the tale continues, 04 Nov 2008
Its been about a year since i read the gunslinger born. In the time between reading that ad this, the long road home i have read 5 stephen king novels, and a multitude of marvel graphic novels. They were good, but the are all just a pillar for this.

In my own opinion, surely not everyones, but if your reading this you might agree, that the dark tower series is one of the best fantasy series of all time. The question is what does the long road home add to that?

Without ruining the story, ill say that it adds a considerable amount of knowledge we previously never had about the crimson king, as well as doing what it says on the cover, adding to the gap years between the barony of mejis and jericho hill.

I do have to say the artwork is once again brilliant, with a lot of effort being put into the book. Once again hard bound in leather straight away you are getting value for money. The writing is good, but recognisably comic dialogue rather than novel dialogue. Its snappish, witty, and not a word is ever wasted.

There are 2 bad points about this book though, as happy as i am with it. The first is that the plotline is very thin. not a lot really happens, i can see this being a set-up for another book down the line. The other thing is i dont see it being instantly accessible to those who have never read the novels. There are references to other books than the wizard and glass in here.

One final thing, at the back is a map, which shows the path roland took on his journey in wolves of calla, song of susannah and the dark tower.

Even if you arent a fan of graphic novels in the slightest if you want the dark tower you will enjoy this.

A long road ahead, 10 Oct 2008

"The Gunslinger Born" explored the origins and early struggles of young Roland Deschain, as well as the loss of his first true love, Susan Delgado.

And Stephen King's "Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" picks up right after that, showing us more devastating events that shaped Roland Deschain into the gunslinger anti-hero we know and love. While the first part is rather slow, it has plenty of horrific moments and the haunting quality of a "world that has moved on."

A devastated Roland takes down Susan's charred body, as Alain and Bert argue about whether they should be stopping. But suddenly Roland fires at Maerlyn's Grapefruit -- which suddenly turns into a tentacled eyeball that jumps on Roland's face, and enthralls his very soul before they can peel it off. His ka-tet is chased by a bunch of local thugs, the last Big Coffin Hunter, and a ghastly pack of mutated wolves.

Nearby, a mentally challenged boy named Sheemie was seen climbing into old war machines, only to encounter a strange robot that is somehow still "alive."And inside Maerlyn's Grapefruit, Roland is slowly being driven mad in his own memories -- right before being dragged to the hellish citadel of the Crimson King, who reveals a ghastly secret to the young boy from long ago, which will change him forever...

"The Dark Tower: Long Road Home" isn't quite as gripping as its predecessor, "The Gunslinger Born" -- partly because it's a briefer story, and partly because it's simpler. It's a tribute to Stephen King's original story -- and to the hauntingly vivid artwork -- that it's still such an intense rollercoaster ride.

After the heartbreaking first few pages, the plot speeds into a suitably confusing, desperate chase through a lonely wilderness, with plenty of gunshots and dying creatures. Things actually get rather gory as Roland's pals struggle over rickety bridges and across a red-tinged wilderness, since one of them almost gets his arm bitten off (and announces that he'd rather die than shoot left-handed forever. Hardcore, kid).

And since this is a world made by Stephen King, we have plenty of the eerie and the horrible -- Sheemie's confrontation with a baby-faced robot is just one example. King's rich, old-time narrative translates well into comic form, almost as if he were conversing with the readers ("But don't be laughing at Sheemie, I beg ya, because he's been through considerable trials").

And Jae Lee and Richard Isanove really bring this story to life -- they create a world split between bright bloody red mist and autumnal twilight, filled with shadowy faces, barren lands, and ghastly pursuers. And inside the Grapefruit, we get a full cornucopia of horrors, with Roland defiantly trying to keep his sanity and soul intact in a dusty, hazy landscape full of withered trees, tragic future selves, evil crows, lumpy castles, and the vaguely spidery King with his hellish magic and his suitably evil offers to Roland.

"The Gunslinger Born" introduced Roland as a boy, but "The Long Road Home" has undeniably made him a man. He has the guts and integrity to snarl not just at Marte but at the King himself. And after being in Roland's shadow for so long, Alain and Cuthbert also get to take center stage here -- we get to see just how strong and capable they are.

"Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" is not as tightly-written as its predecessor, but it's filled with a sense of overhanging horror and some solid action for the sidekicks. Definitely worth checking out.

the tale continues, 04 Nov 2008
Its been about a year since i read the gunslinger born. In the time between reading that ad this, the long road home i have read 5 stephen king novels, and a multitude of marvel graphic novels. They were good, but the are all just a pillar for this.

In my own opinion, surely not everyones, but if your reading this you might agree, that the dark tower series is one of the best fantasy series of all time. The question is what does the long road home add to that?

Without ruining the story, ill say that it adds a considerable amount of knowledge we previously never had about the crimson king, as well as doing what it says on the cover, adding to the gap years between the barony of mejis and jericho hill.

I do have to say the artwork is once again brilliant, with a lot of effort being put into the book. Once again hard bound in leather straight away you are getting value for money. The writing is good, but recognisably comic dialogue rather than novel dialogue. Its snappish, witty, and not a word is ever wasted.

There are 2 bad points about this book though, as happy as i am with it. The first is that the plotline is very thin. not a lot really happens, i can see this being a set-up for another book down the line. The other thing is i dont see it being instantly accessible to those who have never read the novels. There are references to other books than the wizard and glass in here.

One final thing, at the back is a map, which shows the path roland took on his journey in wolves of calla, song of susannah and the dark tower.

Even if you arent a fan of graphic novels in the slightest if you want the dark tower you will enjoy this.

A long road ahead, 10 Oct 2008

"The Gunslinger Born" explored the origins and early struggles of young Roland Deschain, as well as the loss of his first true love, Susan Delgado.

And Stephen King's "Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" picks up right after that, showing us more devastating events that shaped Roland Deschain into the gunslinger anti-hero we know and love. While the first part is rather slow, it has plenty of horrific moments and the haunting quality of a "world that has moved on."

A devastated Roland takes down Susan's charred body, as Alain and Bert argue about whether they should be stopping. But suddenly Roland fires at Maerlyn's Grapefruit -- which suddenly turns into a tentacled eyeball that jumps on Roland's face, and enthralls his very soul before they can peel it off. His ka-tet is chased by a bunch of local thugs, the last Big Coffin Hunter, and a ghastly pack of mutated wolves.

Nearby, a mentally challenged boy named Sheemie was seen climbing into old war machines, only to encounter a strange robot that is somehow still "alive."And inside Maerlyn's Grapefruit, Roland is slowly being driven mad in his own memories -- right before being dragged to the hellish citadel of the Crimson King, who reveals a ghastly secret to the young boy from long ago, which will change him forever...

"The Dark Tower: Long Road Home" isn't quite as gripping as its predecessor, "The Gunslinger Born" -- partly because it's a briefer story, and partly because it's simpler. It's a tribute to Stephen King's original story -- and to the hauntingly vivid artwork -- that it's still such an intense rollercoaster ride.

After the heartbreaking first few pages, the plot speeds into a suitably confusing, desperate chase through a lonely wilderness, with plenty of gunshots and dying creatures. Things actually get rather gory as Roland's pals struggle over rickety bridges and across a red-tinged wilderness, since one of them almost gets his arm bitten off (and announces that he'd rather die than shoot left-handed forever. Hardcore, kid).

And since this is a world made by Stephen King, we have plenty of the eerie and the horrible -- Sheemie's confrontation with a baby-faced robot is just one example. King's rich, old-time narrative translates well into comic form, almost as if he were conversing with the readers ("But don't be laughing at Sheemie, I beg ya, because he's been through considerable trials").

And Jae Lee and Richard Isanove really bring this story to life -- they create a world split between bright bloody red mist and autumnal twilight, filled with shadowy faces, barren lands, and ghastly pursuers. And inside the Grapefruit, we get a full cornucopia of horrors, with Roland defiantly trying to keep his sanity and soul intact in a dusty, hazy landscape full of withered trees, tragic future selves, evil crows, lumpy castles, and the vaguely spidery King with his hellish magic and his suitably evil offers to Roland.

"The Gunslinger Born" introduced Roland as a boy, but "The Long Road Home" has undeniably made him a man. He has the guts and integrity to snarl not just at Marte but at the King himself. And after being in Roland's shadow for so long, Alain and Cuthbert also get to take center stage here -- we get to see just how strong and capable they are.

"Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" is not as tightly-written as its predecessor, but it's filled with a sense of overhanging horror and some solid action for the sidekicks. Definitely worth checking out.

Great concept, poorly executed, 09 Jan 2009
Philip K Dick is has written some truly outstanding books and so I was expecting great things from this. Alas the concept is far better than the book itself. Pitching a scenario where the Allies lost the Second World War and America had been calved up between the Germans and the Japanese sounds truly fantastic. Unfortunately the scenarios are reduced to the every day meanderings of an array of one dimensional characters and ultimate the quest of Juliana Frink to meet the illusive "Man in the High Castle", the writer of the illusive "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" - which as a paradox is a novel depicting if the allies had won the war. Alas the book ultimately ends with a bit of an anti-climax.

