyable read. The sexual? relationship between Silky and Jack Hamilton 'under the eye' of his wife Marsha left me scratching my head.  Whatever this meant, the book was written many years before 'the swinging sixties'.