The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle

1962 • 239 pages

Ratings350

Average rating3.5

15

The Man in the High Castle is an alternate history novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. Published and set in 1962, the novel takes place fifteen years after an alternative ending to World War II, and concerns intrigues between the victorious Axis Powers—primarily, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany—as they rule over the former United States, as well as daily life under the resulting totalitarian rule. The Man in the High Castle won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1963. Beginning in 2015, the book was adapted as a multi-season TV series, with Dick's daughter, Isa Dick Hackett, serving as one of the show's producers.

Reported inspirations include Ward Moore's alternate Civil War history, Bring the Jubilee (1953), various classic World War II histories, and the I Ching (referred to in the novel). The novel features a "novel within the novel" comprising an alternate history within this alternate history wherein the Allies defeat the Axis (though in a manner distinct from the actual historical outcome).

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What if the Axis powers had won the second world war? Dick's brilliant dystopian novel paint a chilling picture of an alternate reality where America is ruled by the Japanese and the Nazis control Europe. But is it real or just a shadow world? One of Dick's best novels.

The TV-on-the-Internet show is better.

February 29, 2016
June 27, 2016