Maybe the fact that the story is told in trivialities is the whole point. To the every day person on living in a Japanese occupied territory, decades after the event, maybe aside from getting used to a different culture, life wouldn't be that much different. Unfortunately for me it didn't make good reading, purely because I found it very difficult to emphasise with the characters.

What If...?, 24 May 2008

This was the third Philip K Dick novel I have read. This novel was very interesting from an historical point of view and I became engrossed with the main characters. However I believe that this shouldn't be the first Philip K dick you should read, I think that "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is a far better book.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover... but isn't the cover just brilliant?

Please read this book... it gives a clever and witty insight of how the world would have been if Germany won WW2.

4 Stars


Pure Genius?, 16 Mar 2008
I first read this in my teens, and I think that much of the subtlety passed me by. I have just aquired a new copy from Amazon,decorated with one of the most un-pc book sleeves you are likely to come across ( not a "tube-reader" folks)! I have just finished reading it, and well, this is clearly a work of genius. The book for anyone who hasn't yet read it, contrasts a novel, The Grasshopper Lies Down, about our post-1945 world; within a novel where the Axis powers won the Second World War. Japanese- controlled West Coast of USA is honourable,spiritual and superstitious, and speak in clipped English; whereas the Nazi-controlled Eastern seaboard is materialistic and technologically advanced. Africa has been obliterated as an extension of the Final Solution. Dick's book questions the exact nature of history and reality; that what is real is only relative to the individuals own experience.
I have to say that I didn't wholly understand the ending; if anyone can explain this I would be grateful! I have read lengthy reviews which suggest that the world in Abendson's book is in fact, the real history of the 20th century. But this doesn't work for me.
If you think the previous paragraph contradicts my praise for this book, you are missing the point. It is a process-based novel and the ending is largely irrelevant, in my opinion anyway.
Has this novel ever been made into a film?
If not, why?




Not bad, not great, 14 Feb 2008
From most of the reviews on this site and being a huge fan of AH I had high hopes for this book, but I felt let down.
Instead of a novel its more like a collection of stories that are slightly interwoven - characters from a few of the stories appear in others, but that's about it. I enjoyed all of these stories, the characters were well thought, as were the situations, the use of the I Ching was a great way to show how the Japanese affected American culture, although it appeared to be an ancient version of a horoscope in its vague superstitions, so I didn't actually like the way the story was so driven by it. The problems occur towards the end of the novel, when most of these stories just stop, without any sort of ending to that particular part of the overall story, that's it, they end. This doesn't happen until quite close to the end of the novel and its brought to the finish by a story which doesn't seem that important when it starts, but in my opinion becomes the most important story in the novel, and is the only one which comes to any sort of conclusion. The ending leaves quite a few questions, and as its quite a short book, I thought it could have been fleshed out at least a little by answering those questions and telling us what happened to most of the other characters in the other stories.
Reading the mostly positive reviews here and elsewhere I cant help feel I missed something reading this book, or maybe I misunderstood it. It isnt bad by any means, its ok, but thats about the best I can say about it.

World War II - but not as we know it., 10 Oct 2007
You may never have come across the work of Philip K Dick before, indeed you may know nothing about this writer, but then again, if you have seen the film Blade Runner, perhaps you have. Blade Runner is a movie that was based on another of Mister Dick's work: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

The Man in the High Castle suggests that the Axis forces won World War II. The United States is split into three, the western part, now the Pacific States of America is Japanese dominated, while the eastern section has become part of Greater Germany, as indeed has Great Britain and all of Europe. Only the central part of the USA retains some form of freedom. Ultimately a recipe for conflict between the two superpowers and in that conclusion you would be right.

The book is set in the early sixties and you might think it owes something to Robert Harris's Fatherland, until you notice that this book was in fact first released in 1962. Perhaps it was the other way round as far as that is concerned. Hitler is still alive, but locked away in an Asylum suffering from Alzheimer's, leaving the way clear for yet another power struggle between the equally awful wannabes.

Some of the hellish results of this possible outcome to World War II act as a timely reminder of just why it was so important that this imagined result never came to pass. I came to this book through the 2001 re-release, and I am so glad I did.

Mister Dick lived a turbulent and all too short life, passing away aged just fifty-three in 1982. He somehow managed to fit in five wives and write more than thirty-five novels, (only one of which sold well during his lifetime), despite bouts of serious depression and periods of drug dependency. He craved success, as so many writers do, and no doubt he would have gained great satisfaction from the worldwide sales his books boast today.

If you enjoy novels about World War II where the writer imagines different scenarios to those that actually took place, or indeed if you like "What ifs" about any historic event, then The Man in the High Castle will not disappoint you, or may be it will, but then again...

I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you have the opportunity, read it, and make up your own mind.


The Man in the High Castle
Philip K Dick
ISBN: 0141186674

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a book that most people think they remember, and almost always get more or less wrong. Ridley Scott's film Blade Runner took a lot from it, and threw a lot away; wonderful in itself, it is a flash thriller where Dick's novel is a sober meditation. As we all know, bounty hunter Rick Deckard is stalking a group of androids returned from space with short life spans and murder on their minds--where Scott's Deckard was Harrison Ford, Dick's is a financially over-stretched municipal employee with bills to pay and a depressed wife. In a world where most animals have died, and pet-keeping is a social duty, he can only afford a robot imitation, unless he gets a big financial break. The genetically warped "chickenhead" John Isidore has visions of a tomb-world where entropy has finally won. And everyone plugs in to the spiritual agony of Mercer, whose sufferings for the sins of humanity are broadcast several times a day. Prefiguring the religious obsessions of Dick's last novels, this asks dark questions about identity and altruism. After all, is it right to kill the killers just because Mercer says so? --Roz Kaveney

the tale continues, 04 Nov 2008
Its been about a year since i read the gunslinger born. In the time between reading that ad this, the long road home i have read 5 stephen king novels, and a multitude of marvel graphic novels. They were good, but the are all just a pillar for this.

In my own opinion, surely not everyones, but if your reading this you might agree, that the dark tower series is one of the best fantasy series of all time. The question is what does the long road home add to that?

Without ruining the story, ill say that it adds a considerable amount of knowledge we previously never had about the crimson king, as well as doing what it says on the cover, adding to the gap years between the barony of mejis and jericho hill.

I do have to say the artwork is once again brilliant, with a lot of effort being put into the book. Once again hard bound in leather straight away you are getting value for money. The writing is good, but recognisably comic dialogue rather than novel dialogue. Its snappish, witty, and not a word is ever wasted.

There are 2 bad points about this book though, as happy as i am with it. The first is that the plotline is very thin. not a lot really happens, i can see this being a set-up for another book down the line. The other thing is i dont see it being instantly accessible to those who have never read the novels. There are references to other books than the wizard and glass in here.

One final thing, at the back is a map, which shows the path roland took on his journey in wolves of calla, song of susannah and the dark tower.

Even if you arent a fan of graphic novels in the slightest if you want the dark tower you will enjoy this.

A long road ahead, 10 Oct 2008

"The Gunslinger Born" explored the origins and early struggles of young Roland Deschain, as well as the loss of his first true love, Susan Delgado.

And Stephen King's "Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" picks up right after that, showing us more devastating events that shaped Roland Deschain into the gunslinger anti-hero we know and love. While the first part is rather slow, it has plenty of horrific moments and the haunting quality of a "world that has moved on."

A devastated Roland takes down Susan's charred body, as Alain and Bert argue about whether they should be stopping. But suddenly Roland fires at Maerlyn's Grapefruit -- which suddenly turns into a tentacled eyeball that jumps on Roland's face, and enthralls his very soul before they can peel it off. His ka-tet is chased by a bunch of local thugs, the last Big Coffin Hunter, and a ghastly pack of mutated wolves.

Nearby, a mentally challenged boy named Sheemie was seen climbing into old war machines, only to encounter a strange robot that is somehow still "alive."And inside Maerlyn's Grapefruit, Roland is slowly being driven mad in his own memories -- right before being dragged to the hellish citadel of the Crimson King, who reveals a ghastly secret to the young boy from long ago, which will change him forever...

"The Dark Tower: Long Road Home" isn't quite as gripping as its predecessor, "The Gunslinger Born" -- partly because it's a briefer story, and partly because it's simpler. It's a tribute to Stephen King's original story -- and to the hauntingly vivid artwork -- that it's still such an intense rollercoaster ride.

After the heartbreaking first few pages, the plot speeds into a suitably confusing, desperate chase through a lonely wilderness, with plenty of gunshots and dying creatures. Things actually get rather gory as Roland's pals struggle over rickety bridges and across a red-tinged wilderness, since one of them almost gets his arm bitten off (and announces that he'd rather die than shoot left-handed forever. Hardcore, kid).

And since this is a world made by Stephen King, we have plenty of the eerie and the horrible -- Sheemie's confrontation with a baby-faced robot is just one example. King's rich, old-time narrative translates well into comic form, almost as if he were conversing with the readers ("But don't be laughing at Sheemie, I beg ya, because he's been through considerable trials").

