MAZE OF DEATH by Philip K. Dick

 Finished Tu 9/8/20

This is one of my ancient paperbacks and there is no indication when I bought it.

Plot:

A group of space colonists believe they are on Delmak-O, but really they are the crew of the spaceship of Persus 9, stranded in orbit around a dead star with no way of calling for help. Most of the explorers decide to continue the hallucinations. It's a 'reality vs. perception' novel and it's as if the characters embrace a non-reality. 

One of the people believed that they were picked for the mission through prayer. Prayers 'work', but they must be augmented electronically to reach all the known and unknown parts of the galaxy.  

The book's page at Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Maze_of_Death

The explanation of the book at Goodreads:

"Fourteen strangers come to Delmak-O. Thirteen of them were transferred by the usual authorities. One got there by praying. But once they arrived on that treacherous planet, whose very atmosphere seemed to induce paranoia and psychosis, the newcomers found that even prayer was useless. For on Delmak-O, God is either absent or intent on destroying His creations. At once a wrenching metaphysical thriller and an ingenious meditation on the nature of divinity, A Maze of Death is Philip K. Dick at his most dizzyingly provocative."

A link to the comments at Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216399.A_Maze_of_Death

I think that one of the most glaring irregularity is PK Dick's treatment of women. The only aspect of Dick's female characters is important is that they are physically beautiful. One of the people on the 'ship/planet' is a woman who is portrayed as 'the town whore'. 

The best part of the book is its' brevity. Slightly less than two hundred pages was just enough. 

The copy that I have is falling apart, but I think I'll keep it because I liked it.