The Cosmic Puppets

PKD is primarily known these days for his sci-fi. The Cosmic Puppets is probably his only attempt at a fantasy novel. One of his earlier and less well known works, the immaturity of the prose is definitely evident, but the wild ‘what if' ideas that characterize his best sci-fi works is absolutely present.

Here we are playing with the ideas of creation. The whole story steeped in heavy Zoroastrian imagery - the cosmic battle between light and dark - this time played out in a kind of urban fantasy setting. The idea of ‘what is real?' is something that PKD plays with a lot over the years. It is intriguing to see his early ideas on this front. The concepts have evolved into much more well fleshed out examples in his later works, but seeing how he has previously explored them is definitely interesting.

This is certainly not one of his best books. His prose is weak, the setting dated. However, seeing where some his more famous ideas started being developed is certainly fun for people who like his works.

An early novel from Dick, but a world away from the pulpy space operas prevalent in the 1950s. This initially reads like an episode of The Twilight Zone, with Ted Burton, our protagonist, returning to his small hometown for the first time in 18 years. Accompanied by his wife, he finds that nothing is familiar. Literally nothing. The street he grew up on doesn’t exist. His old house is gone. Even the shops, the people are all different.

Confused and scared, he resolves to investigate, depositing his wife in another town first. And from here on is it gets progressively stranger, until by the end we have a full on cosmic horror story involving tiny golems, animal mind control and warring gods.

Yes, even in the 50s Dick was way ahead of his contemporaries in many ways. The Cosmic Puppets is a quick read, hugely entertaining and although a minor work, still well worth your time.