And Jae Lee and Richard Isanove really bring this story to life -- they create a world split between bright bloody red mist and autumnal twilight, filled with shadowy faces, barren lands, and ghastly pursuers. And inside the Grapefruit, we get a full cornucopia of horrors, with Roland defiantly trying to keep his sanity and soul intact in a dusty, hazy landscape full of withered trees, tragic future selves, evil crows, lumpy castles, and the vaguely spidery King with his hellish magic and his suitably evil offers to Roland.

"The Gunslinger Born" introduced Roland as a boy, but "The Long Road Home" has undeniably made him a man. He has the guts and integrity to snarl not just at Marte but at the King himself. And after being in Roland's shadow for so long, Alain and Cuthbert also get to take center stage here -- we get to see just how strong and capable they are.

"Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" is not as tightly-written as its predecessor, but it's filled with a sense of overhanging horror and some solid action for the sidekicks. Definitely worth checking out.

Great concept, poorly executed, 09 Jan 2009
Philip K Dick is has written some truly outstanding books and so I was expecting great things from this. Alas the concept is far better than the book itself. Pitching a scenario where the Allies lost the Second World War and America had been calved up between the Germans and the Japanese sounds truly fantastic. Unfortunately the scenarios are reduced to the every day meanderings of an array of one dimensional characters and ultimate the quest of Juliana Frink to meet the illusive "Man in the High Castle", the writer of the illusive "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" - which as a paradox is a novel depicting if the allies had won the war. Alas the book ultimately ends with a bit of an anti-climax.

Maybe the fact that the story is told in trivialities is the whole point. To the every day person on living in a Japanese occupied territory, decades after the event, maybe aside from getting used to a different culture, life wouldn't be that much different. Unfortunately for me it didn't make good reading, purely because I found it very difficult to emphasise with the characters.

What If...?, 24 May 2008

This was the third Philip K Dick novel I have read. This novel was very interesting from an historical point of view and I became engrossed with the main characters. However I believe that this shouldn't be the first Philip K dick you should read, I think that "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is a far better book.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover... but isn't the cover just brilliant?

Please read this book... it gives a clever and witty insight of how the world would have been if Germany won WW2.

4 Stars


Pure Genius?, 16 Mar 2008
I first read this in my teens, and I think that much of the subtlety passed me by. I have just aquired a new copy from Amazon,decorated with one of the most un-pc book sleeves you are likely to come across ( not a "tube-reader" folks)! I have just finished reading it, and well, this is clearly a work of genius. The book for anyone who hasn't yet read it, contrasts a novel, The Grasshopper Lies Down, about our post-1945 world; within a novel where the Axis powers won the Second World War. Japanese- controlled West Coast of USA is honourable,spiritual and superstitious, and speak in clipped English; whereas the Nazi-controlled Eastern seaboard is materialistic and technologically advanced. Africa has been obliterated as an extension of the Final Solution. Dick's book questions the exact nature of history and reality; that what is real is only relative to the individuals own experience.
I have to say that I didn't wholly understand the ending; if anyone can explain this I would be grateful! I have read lengthy reviews which suggest that the world in Abendson's book is in fact, the real history of the 20th century. But this doesn't work for me.
If you think the previous paragraph contradicts my praise for this book, you are missing the point. It is a process-based novel and the ending is largely irrelevant, in my opinion anyway.
Has this novel ever been made into a film?
If not, why?




Not bad, not great, 14 Feb 2008
From most of the reviews on this site and being a huge fan of AH I had high hopes for this book, but I felt let down.
Instead of a novel its more like a collection of stories that are slightly interwoven - characters from a few of the stories appear in others, but that's about it. I enjoyed all of these stories, the characters were well thought, as were the situations, the use of the I Ching was a great way to show how the Japanese affected American culture, although it appeared to be an ancient version of a horoscope in its vague superstitions, so I didn't actually like the way the story was so driven by it. The problems occur towards the end of the novel, when most of these stories just stop, without any sort of ending to that particular part of the overall story, that's it, they end. This doesn't happen until quite close to the end of the novel and its brought to the finish by a story which doesn't seem that important when it starts, but in my opinion becomes the most important story in the novel, and is the only one which comes to any sort of conclusion. The ending leaves quite a few questions, and as its quite a short book, I thought it could have been fleshed out at least a little by answering those questions and telling us what happened to most of the other characters in the other stories.
Reading the mostly positive reviews here and elsewhere I cant help feel I missed something reading this book, or maybe I misunderstood it. It isnt bad by any means, its ok, but thats about the best I can say about it.

World War II - but not as we know it., 10 Oct 2007
You may never have come across the work of Philip K Dick before, indeed you may know nothing about this writer, but then again, if you have seen the film Blade Runner, perhaps you have. Blade Runner is a movie that was based on another of Mister Dick's work: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

The Man in the High Castle suggests that the Axis forces won World War II. The United States is split into three, the western part, now the Pacific States of America is Japanese dominated, while the eastern section has become part of Greater Germany, as indeed has Great Britain and all of Europe. Only the central part of the USA retains some form of freedom. Ultimately a recipe for conflict between the two superpowers and in that conclusion you would be right.

The book is set in the early sixties and you might think it owes something to Robert Harris's Fatherland, until you notice that this book was in fact first released in 1962. Perhaps it was the other way round as far as that is concerned. Hitler is still alive, but locked away in an Asylum suffering from Alzheimer's, leaving the way clear for yet another power struggle between the equally awful wannabes.

Some of the hellish results of this possible outcome to World War II act as a timely reminder of just why it was so important that this imagined result never came to pass. I came to this book through the 2001 re-release, and I am so glad I did.

Mister Dick lived a turbulent and all too short life, passing away aged just fifty-three in 1982. He somehow managed to fit in five wives and write more than thirty-five novels, (only one of which sold well during his lifetime), despite bouts of serious depression and periods of drug dependency. He craved success, as so many writers do, and no doubt he would have gained great satisfaction from the worldwide sales his books boast today.

If you enjoy novels about World War II where the writer imagines different scenarios to those that actually took place, or indeed if you like "What ifs" about any historic event, then The Man in the High Castle will not disappoint you, or may be it will, but then again...

I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you have the opportunity, read it, and make up your own mind.


The Man in the High Castle
Philip K Dick
ISBN: 0141186674

Science Fiction, Suspense and Philosophy, 09 Nov 2008
I became a rabid fan of Philip K. Dick from the first novel of his that I read. All of his books are excellent, and this one ranks as one of the best. Unlike a lot of sci-fi writers Dick's background is in philosophy which was his major as a student at UCLA Berkeley. The plot of this book is well-known from the movie:the human race in tatters, the natural world is slipping away, androids escape to earth and bounty hunters track them down to eliminate them. The book brings up some interesting questions. Are humans becoming more like machines or machines becoming more like humans? As machines become more human-like do their rights as living creatures increase? Does technology bring us closer to creating life or destroying it? The great thing about Dick books are that the questions they stir in us are endless. From an entertainment point of view this one provides fast dialogue, constant surprises and a perspective like none other.

Empathy, Androids and Enigmas, 17 Jun 2008
The book is a masterwork but do not expect the Bladerunner film. The same ideas and themes are there but they are developed in a different way. The book is more subtle. It explores how empathy is used as the defining test of androids. They are more intelligent than humans but they do not get empathy and so they are dumb. But the interesting thing about empathy is how it affects the "blade runners".

The story is as complex as the film with a parallel world of police and bounty hunters that do not know of each other but that been infiltrated by androids and here for me there is a plot problem, but maybe it isn't maybe Dick meant something else, maybe he meant people to come to the same conclusions as the film but he is not around to ask.

blade runner ?, 18 May 2008
i watched blade runner as a young boy and loved the story , so i thought i would give electric sheep a go , the vision of dick i found is amazing and some of the ideas in the book are starting to come true, but all that said i was disappoint with the book , it was my own fault because i wanted blade runner and got k dicks vision of it . ridley scotts story i found was far developed from the k dick , which is easy really i suppose. but before reading be awhere that this is not blade runner? but with an open mind give it a go.















one of his best, 01 Apr 2008
Forget the film of this book 'Blade Runner'. The book is far stranger, less concerned with style and generally more cerebral and satisfying.
This is to me one of his best novels ('A Scanner Darkly' being the other). It doesn't delve into the religious metaphysical stuff that his later novels do, instead conventrating on the authors usual themes of :
what is reality? how do we recognise or define it? how do i know i am real?
this book almost transcends SciFi, and delves into philosophy.
Essential SciFi.
Highly recommended to everyone.

A gem of a book, 19 Jan 2008
I hadn't read a SciFi of the traditional variety in years, but this was chosen for our bookclub and it was an excellent choice. It should be said that the film (Blade Runner - also a classic) is nothing like the book. The book is really a novella with a futuristic "cowboy" plot - a simple story of bounty hunter searching for outlaws. The depth of the story is in the bleak picture that the author paints of a post-apocalyptic earth where real animals are seen as the ultimate status symbol. Most humans have emigrated off world and those remaining are damaged in some way either physically by the radiation/pollution or emotionally. Very thought provoking. I also enjoyed reading in hindsight about the author's vision of the future 40 years after he wrote it. I loved the idea of a world where androids are so advanced they are almost indistinguishable from humans, but the reports are still typed on carbon paper and the bounty hunter has to call in to base using a coin phone!

the tale continues, 04 Nov 2008
Its been about a year since i read the gunslinger born. In the time between reading that ad this, the long road home i have read 5 stephen king novels, and a multitude of marvel graphic novels. They were good, but the are all just a pillar for this.

