- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (8 Jun 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0575076720
- ISBN-13: 978-0575076723
- Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.8 x 19.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 93,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Zap Gun (GOLLANCZ S.F.)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
‘The most brilliant sci-fi mind on any planet’
Rolling Stone
‘If it is ideas that you want then Philip K. Dick is the author to read’
Vector
Book Description
Philip K. Dick's scathing satire of the arms race.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Dick here writes about the arms race as it might have gone, if the world had been another. Here, psychics are used to create new and terrifying weapons, but the only problem is that our hero, the Wes-block's Lars Powderdry, is a failure. His weapons do not work but nobody knows except him.
This is of course a problem when the Sirius Slavers arrive and West and East have to work together.
While this is not one of Dick's best books, he is still one of the best sf writers around. As always, everything is turned upside down at the end of the book, as always you are still caught off guard when it happens and of course the Sirius Slavers are secondary to the book. The real enjoyable part of the book is the ill-concealed ridiculing of the arms race between USA and Soviet. And don't forget, this book was written in 1965, while the Cold War was still happening.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Zap Gun is another Philip K Dick novel bursting with great ideas but flawed by a lack of storyline. Was this book haphazardly written, or haphazardly edited? The premise is masterful, and the ending, which builds directly on the premise, is outstanding. But there's an awful lot of bits of pieces of plot between the two.
It's not that Dick doesn't have enough plot ideas to make it work. Rather, he sets off on lots of plot excursions which don't really go anywhere, and don't contribute to the overall mood or direction of the book.
Despite everything I enjoyed this novel, and I've read it about four times now. The double premise - a toy maker who can't design a toy simple enough to sell, and weapons designers who design in a trance and are unable to design a weapon that works - is intriguing enough, and the eventual resolution is excellent.
I suppose my final comment is - this would have made a great short story, if only Dick had had the self-discipline to cut out the unnecessary.
Format:Paperback
"After the Plowshare Protocols way back in 2002, Lars Powderdry, Wes-bloc's brilliant weapons fashion designer, has been inventing elaborate devices that only seem to be massively lethal. And the deception is taking a heavy toll of his personal life. But whan alien satellites appear in the sky and it's clear that they aren't friendly, the world suddenly needs military might like never before. So, Wes-bloc and Peep-East temporarily patch up their differences and Lars meets up with Lilo Topchev, his eastern counterpart, in the hope that they can create a weapon to save the world. It's a difficult task made even trickier by Lars falling in love with Lilo even though he knows she is trying to kill him...."
-- from back cover
Philip K Dick's twentieth published novel, written in 1964 and published in 1967. The Zap Gun deals with a number of Dick's favourite themes, amongst others, truth, reality and political manipulation, drugs, times travel etc. As with all PKD's works this novel makes you marvel at his imagination but also (if you are of a philosophical turn of mind) brings you to question and consider the themes he raises for yourself.
"At a time when most 20th-century science fiction writers seem hopelessly dated, Dick gives us a vision of the future that captures the feel of our time."
--Wired
"The finest American novelist of our time."
--Hartford Advocate
"Hilarious and wildly brilliant"
--Lawrence Sutin, Divine Invasions
If you are new to Philip K Dick's work I would also recommend the following novels (which generally seem to be regarded as among his best):
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
Ubik (S.F. Masterworks)
A Scanner Darkly (S.F. Masterworks)
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (S.F. Masterworks)
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said (S.F. Masterworks)
That said, though some of PKD's works are better than others, to my mind they are all well worth reading. I would also recommend his short story collections:
Beyond Lies The Wub: Volume One Of The Collected Short Stories
Second Variety: Volume Two Of The Collected Short Stories
The Father-Thing: Volume Three Of The Collected Short Stories
Minority Report: Volume Four Of The Collected Short Stories
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale: Volume Five of The Collected Short Stories
-- from back cover
Philip K Dick's twentieth published novel, written in 1964 and published in 1967. The Zap Gun deals with a number of Dick's favourite themes, amongst others, truth, reality and political manipulation, drugs, times travel etc. As with all PKD's works this novel makes you marvel at his imagination but also (if you are of a philosophical turn of mind) brings you to question and consider the themes he raises for yourself.
"At a time when most 20th-century science fiction writers seem hopelessly dated, Dick gives us a vision of the future that captures the feel of our time."
--Wired
"The finest American novelist of our time."
--Hartford Advocate
"Hilarious and wildly brilliant"
--Lawrence Sutin, Divine Invasions
If you are new to Philip K Dick's work I would also recommend the following novels (which generally seem to be regarded as among his best):
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
Ubik (S.F. Masterworks)
A Scanner Darkly (S.F. Masterworks)
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (S.F. Masterworks)
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said (S.F. Masterworks)
That said, though some of PKD's works are better than others, to my mind they are all well worth reading. I would also recommend his short story collections:
Beyond Lies The Wub: Volume One Of The Collected Short Stories
Second Variety: Volume Two Of The Collected Short Stories
The Father-Thing: Volume Three Of The Collected Short Stories
Minority Report: Volume Four Of The Collected Short Stories
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale: Volume Five of The Collected Short Stories
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Drug infused weapons design
An incredible writer, but not perhaps his best or most accessible book. The narrative is loaded with ideas and dense with new language which makes it a little difficult to follow... Read more
Published on 31 May 2007 by Glaucon
Sci-Fi Classic
A classic of the genre and one that readers really should get round to. A man who defined the world in a way that few others have done is one that really should be listened too... Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2006 by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
Hilariously funny
The target of this satirical novel is the arm's race, and the main character is a famous weapons' fashion designer. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2006 by Gerdas Mattias
SF NOVELS OPUS FIFTEEN
THE ZAP GUN reminded me a lot of another PKD novel published in the same year 1965 : DR. BLOODMONEY. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2003 by Daniel S.
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