Clans of the Alphane Moon

Beware. If you have a slightly twisted sense of humour, reading this book could make you seriously addicted to Mr. Dick. It was the first of his I read, and I ended up befriending a second-hand book dealer just to get hold of some of his rarer books. Sad but true. You have been warned.

This is one of Dick's funniest novels, in spite of the fact that the plot centers on a lethal marital relationship-Chuck and Mary Rittersdorf are actually trying to kill each other. He is depressed and resigned in the midst of their breakup; she is bitchy and vindictive, planning to take him for all he is worth and more. Their showdown culminates out on the distant moon Alpha III M2, a former hospital world inhabited entirely by the clinically insane. The former patients have adapted well to having been left alone by psychiatrists, living in relative peace with each other by grouping into different "clans" according to their psychosis. Their social functions are defined by their type of abnormality. For example, the Pares (paranoids) live in Adolfville and constitute the statesman class. But there is nothing inherently crazier about their society than the one we find on Earth. It should be noted that the sanest and most empathetic character in the book is Lord Running Clam, a telepathic Ganymedean slime mold, who saves Chuck from suicide and lines him up with a more compatible woman. This is classic PKD with all his usual neuroses but also a good dose of humor and hope.

CLANS OF THE ALPHANE MOON has so many hysterical, sarcastic and insightful passages you'll want to memorize most of the book. It's a wild, weird, quick read that is a great introduction to Philip K. Dick for someone who wants to jump into the fanaticism headfirst. Those not quite ready for complete immersion in the reality shattering world of Philip K. Dick should look at "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" or "Time Out Of Joint" and then read "Clans", but don't skip this one. It's a real joy to read. Philip K. Dick's death is our loss!

After reading the Valis trilogy a few years back, I ...started the first couple chapters and wasn't very impressed; so I put it aside and read some other stuff. I always meant to get back to it - and now I finally did. I don't know what I was thinking!!! This book is typical PKD genius - Philosophy, theology, madness, and above all the looming question of "What is real?" - this book has it all. And delivered in a riveting, fast-paced and dizzying style. Even at it's most basic level - a story about a divorced man, down on his luck, trying to cope in a run down apartment - this novel succeeds. This book is one of Dick's best...

In spite of many an opinion that this is a post-mortem revival of an unpublished work (I also have a paperback copy from 1964), this is an excellent example of the development of PKD as a writer during this period. The characterizations are crisp and well representational of our own inner reflections of his personal struggle as an independant thinker in a disfunctional world. A brilliant satire of the modern insistence of society to pigeonhole its members, the conflicts and characters show early keys to understanding the developement of later efforts in his writings.