In my own opinion, surely not everyones, but if your reading this you might agree, that the dark tower series is one of the best fantasy series of all time. The question is what does the long road home add to that?

Without ruining the story, ill say that it adds a considerable amount of knowledge we previously never had about the crimson king, as well as doing what it says on the cover, adding to the gap years between the barony of mejis and jericho hill.

I do have to say the artwork is once again brilliant, with a lot of effort being put into the book. Once again hard bound in leather straight away you are getting value for money. The writing is good, but recognisably comic dialogue rather than novel dialogue. Its snappish, witty, and not a word is ever wasted.

There are 2 bad points about this book though, as happy as i am with it. The first is that the plotline is very thin. not a lot really happens, i can see this being a set-up for another book down the line. The other thing is i dont see it being instantly accessible to those who have never read the novels. There are references to other books than the wizard and glass in here.

One final thing, at the back is a map, which shows the path roland took on his journey in wolves of calla, song of susannah and the dark tower.

Even if you arent a fan of graphic novels in the slightest if you want the dark tower you will enjoy this.

A long road ahead, 10 Oct 2008

"The Gunslinger Born" explored the origins and early struggles of young Roland Deschain, as well as the loss of his first true love, Susan Delgado.

And Stephen King's "Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" picks up right after that, showing us more devastating events that shaped Roland Deschain into the gunslinger anti-hero we know and love. While the first part is rather slow, it has plenty of horrific moments and the haunting quality of a "world that has moved on."

A devastated Roland takes down Susan's charred body, as Alain and Bert argue about whether they should be stopping. But suddenly Roland fires at Maerlyn's Grapefruit -- which suddenly turns into a tentacled eyeball that jumps on Roland's face, and enthralls his very soul before they can peel it off. His ka-tet is chased by a bunch of local thugs, the last Big Coffin Hunter, and a ghastly pack of mutated wolves.

Nearby, a mentally challenged boy named Sheemie was seen climbing into old war machines, only to encounter a strange robot that is somehow still "alive."And inside Maerlyn's Grapefruit, Roland is slowly being driven mad in his own memories -- right before being dragged to the hellish citadel of the Crimson King, who reveals a ghastly secret to the young boy from long ago, which will change him forever...

"The Dark Tower: Long Road Home" isn't quite as gripping as its predecessor, "The Gunslinger Born" -- partly because it's a briefer story, and partly because it's simpler. It's a tribute to Stephen King's original story -- and to the hauntingly vivid artwork -- that it's still such an intense rollercoaster ride.

After the heartbreaking first few pages, the plot speeds into a suitably confusing, desperate chase through a lonely wilderness, with plenty of gunshots and dying creatures. Things actually get rather gory as Roland's pals struggle over rickety bridges and across a red-tinged wilderness, since one of them almost gets his arm bitten off (and announces that he'd rather die than shoot left-handed forever. Hardcore, kid).

And since this is a world made by Stephen King, we have plenty of the eerie and the horrible -- Sheemie's confrontation with a baby-faced robot is just one example. King's rich, old-time narrative translates well into comic form, almost as if he were conversing with the readers ("But don't be laughing at Sheemie, I beg ya, because he's been through considerable trials").

And Jae Lee and Richard Isanove really bring this story to life -- they create a world split between bright bloody red mist and autumnal twilight, filled with shadowy faces, barren lands, and ghastly pursuers. And inside the Grapefruit, we get a full cornucopia of horrors, with Roland defiantly trying to keep his sanity and soul intact in a dusty, hazy landscape full of withered trees, tragic future selves, evil crows, lumpy castles, and the vaguely spidery King with his hellish magic and his suitably evil offers to Roland.

"The Gunslinger Born" introduced Roland as a boy, but "The Long Road Home" has undeniably made him a man. He has the guts and integrity to snarl not just at Marte but at the King himself. And after being in Roland's shadow for so long, Alain and Cuthbert also get to take center stage here -- we get to see just how strong and capable they are.

"Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" is not as tightly-written as its predecessor, but it's filled with a sense of overhanging horror and some solid action for the sidekicks. Definitely worth checking out.

Great concept, poorly executed, 09 Jan 2009
Philip K Dick is has written some truly outstanding books and so I was expecting great things from this. Alas the concept is far better than the book itself. Pitching a scenario where the Allies lost the Second World War and America had been calved up between the Germans and the Japanese sounds truly fantastic. Unfortunately the scenarios are reduced to the every day meanderings of an array of one dimensional characters and ultimate the quest of Juliana Frink to meet the illusive "Man in the High Castle", the writer of the illusive "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" - which as a paradox is a novel depicting if the allies had won the war. Alas the book ultimately ends with a bit of an anti-climax.

Maybe the fact that the story is told in trivialities is the whole point. To the every day person on living in a Japanese occupied territory, decades after the event, maybe aside from getting used to a different culture, life wouldn't be that much different. Unfortunately for me it didn't make good reading, purely because I found it very difficult to emphasise with the characters.

What If...?, 24 May 2008

This was the third Philip K Dick novel I have read. This novel was very interesting from an historical point of view and I became engrossed with the main characters. However I believe that this shouldn't be the first Philip K dick you should read, I think that "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is a far better book.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover... but isn't the cover just brilliant?

Please read this book... it gives a clever and witty insight of how the world would have been if Germany won WW2.

4 Stars


Pure Genius?, 16 Mar 2008
I first read this in my teens, and I think that much of the subtlety passed me by. I have just aquired a new copy from Amazon,decorated with one of the most un-pc book sleeves you are likely to come across ( not a "tube-reader" folks)! I have just finished reading it, and well, this is clearly a work of genius. The book for anyone who hasn't yet read it, contrasts a novel, The Grasshopper Lies Down, about our post-1945 world; within a novel where the Axis powers won the Second World War. Japanese- controlled West Coast of USA is honourable,spiritual and superstitious, and speak in clipped English; whereas the Nazi-controlled Eastern seaboard is materialistic and technologically advanced. Africa has been obliterated as an extension of the Final Solution. Dick's book questions the exact nature of history and reality; that what is real is only relative to the individuals own experience.
I have to say that I didn't wholly understand the ending; if anyone can explain this I would be grateful! I have read lengthy reviews which suggest that the world in Abendson's book is in fact, the real history of the 20th century. But this doesn't work for me.
If you think the previous paragraph contradicts my praise for this book, you are missing the point. It is a process-based novel and the ending is largely irrelevant, in my opinion anyway.
Has this novel ever been made into a film?
If not, why?




Not bad, not great, 14 Feb 2008
From most of the reviews on this site and being a huge fan of AH I had high hopes for this book, but I felt let down.
Instead of a novel its more like a collection of stories that are slightly interwoven - characters from a few of the stories appear in others, but that's about it. I enjoyed all of these stories, the characters were well thought, as were the situations, the use of the I Ching was a great way to show how the Japanese affected American culture, although it appeared to be an ancient version of a horoscope in its vague superstitions, so I didn't actually like the way the story was so driven by it. The problems occur towards the end of the novel, when most of these stories just stop, without any sort of ending to that particular part of the overall story, that's it, they end. This doesn't happen until quite close to the end of the novel and its brought to the finish by a story which doesn't seem that important when it starts, but in my opinion becomes the most important story in the novel, and is the only one which comes to any sort of conclusion. The ending leaves quite a few questions, and as its quite a short book, I thought it could have been fleshed out at least a little by answering those questions and telling us what happened to most of the other characters in the other stories.
Reading the mostly positive reviews here and elsewhere I cant help feel I missed something reading this book, or maybe I misunderstood it. It isnt bad by any means, its ok, but thats about the best I can say about it.

World War II - but not as we know it., 10 Oct 2007
You may never have come across the work of Philip K Dick before, indeed you may know nothing about this writer, but then again, if you have seen the film Blade Runner, perhaps you have. Blade Runner is a movie that was based on another of Mister Dick's work: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

The Man in the High Castle suggests that the Axis forces won World War II. The United States is split into three, the western part, now the Pacific States of America is Japanese dominated, while the eastern section has become part of Greater Germany, as indeed has Great Britain and all of Europe. Only the central part of the USA retains some form of freedom. Ultimately a recipe for conflict between the two superpowers and in that conclusion you would be right.

The book is set in the early sixties and you might think it owes something to Robert Harris's Fatherland, until you notice that this book was in fact first released in 1962. Perhaps it was the other way round as far as that is concerned. Hitler is still alive, but locked away in an Asylum suffering from Alzheimer's, leaving the way clear for yet another power struggle between the equally awful wannabes.

Some of the hellish results of this possible outcome to World War II act as a timely reminder of just why it was so important that this imagined result never came to pass. I came to this book through the 2001 re-release, and I am so glad I did.

