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A review by kerrygold
The World Jones Made by Philip K. Dick
5.0
The World Jones Made, initially published in 1956, was the second novel of Philip K. Dick. I have been planning to reread his novels in order of publication; Solar Lottery was the first, which I’ve already read and reviewed.
Both Solar Lottery and The World Jones Made involve a dystopian world government. In Solar Lottery, the head of government is chosen randomly, but is thereafter dodging legal, organized assassination, until one of the assassins is successful. Then, chance selects the next leader. Solar Lottery is very simple, politically.
The World Jones Made is more complex. The government in the first part of the book follows the doctrine of Relativism, in which everyone pursues their own preferences, it being a crime to restrict someone's individualism. However, PKD just touches on the nature of Relativism, and I wish he had developed the idea further.
The story, presumably, takes place some time after a nuclear war—PKD describes a grotesque collection of mutants in a carnival. Jones is one of the mutants, because of his unique ability to see a year into the future.
Jones’ special power, however, is more interesting than simple prescience—it’s as though he were living in the future and remembering the present. This is a typical PKD idea, in which he plays with the nature of reality. What after all does it mean to live in the future and remember the present? The White Queen in Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass has the ability to remember the future, which perhaps was the inspiration for PKD.
Jones ends up as the head of an authoritarian government. He scapegoats a seemingly benign alien lifeform consisting of giant single cells. Billions of these single cells are drifting through the Solar System, and some of these “Drifters” are landing on Earth. This alien “pollen” is destroyed by Jones’ mobs. It turns out these single cells are deeply significant, and Jones has miscalculated.
An interesting subplot is the little Venusian colony, consisting of genetically altered humans who can thrive in the Venusian climate and chemistry. The Venusian saga isn’t an arbitrary subplot, and it gives the story a symmetrical aspect, which is apparent only at the end.
Additionally, on Venus, one of the single-cell Drifters impregnates what is presumably a Drifter egg, leading to the rapid growth of something monstrous. A loose end of the story is that PKD never tells us what becomes of this alien growth. In Solar Lottery, the alien presence is mentioned briefly, and only at the end. PKD more strongly identifies the alien Drifters in The World Jones Made, and carries forward their story somewhat, even though we are left wondering.
Lastly, the cover of my physical copy of the book, the New English Library edition of 1976, is designed by Terry Oakes. It shows a very 1970’s Jones in full dictator regalia. Perhaps it is the best of the covers of the various editions of The World Jones Made.
Both Solar Lottery and The World Jones Made involve a dystopian world government. In Solar Lottery, the head of government is chosen randomly, but is thereafter dodging legal, organized assassination, until one of the assassins is successful. Then, chance selects the next leader. Solar Lottery is very simple, politically.
The World Jones Made is more complex. The government in the first part of the book follows the doctrine of Relativism, in which everyone pursues their own preferences, it being a crime to restrict someone's individualism. However, PKD just touches on the nature of Relativism, and I wish he had developed the idea further.
The story, presumably, takes place some time after a nuclear war—PKD describes a grotesque collection of mutants in a carnival. Jones is one of the mutants, because of his unique ability to see a year into the future.
Jones’ special power, however, is more interesting than simple prescience—it’s as though he were living in the future and remembering the present. This is a typical PKD idea, in which he plays with the nature of reality. What after all does it mean to live in the future and remember the present? The White Queen in Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking-Glass has the ability to remember the future, which perhaps was the inspiration for PKD.
Jones ends up as the head of an authoritarian government. He scapegoats a seemingly benign alien lifeform consisting of giant single cells. Billions of these single cells are drifting through the Solar System, and some of these “Drifters” are landing on Earth. This alien “pollen” is destroyed by Jones’ mobs. It turns out these single cells are deeply significant, and Jones has miscalculated.
An interesting subplot is the little Venusian colony, consisting of genetically altered humans who can thrive in the Venusian climate and chemistry. The Venusian saga isn’t an arbitrary subplot, and it gives the story a symmetrical aspect, which is apparent only at the end.
Additionally, on Venus, one of the single-cell Drifters impregnates what is presumably a Drifter egg, leading to the rapid growth of something monstrous. A loose end of the story is that PKD never tells us what becomes of this alien growth. In Solar Lottery, the alien presence is mentioned briefly, and only at the end. PKD more strongly identifies the alien Drifters in The World Jones Made, and carries forward their story somewhat, even though we are left wondering.
Lastly, the cover of my physical copy of the book, the New English Library edition of 1976, is designed by Terry Oakes. It shows a very 1970’s Jones in full dictator regalia. Perhaps it is the best of the covers of the various editions of The World Jones Made.