VALIS discussion

Hi,

I have a question about this book. I've not yet read it, but really want to. In fact, I just purchased it, but probably won't get around to opening it until May. My question is, can this book stand alone? I read that it is the first of a trilogy, but are the second two books necessary to the story a la, Lord of the Rings, or are they simply optional sequels? Also, are they of the same quality as VALIS, or are they less?

Thanks in advance!

Hi!

People use to say that Valis belongs to a trilogy because it shares the same topics with the next two books the author wrote, basically God, religion and metaphysics. The characters, the story and the context are totally different between them and you can read any of these books separately from the other.

Valis is one of the best books that I've ever read, so I hope that you will like it. By the way, it's not an easy book to read and I highly recommend to know previously who was the author and what happened to him in life. It helps to understand why he wrote Valis and what were his worries.

I am going to read VALIS a second time. Horselover Fat is without doubt one of the finest creations in literature. The only way to know the true Philip K. Dick is to read VALIS. People say that he was crazy; but if he was crazy, he was also brilliant.

The rest of the books aren't even sequels, they are just similar books. There are some editions/sets that include the "religious" last books of PKD(after his "vision") but there is no trilogy or something.

Richard wrote: "I don't trust the third book since it was finished by his ex-wife but that is me. I loved the first two. You should just read it then move onto the second when you have a chance or just stick with ..."

This is not correct. The Transmigration of Timothy Archer was completed a year before Dick's death. However, he was working on a novel, The Owl in Daylight, which his ex-wife attempted to have completed but because there was no outline it never was.

I think the unfinished book Richard refers to is "Radio Free Ablemuth".

The unfinished book was The Owl In Daylight. He never actually started it, but Dick did a lot of his writing in his head. He would have it completely plotted in his head before he started writing. He shared most of it with his 5th wife, Tessa B. Dick. She wrote a few novels herself in preparation to writing The Owl In Daylight based on story notes and what he shared with her verbally. She completed it a few years ago and self-published it, first as a sampler of just half the novel, then in its entirety. I think it was probably done as print-on-demand, so there are very few copies out there and they go for a lot of money on Amazon and Abebooks. I own the sampler, but somehow missed buying the full version when it came out. Argh!

Radio Free Albemuth was completed. It was Dick's first attempt to deal with the subject matter in Valis. It was published posthumously from a corrected manuscript Dick gave to Tim Powers. It was originally called Valisystem A, but was re titled to avoid confusion with Valis.

I believe it's still debated whether the third book in the trilogy is The Transmigration of Timothy Archer or The Owl In Daylight. I think there are letters supporting both positions. I could be getting this part wrong, though. It's been a while since I looked at these.

But back to your initial question. The three books are really just a thematic trilogy. They all stand alone.

David wrote: "The unfinished book was The Owl In Daylight. He never actually started it, but Dick did a lot of his writing in his head. He would have it completely plotted in his head before he started writing. ..."

Goodreads refers to The Transfiguration as the third novel but it is true The Owl in Daylight was meant to be part of the same trilogy.

Christopher wrote: "David wrote: "The unfinished book was The Owl In Daylight. He never actually started it, but Dick did a lot of his writing in his head. He would have it completely plotted in his head before he sta..."

There was definitely some confusion between references in his letters and assumptions made by publishers about Transmigration and Owl. I have all 6 volumes of his collected letters, which can be pretty interesting reading during this time period.

I have those collected letter volumes myself, as well as both of the Exegesis compilations.

Oh, that's right, "VALIS" was the rewrite for "Radio Free Albemuth".

Haven't some people in the past claimed that "Divine Invasion" was part of the "trilogy"?

Jordi wrote: "Hi!

People use to say that Valis belongs to a trilogy because it shares the same topics with the next two books the author wrote, basically God, religion and metaphysics. The characters, the story..."

I think that Valis One helps create clarity for Valis II... and the background noise for the second novel is created through the first one. But you are right in that one can read them in any order.

Just read Valis for the second time. It was even more enjoyable than the first time!

Mind-bending stuff.

I should get around to VALIS a second time sometime in the new year.

Douglas wrote: "Hi,

I have a question about this book. I've not yet read it, but really want to. In fact, I just purchased it, but probably won't get around to opening it until May. My question is, can this book..."

Yes, VALIS was intended to stand alone.