Mister Dick lived a turbulent and all too short life, passing away aged just fifty-three in 1982. He somehow managed to fit in five wives and write more than thirty-five novels, (only one of which sold well during his lifetime), despite bouts of serious depression and periods of drug dependency. He craved success, as so many writers do, and no doubt he would have gained great satisfaction from the worldwide sales his books boast today.

If you enjoy novels about World War II where the writer imagines different scenarios to those that actually took place, or indeed if you like "What ifs" about any historic event, then The Man in the High Castle will not disappoint you, or may be it will, but then again...

I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you have the opportunity, read it, and make up your own mind.


The Man in the High Castle
Philip K Dick
ISBN: 0141186674

Science Fiction, Suspense and Philosophy, 09 Nov 2008
I became a rabid fan of Philip K. Dick from the first novel of his that I read. All of his books are excellent, and this one ranks as one of the best. Unlike a lot of sci-fi writers Dick's background is in philosophy which was his major as a student at UCLA Berkeley. The plot of this book is well-known from the movie:the human race in tatters, the natural world is slipping away, androids escape to earth and bounty hunters track them down to eliminate them. The book brings up some interesting questions. Are humans becoming more like machines or machines becoming more like humans? As machines become more human-like do their rights as living creatures increase? Does technology bring us closer to creating life or destroying it? The great thing about Dick books are that the questions they stir in us are endless. From an entertainment point of view this one provides fast dialogue, constant surprises and a perspective like none other.

Empathy, Androids and Enigmas, 17 Jun 2008
The book is a masterwork but do not expect the Bladerunner film. The same ideas and themes are there but they are developed in a different way. The book is more subtle. It explores how empathy is used as the defining test of androids. They are more intelligent than humans but they do not get empathy and so they are dumb. But the interesting thing about empathy is how it affects the "blade runners".

The story is as complex as the film with a parallel world of police and bounty hunters that do not know of each other but that been infiltrated by androids and here for me there is a plot problem, but maybe it isn't maybe Dick meant something else, maybe he meant people to come to the same conclusions as the film but he is not around to ask.

blade runner ?, 18 May 2008
i watched blade runner as a young boy and loved the story , so i thought i would give electric sheep a go , the vision of dick i found is amazing and some of the ideas in the book are starting to come true, but all that said i was disappoint with the book , it was my own fault because i wanted blade runner and got k dicks vision of it . ridley scotts story i found was far developed from the k dick , which is easy really i suppose. but before reading be awhere that this is not blade runner? but with an open mind give it a go.















one of his best, 01 Apr 2008
Forget the film of this book 'Blade Runner'. The book is far stranger, less concerned with style and generally more cerebral and satisfying.
This is to me one of his best novels ('A Scanner Darkly' being the other). It doesn't delve into the religious metaphysical stuff that his later novels do, instead conventrating on the authors usual themes of :
what is reality? how do we recognise or define it? how do i know i am real?
this book almost transcends SciFi, and delves into philosophy.
Essential SciFi.
Highly recommended to everyone.

A gem of a book, 19 Jan 2008
I hadn't read a SciFi of the traditional variety in years, but this was chosen for our bookclub and it was an excellent choice. It should be said that the film (Blade Runner - also a classic) is nothing like the book. The book is really a novella with a futuristic "cowboy" plot - a simple story of bounty hunter searching for outlaws. The depth of the story is in the bleak picture that the author paints of a post-apocalyptic earth where real animals are seen as the ultimate status symbol. Most humans have emigrated off world and those remaining are damaged in some way either physically by the radiation/pollution or emotionally. Very thought provoking. I also enjoyed reading in hindsight about the author's vision of the future 40 years after he wrote it. I loved the idea of a world where androids are so advanced they are almost indistinguishable from humans, but the reports are still typed on carbon paper and the bounty hunter has to call in to base using a coin phone!

The GREAT SHERLOCK HOLMES BOOK, 08 Apr 2008
Hi, I'm Shobha Varma from India. I have this book in my husband Dr.Varma's library. It is a wonderful book, no doubt on that aspect. But because my husband is an artist and movie buff while I am a Carnatic Musician, we always crave for books with illustrations. This book DOES have illustrations, but my husband wants only the illustated short stories.
The 56 short stories are wonderful. Particularly with Sydney Paget's illustrations.

The ultimate bedtime read, 04 Apr 2008
I've had this book since my teenage years and it's the one book I go back to time and time again. I don't know what it is that makes me grab it from the bookshelf, perhaps Conan Doyle's unique style, his descriptions of old London or the Grimpen Mire or the small village deep in the home counties, the knee high fog settling on the moor,I just don't know!
Watson's narration and Holmes deductions and logic never cease to thrill me and carry me away on an orgasmic journey of escapism. For that's what a good book does. That's what this book does.

Elementary, my dear reader, 27 Dec 2005
The first Sherlock Holmes book I ever read was given to me as a gift for my thirteenth birthday. It was a collection of the short stories, with a wonderful leather trim and gold leafing, and I thought it was fantastic. I read the first story, and was instantly hooked. Within a few days, I was disappointed with my wonderful new book because it was incomplete. I had devoured all of the selected stories, and was ready for more.

Shortly thereafter, I purchased what purported to be the 'only complete Sherlock Holmes available', compiled by Christopher Morley. This became my favourite book. But, alas, neither of these volumes was illustrated.

The original stories, which appeared in The Strand magazine, were illustrated, by the great illustrator Sidney Paget. Actually, careful research (which Holmes himself would insist upon) will reveal that Paget was not the first illustrator; however, it is not able to be determined conclusively how many artists preceding Paget. It is know that the first publication of A Study in Scarlet, in which Holmes and Watson are first introduced, was illustrated by on D.H. Friston. These illustrations would appall the Holmesian set today.

The next edition after the barely-received Beeton's Christmas Annual edition, was in book form, and apparently illustrated by Arthur Conan Doyle's father, Charles.

The next illustration was in The Sign of Four, appearing in Lippincott's Magazine, which showed a scene in India, but did not have one of Holmes.

The classic ideas of Holmes (in a visual sense) did not thus solidify until the popular series of short stories in The Strand, illustrated by Paget, beginning with the story A Scandal in Bohemia, in which Holmes is actually out-foxed by THE woman, but still manages a satisfactory ending to the case, and (particularly his illustrations of the serialised Hounds of the Baskervilles) Paget's illustrations have become the standard image.

This volume contains all the short stories (56 of them) and the novels (4). (At least, this is the official canon -- there are other proto-stories by Conan Doyle, and dozens of tribute stories written by other authors.) Hundreds of illustrations accompany the text. Perhaps Paget drew his image of Holmes based upon the actor William Gillette, who made a career out of portraying the Baker Street detective on stage in London and New York. Charlie Chaplain got one of his early starts in entertainment by playing the page attendant to Holmes opposite Gillette.

From the beginning introduction of Holmes and Watson to Holmes' gentle retirement to beekeepping on the southern coast of England, this book contains all the essential stories (none of the apocryphal, anecdotal, or tribute-written pieces are contained here). Holmes was often thought to be a real person, and Sherlockians the world over still search for 'evidence' to prove that he was. During his 'lifetime', the post office for the Baker Street area regularly received mail addressed to Holmes or Watson at 221B Baker Street. While such an address does not (and did not during the late Victorian era) exist, there is a business on the site that would be 221B, and they have dedicated a desk to Holmes, and strive to answer mail received in the great detective's name.

Perhaps the two elements that made Holmes and Watson the world-renowned figures that they became are, first, the dominance of the British Empire globally at the time Conan Doyle was writing, which made English things sought-after, admired, and to be emulated, and secondly, the introduction of a method of detection hitherto unknown, both in the annals of detective stories (save perhaps in a proto-form in Poe and a few other obscure pieces of dubious literary merit) and in real life.

Holmesian tales became required reading in the training of police and detectives in many parts of the world. It is still recommended even when it is not required.

Holmes permeates other literature and venues as well. When Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation looks for images of Holmes, he is being guided by the descriptions in the stories as well as by the illustrations in The Strand. When the BBC produced Jeremy Brett's rendering of Holmes, the same holds true. When Basil Rathbone's films were cast, these illustrations and stories were uppermost in the directors' minds.

So, pull some tobacco from your persian slipper, stoke your pipe, scratch out a tune on your violin, and re-enter the gas-lit world of the foggy London, where danger is afoot and one detective can always save the day.

Holmes gets tiresome after a while but still a great read, 12 Jun 2004
Great stuff but a tiny bit far fetched - what Holmes can deduce from a scrape on your shoe (or maybe I'm stupid). I had to stop reading three quarters of the way because it gets a bit formulaic but up to that it was great. Will finish it some day.

I'd prefer not to have the illustrations because it spoils my image of Basil Rathbone when I'm picturing Holmes.

As for the illustration of the Hound of The Baskervilles - it's ridiculous - it looks like my Red Setter.

A MUST BUY!, 01 Apr 2004
If you like detective stories that show a lot of logical understanding then you have to buy this book. Don't worry it's not a complicated book with a hard to understand story. This must be the best book I ever bought form Amazon because it contains all the original illustrations and complete and unabridged stories of the very clever detective (and scientist) Sherlock Holmes. The second I started reading the book I couldn't stop reading it because of the clever and sometimes complex characters illustrated magnificently by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also because of the magnificent plots of the hundreds of stories written in such a great manner. The stories always make you want to keep reading on to find out who was behind it all and it is always somebody who you would never suspect, this book is just full of millions of surprises.

the tale continues, 04 Nov 2008
Its been about a year since i read the gunslinger born. In the time between reading that ad this, the long road home i have read 5 stephen king novels, and a multitude of marvel graphic novels. They were good, but the are all just a pillar for this.

In my own opinion, surely not everyones, but if your reading this you might agree, that the dark tower series is one of the best fantasy series of all time. The question is what does the long road home add to that?

Without ruining the story, ill say that it adds a considerable amount of knowledge we previously never had about the crimson king, as well as doing what it says on the cover, adding to the gap years between the barony of mejis and jericho hill.

I do have to say the artwork is once again brilliant, with a lot of effort being put into the book. Once again hard bound in leather straight away you are getting value for money. The writing is good, but recognisably comic dialogue rather than novel dialogue. Its snappish, witty, and not a word is ever wasted.

There are 2 bad points about this book though, as happy as i am with it. The first is that the plotline is very thin. not a lot really happens, i can see this being a set-up for another book down the line. The other thing is i dont see it being instantly accessible to those who have never read the novels. There are references to other books than the wizard and glass in here.

One final thing, at the back is a map, which shows the path roland took on his journey in wolves of calla, song of susannah and the dark tower.

Even if you arent a fan of graphic novels in the slightest if you want the dark tower you will enjoy this.

A long road ahead, 10 Oct 2008

"The Gunslinger Born" explored the origins and early struggles of young Roland Deschain, as well as the loss of his first true love, Susan Delgado.

And Stephen King's "Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" picks up right after that, showing us more devastating events that shaped Roland Deschain into the gunslinger anti-hero we know and love. While the first part is rather slow, it has plenty of horrific moments and the haunting quality of a "world that has moved on."

A devastated Roland takes down Susan's charred body, as Alain and Bert argue about whether they should be stopping. But suddenly Roland fires at Maerlyn's Grapefruit -- which suddenly turns into a tentacled eyeball that jumps on Roland's face, and enthralls his very soul before they can peel it off. His ka-tet is chased by a bunch of local thugs, the last Big Coffin Hunter, and a ghastly pack of mutated wolves.

Nearby, a mentally challenged boy named Sheemie was seen climbing into old war machines, only to encounter a strange robot that is somehow still "alive."And inside Maerlyn's Grapefruit, Roland is slowly being driven mad in his own memories -- right before being dragged to the hellish citadel of the Crimson King, who reveals a ghastly secret to the young boy from long ago, which will change him forever...

"The Dark Tower: Long Road Home" isn't quite as gripping as its predecessor, "The Gunslinger Born" -- partly because it's a briefer story, and partly because it's simpler. It's a tribute to Stephen King's original story -- and to the hauntingly vivid artwork -- that it's still such an intense rollercoaster ride.

After the heartbreaking first few pages, the plot speeds into a suitably confusing, desperate chase through a lonely wilderness, with plenty of gunshots and dying creatures. Things actually get rather gory as Roland's pals struggle over rickety bridges and across a red-tinged wilderness, since one of them almost gets his arm bitten off (and announces that he'd rather die than shoot left-handed forever. Hardcore, kid).

And since this is a world made by Stephen King, we have plenty of the eerie and the horrible -- Sheemie's confrontation with a baby-faced robot is just one example. King's rich, old-time narrative translates well into comic form, almost as if he were conversing with the readers ("But don't be laughing at Sheemie, I beg ya, because he's been through considerable trials").

And Jae Lee and Richard Isanove really bring this story to life -- they create a world split between bright bloody red mist and autumnal twilight, filled with shadowy faces, barren lands, and ghastly pursuers. And inside the Grapefruit, we get a full cornucopia of horrors, with Roland defiantly trying to keep his sanity and soul intact in a dusty, hazy landscape full of withered trees, tragic future selves, evil crows, lumpy castles, and the vaguely spidery King with his hellish magic and his suitably evil offers to Roland.

"The Gunslinger Born" introduced Roland as a boy, but "The Long Road Home" has undeniably made him a man. He has the guts and integrity to snarl not just at Marte but at the King himself. And after being in Roland's shadow for so long, Alain and Cuthbert also get to take center stage here -- we get to see just how strong and capable they are.

"Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" is not as tightly-written as its predecessor, but it's filled with a sense of overhanging horror and some solid action for the sidekicks. Definitely worth checking out.

Great concept, poorly executed, 09 Jan 2009
Philip K Dick is has written some truly outstanding books and so I was expecting great things from this. Alas the concept is far better than the book itself. Pitching a scenario where the Allies lost the Second World War and America had been calved up between the Germans and the Japanese sounds truly fantastic. Unfortunately the scenarios are reduced to the every day meanderings of an array of one dimensional characters and ultimate the quest of Juliana Frink to meet the illusive "Man in the High Castle", the writer of the illusive "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" - which as a paradox is a novel depicting if the allies had won the war. Alas the book ultimately ends with a bit of an anti-climax.

Maybe the fact that the story is told in trivialities is the whole point. To the every day person on living in a Japanese occupied territory, decades after the event, maybe aside from getting used to a different culture, life wouldn't be that much different. Unfortunately for me it didn't make good reading, purely because I found it very difficult to emphasise with the characters.

What If...?, 24 May 2008

This was the third Philip K Dick novel I have read. This novel was very interesting from an historical point of view and I became engrossed with the main characters. However I believe that this shouldn't be the first Philip K dick you should read, I think that "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is a far better book.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover... but isn't the cover just brilliant?

Please read this book... it gives a clever and witty insight of how the world would have been if Germany won WW2.

4 Stars


Pure Genius?, 16 Mar 2008
I first read this in my teens, and I think that much of the subtlety passed me by. I have just aquired a new copy from Amazon,decorated with one of the most un-pc book sleeves you are likely to come across ( not a "tube-reader" folks)! I have just finished reading it, and well, this is clearly a work of genius. The book for anyone who hasn't yet read it, contrasts a novel, The Grasshopper Lies Down, about our post-1945 world; within a novel where the Axis powers won the Second World War. Japanese- controlled West Coast of USA is honourable,spiritual and superstitious, and speak in clipped English; whereas the Nazi-controlled Eastern seaboard is materialistic and technologically advanced. Africa has been obliterated as an extension of the Final Solution. Dick's book questions the exact nature of history and reality; that what is real is only relative to the individuals own experience.
I have to say that I didn't wholly understand the ending; if anyone can explain this I would be grateful! I have read lengthy reviews which suggest that the world in Abendson's book is in fact, the real history of the 20th century. But this doesn't work for me.
If you think the previous paragraph contradicts my praise for this book, you are missing the point. It is a process-based novel and the ending is largely irrelevant, in my opinion anyway.
Has this novel ever been made into a film?
If not, why?




Not bad, not great, 14 Feb 2008
From most of the reviews on this site and being a huge fan of AH I had high hopes for this book, but I felt let down.
Instead of a novel its more like a collection of stories that are slightly interwoven - characters from a few of the stories appear in others, but that's about it. I enjoyed all of these stories, the characters were well thought, as were the situations, the use of the I Ching was a great way to show how the Japanese affected American culture, although it appeared to be an ancient version of a horoscope in its vague superstitions, so I didn't actually like the way the story was so driven by it. The problems occur towards the end of the novel, when most of these stories just stop, without any sort of ending to that particular part of the overall story, that's it, they end. This doesn't happen until quite close to the end of the novel and its brought to the finish by a story which doesn't seem that important when it starts, but in my opinion becomes the most important story in the novel, and is the only one which comes to any sort of conclusion. The ending leaves quite a few questions, and as its quite a short book, I thought it could have been fleshed out at least a little by answering those questions and telling us what happened to most of the other characters in the other stories.
Reading the mostly positive reviews here and elsewhere I cant help feel I missed something reading this book, or maybe I misunderstood it. It isnt bad by any means, its ok, but thats about the best I can say about it.

World War II - but not as we know it., 10 Oct 2007
You may never have come across the work of Philip K Dick before, indeed you may know nothing about this writer, but then again, if you have seen the film Blade Runner, perhaps you have. Blade Runner is a movie that was based on another of Mister Dick's work: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

The Man in the High Castle suggests that the Axis forces won World War II. The United States is split into three, the western part, now the Pacific States of America is Japanese dominated, while the eastern section has become part of Greater Germany, as indeed has Great Britain and all of Europe. Only the central part of the USA retains some form of freedom. Ultimately a recipe for conflict between the two superpowers and in that conclusion you would be right.

The book is set in the early sixties and you might think it owes something to Robert Harris's Fatherland, until you notice that this book was in fact first released in 1962. Perhaps it was the other way round as far as that is concerned. Hitler is still alive, but locked away in an Asylum suffering from Alzheimer's, leaving the way clear for yet another power struggle between the equally awful wannabes.

Some of the hellish results of this possible outcome to World War II act as a timely reminder of just why it was so important that this imagined result never came to pass. I came to this book through the 2001 re-release, and I am so glad I did.

Mister Dick lived a turbulent and all too short life, passing away aged just fifty-three in 1982. He somehow managed to fit in five wives and write more than thirty-five novels, (only one of which sold well during his lifetime), despite bouts of serious depression and periods of drug dependency. He craved success, as so many writers do, and no doubt he would have gained great satisfaction from the worldwide sales his books boast today.

If you enjoy novels about World War II where the writer imagines different scenarios to those that actually took place, or indeed if you like "What ifs" about any historic event, then The Man in the High Castle will not disappoint you, or may be it will, but then again...

I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you have the opportunity, read it, and make up your own mind.


The Man in the High Castle
Philip K Dick
ISBN: 0141186674

Science Fiction, Suspense and Philosophy, 09 Nov 2008
I became a rabid fan of Philip K. Dick from the first novel of his that I read. All of his books are excellent, and this one ranks as one of the best. Unlike a lot of sci-fi writers Dick's background is in philosophy which was his major as a student at UCLA Berkeley. The plot of this book is well-known from the movie:the human race in tatters, the natural world is slipping away, androids escape to earth and bounty hunters track them down to eliminate them. The book brings up some interesting questions. Are humans becoming more like machines or machines becoming more like humans? As machines become more human-like do their rights as living creatures increase? Does technology bring us closer to creating life or destroying it? The great thing about Dick books are that the questions they stir in us are endless. From an entertainment point of view this one provides fast dialogue, constant surprises and a perspective like none other.

Empathy, Androids and Enigmas, 17 Jun 2008
The book is a masterwork but do not expect the Bladerunner film. The same ideas and themes are there but they are developed in a different way. The book is more subtle. It explores how empathy is used as the defining test of androids. They are more intelligent than humans but they do not get empathy and so they are dumb. But the interesting thing about empathy is how it affects the "blade runners".

The story is as complex as the film with a parallel world of police and bounty hunters that do not know of each other but that been infiltrated by androids and here for me there is a plot problem, but maybe it isn't maybe Dick meant something else, maybe he meant people to come to the same conclusions as the film but he is not around to ask.

blade runner ?, 18 May 2008
i watched blade runner as a young boy and loved the story , so i thought i would give electric sheep a go , the vision of dick i found is amazing and some of the ideas in the book are starting to come true, but all that said i was disappoint with the book , it was my own fault because i wanted blade runner and got k dicks vision of it . ridley scotts story i found was far developed from the k dick , which is easy really i suppose. but before reading be awhere that this is not blade runner? but with an open mind give it a go.















one of his best, 01 Apr 2008
Forget the film of this book 'Blade Runner'. The book is far stranger, less concerned with style and generally more cerebral and satisfying.
This is to me one of his best novels ('A Scanner Darkly' being the other). It doesn't delve into the religious metaphysical stuff that his later novels do, instead conventrating on the authors usual themes of :
what is reality? how do we recognise or define it? how do i know i am real?
this book almost transcends SciFi, and delves into philosophy.
Essential SciFi.
Highly recommended to everyone.

A gem of a book, 19 Jan 2008
I hadn't read a SciFi of the traditional variety in years, but this was chosen for our bookclub and it was an excellent choice. It should be said that the film (Blade Runner - also a classic) is nothing like the book. The book is really a novella with a futuristic "cowboy" plot - a simple story of bounty hunter searching for outlaws. The depth of the story is in the bleak picture that the author paints of a post-apocalyptic earth where real animals are seen as the ultimate status symbol. Most humans have emigrated off world and those remaining are damaged in some way either physically by the radiation/pollution or emotionally. Very thought provoking. I also enjoyed reading in hindsight about the author's vision of the future 40 years after he wrote it. I loved the idea of a world where androids are so advanced they are almost indistinguishable from humans, but the reports are still typed on carbon paper and the bounty hunter has to call in to base using a coin phone!

The GREAT SHERLOCK HOLMES BOOK, 08 Apr 2008
Hi, I'm Shobha Varma from India. I have this book in my husband Dr.Varma's library. It is a wonderful book, no doubt on that aspect. But because my husband is an artist and movie buff while I am a Carnatic Musician, we always crave for books with illustrations. This book DOES have illustrations, but my husband wants only the illustated short stories.
The 56 short stories are wonderful. Particularly with Sydney Paget's illustrations.

The ultimate bedtime read, 04 Apr 2008
I've had this book since my teenage years and it's the one book I go back to time and time again. I don't know what it is that makes me grab it from the bookshelf, perhaps Conan Doyle's unique style, his descriptions of old London or the Grimpen Mire or the small village deep in the home counties, the knee high fog settling on the moor,I just don't know!
Watson's narration and Holmes deductions and logic never cease to thrill me and carry me away on an orgasmic journey of escapism. For that's what a good book does. That's what this book does.

Elementary, my dear reader, 27 Dec 2005
The first Sherlock Holmes book I ever read was given to me as a gift for my thirteenth birthday. It was a collection of the short stories, with a wonderful leather trim and gold leafing, and I thought it was fantastic. I read the first story, and was instantly hooked. Within a few days, I was disappointed with my wonderful new book because it was incomplete. I had devoured all of the selected stories, and was ready for more.

Shortly thereafter, I purchased what purported to be the 'only complete Sherlock Holmes available', compiled by Christopher Morley. This became my favourite book. But, alas, neither of these volumes was illustrated.

The original stories, which appeared in The Strand magazine, were illustrated, by the great illustrator Sidney Paget. Actually, careful research (which Holmes himself would insist upon) will reveal that Paget was not the first illustrator; however, it is not able to be determined conclusively how many artists preceding Paget. It is know that the first publication of A Study in Scarlet, in which Holmes and Watson are first introduced, was illustrated by on D.H. Friston. These illustrations would appall the Holmesian set today.

The next edition after the barely-received Beeton's Christmas Annual edition, was in book form, and apparently illustrated by Arthur Conan Doyle's father, Charles.

The next illustration was in The Sign of Four, appearing in Lippincott's Magazine, which showed a scene in India, but did not have one of Holmes.

The classic ideas of Holmes (in a visual sense) did not thus solidify until the popular series of short stories in The Strand, illustrated by Paget, beginning with the story A Scandal in Bohemia, in which Holmes is actually out-foxed by THE woman, but still manages a satisfactory ending to the case, and (particularly his illustrations of the serialised Hounds of the Baskervilles) Paget's illustrations have become the standard image.

This volume contains all the short stories (56 of them) and the novels (4). (At least, this is the official canon -- there are other proto-stories by Conan Doyle, and dozens of tribute stories written by other authors.) Hundreds of illustrations accompany the text. Perhaps Paget drew his image of Holmes based upon the actor William Gillette, who made a career out of portraying the Baker Street detective on stage in London and New York. Charlie Chaplain got one of his early starts in entertainment by playing the page attendant to Holmes opposite Gillette.

From the beginning introduction of Holmes and Watson to Holmes' gentle retirement to beekeepping on the southern coast of England, this book contains all the essential stories (none of the apocryphal, anecdotal, or tribute-written pieces are contained here). Holmes was often thought to be a real person, and Sherlockians the world over still search for 'evidence' to prove that he was. During his 'lifetime', the post office for the Baker Street area regularly received mail addressed to Holmes or Watson at 221B Baker Street. While such an address does not (and did not during the late Victorian era) exist, there is a business on the site that would be 221B, and they have dedicated a desk to Holmes, and strive to answer mail received in the great detective's name.

Perhaps the two elements that made Holmes and Watson the world-renowned figures that they became are, first, the dominance of the British Empire globally at the time Conan Doyle was writing, which made English things sought-after, admired, and to be emulated, and secondly, the introduction of a method of detection hitherto unknown, both in the annals of detective stories (save perhaps in a proto-form in Poe and a few other obscure pieces of dubious literary merit) and in real life.

Holmesian tales became required reading in the training of police and detectives in many parts of the world. It is still recommended even when it is not required.

Holmes permeates other literature and venues as well. When Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation looks for images of Holmes, he is being guided by the descriptions in the stories as well as by the illustrations in The Strand. When the BBC produced Jeremy Brett's rendering of Holmes, the same holds true. When Basil Rathbone's films were cast, these illustrations and stories were uppermost in the directors' minds.

So, pull some tobacco from your persian slipper, stoke your pipe, scratch out a tune on your violin, and re-enter the gas-lit world of the foggy London, where danger is afoot and one detective can always save the day.

Holmes gets tiresome after a while but still a great read, 12 Jun 2004
Great stuff but a tiny bit far fetched - what Holmes can deduce from a scrape on your shoe (or maybe I'm stupid). I had to stop reading three quarters of the way because it gets a bit formulaic but up to that it was great. Will finish it some day.

I'd prefer not to have the illustrations because it spoils my image of Basil Rathbone when I'm picturing Holmes.

As for the illustration of the Hound of The Baskervilles - it's ridiculous - it looks like my Red Setter.

A MUST BUY!, 01 Apr 2004
If you like detective stories that show a lot of logical understanding then you have to buy this book. Don't worry it's not a complicated book with a hard to understand story. This must be the best book I ever bought form Amazon because it contains all the original illustrations and complete and unabridged stories of the very clever detective (and scientist) Sherlock Holmes. The second I started reading the book I couldn't stop reading it because of the clever and sometimes complex characters illustrated magnificently by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also because of the magnificent plots of the hundreds of stories written in such a great manner. The stories always make you want to keep reading on to find out who was behind it all and it is always somebody who you would never suspect, this book is just full of millions of surprises.

Dark And Magnificently ominous, 11 Nov 2008
I bought this beacause i loved to tower series and thankfully was not let down. The comics storyline is from dark tower 4 wizard and glass when the main character is a teenager, he is sent from his home and finds love loss and hurt. As a comic it give you an imaginative and amazing take on how it could have looked from Kings point of view, drawn by the great Jae Lee and Richard Isanove and adapted by king himself makes in whole a great piece of art and fiction. you dont even need to be a fan to enjoy this comic.

Unputdownable!, 26 Aug 2008
This is brilliant. Speaking as someone who doesn't read Graphic Novels and who has never read the Dark Tower books - I loved this and I read it over two nights and was sorry when I came to the end. The artwork is beautiful and the tale gripping. The only minor complaint is that this is set in a very macho world and there is at times the vaguest suggestion that it was written by someone who hates women. However, if you can put that aside this is a wonderful read.

Wizard and Glass, the illustrated cliffnotes editition, 27 Mar 2008
If you've read/are reading the dark tower series do not expect anything new. Having just finished volume 4 i picked up the graphic novel which was basically an illustrated version of the events of 4. Don't get me wrong the artwork is supreme (as one would expect from marvel) and comic isn't bad. BUT it's like reading the book i just finished again. Ultimatly i didnt finish the graphic novel as i didnt feel the need to. The story is good though so perhaps after a while i'll be able to read it. For the moment it remains on my shelf.

great comic book adaption of wizard and glass, 24 Mar 2008
ive read all of stephen kings dark tower books and i was impressed by marvels first graphic novel of the saga. the artwork is amazing and im suprised how true this book is to the original novel. for those of you who have read the dark tower books before and wonder wether you shud check this out i say go for it, there is some great artwork put to kings story and i cant wait for the next part. for those of you who are unfamiliar with kings dark tower check it out if you like dark, gothic, fantasy, horror. say thankeer sai :)

A stunning venture into the world of the Dark Tower, 16 Jan 2008
Stephen King's The Dark Tower is a seven book epic following the journey of gunslinger Roland Deschian on his quest to the Dark Tower. In book 4, Wizard and Glass, Roland tells of his youth and the time he became a true gunslinger. It is this story that we follow in The Gunslinger Born, a comic adaption of The Dark Tower overseen by Stephen King, drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, adapted by Robin Furth and scripted by Peter David. The Gunslinger Born collects all seven of the comics that were released individually in one stunning hardback.

We join a fourteen year old Roland as he discovers his mother's adultery with Marten, his reaction to this is anger and he challenges Cort, the one that trains the young gunslingers. If he fails he must leave Gilead in shame. Should he win, he will be the youngest gunslinger, pushing his father into second place by two years. Roland triumphs and becomes a gunslinger, although not yet able to take on the sandalwood grip guns of his father, he has his own first set.

His father returns to Gilead, aware of his wife's affair and disappointed in Roland for reacting the way he did. To protect Roland, his father send him and his two closest friends, Alain and Cuthbert, to Mejis in order to gather information on the activities there and to see if Farson, the one leading an attack on Gilead and its surroundings, has influenced the inhabitants and using resources that are needed for the alliance. It is in Mejis that Roland meets Susan, and in doing so changes his destiny forever.

The graphical style of the comics are truly impressive, with both artists doing a superb job on them. For myself, a long time fan of The Dark Tower books, the collection is a great new experince on some of my favourite stories from them. Even for a first time reader, this is a great introduction to Roland's world. As I said before, as it is basically a shortened version of the events we are told in Wizard and Glass, but it is still an amazing story and Robin Furth and Peter David have done a great job in adapting and scripting the events to suit comic book format.

All I can add is that I hope further comic books are done on Roland's life, and if we could get some new stories that between the time of these events and those in The Gunslinger (the first Dark Tower book) it would be even better. Whatever happens, I'll buy more of these if they are ever made and thoroughly enjoyed my first venture into Gilead and Mejis in this form.

the tale continues, 04 Nov 2008
Its been about a year since i read the gunslinger born. In the time between reading that ad this, the long road home i have read 5 stephen king novels, and a multitude of marvel graphic novels. They were good, but the are all just a pillar for this.

In my own opinion, surely not everyones, but if your reading this you might agree, that the dark tower series is one of the best fantasy series of all time. The question is what does the long road home add to that?

Without ruining the story, ill say that it adds a considerable amount of knowledge we previously never had about the crimson king, as well as doing what it says on the cover, adding to the gap years between the barony of mejis and jericho hill.

I do have to say the artwork is once again brilliant, with a lot of effort being put into the book. Once again hard bound in leather straight away you are getting value for money. The writing is good, but recognisably comic dialogue rather than novel dialogue. Its snappish, witty, and not a word is ever wasted.

There are 2 bad points about this book though, as happy as i am with it. The first is that the plotline is very thin. not a lot really happens, i can see this being a set-up for another book down the line. The other thing is i dont see it being instantly accessible to those who have never read the novels. There are references to other books than the wizard and glass in here.

One final thing, at the back is a map, which shows the path roland took on his journey in wolves of calla, song of susannah and the dark tower.

Even if you arent a fan of graphic novels in the slightest if you want the dark tower you will enjoy this.

A long road ahead, 10 Oct 2008

"The Gunslinger Born" explored the origins and early struggles of young Roland Deschain, as well as the loss of his first true love, Susan Delgado.

And Stephen King's "Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" picks up right after that, showing us more devastating events that shaped Roland Deschain into the gunslinger anti-hero we know and love. While the first part is rather slow, it has plenty of horrific moments and the haunting quality of a "world that has moved on."

A devastated Roland takes down Susan's charred body, as Alain and Bert argue about whether they should be stopping. But suddenly Roland fires at Maerlyn's Grapefruit -- which suddenly turns into a tentacled eyeball that jumps on Roland's face, and enthralls his very soul before they can peel it off. His ka-tet is chased by a bunch of local thugs, the last Big Coffin Hunter, and a ghastly pack of mutated wolves.

Nearby, a mentally challenged boy named Sheemie was seen climbing into old war machines, only to encounter a strange robot that is somehow still "alive."And inside Maerlyn's Grapefruit, Roland is slowly being driven mad in his own memories -- right before being dragged to the hellish citadel of the Crimson King, who reveals a ghastly secret to the young boy from long ago, which will change him forever...

"The Dark Tower: Long Road Home" isn't quite as gripping as its predecessor, "The Gunslinger Born" -- partly because it's a briefer story, and partly because it's simpler. It's a tribute to Stephen King's original story -- and to the hauntingly vivid artwork -- that it's still such an intense rollercoaster ride.

After the heartbreaking first few pages, the plot speeds into a suitably confusing, desperate chase through a lonely wilderness, with plenty of gunshots and dying creatures. Things actually get rather gory as Roland's pals struggle over rickety bridges and across a red-tinged wilderness, since one of them almost gets his arm bitten off (and announces that he'd rather die than shoot left-handed forever. Hardcore, kid).

And since this is a world made by Stephen King, we have plenty of the eerie and the horrible -- Sheemie's confrontation with a baby-faced robot is just one example. King's rich, old-time narrative translates well into comic form, almost as if he were conversing with the readers ("But don't be laughing at Sheemie, I beg ya, because he's been through considerable trials").

And Jae Lee and Richard Isanove really bring this story to life -- they create a world split between bright bloody red mist and autumnal twilight, filled with shadowy faces, barren lands, and ghastly pursuers. And inside the Grapefruit, we get a full cornucopia of horrors, with Roland defiantly trying to keep his sanity and soul intact in a dusty, hazy landscape full of withered trees, tragic future selves, evil crows, lumpy castles, and the vaguely spidery King with his hellish magic and his suitably evil offers to Roland.

"The Gunslinger Born" introduced Roland as a boy, but "The Long Road Home" has undeniably made him a man. He has the guts and integrity to snarl not just at Marte but at the King himself. And after being in Roland's shadow for so long, Alain and Cuthbert also get to take center stage here -- we get to see just how strong and capable they are.

"Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" is not as tightly-written as its predecessor, but it's filled with a sense of overhanging horror and some solid action for the sidekicks. Definitely worth checking out.

Great concept, poorly executed, 09 Jan 2009
Philip K Dick is has written some truly outstanding books and so I was expecting great things from this. Alas the concept is far better than the book itself. Pitching a scenario where the Allies lost the Second World War and America had been calved up between the Germans and the Japanese sounds truly fantastic. Unfortunately the scenarios are reduced to the every day meanderings of an array of one dimensional characters and ultimate the quest of Juliana Frink to meet the illusive "Man in the High Castle", the writer of the illusive "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" - which as a paradox is a novel depicting if the allies had won the war. Alas the book ultimately ends with a bit of an anti-climax.

Maybe the fact that the story is told in trivialities is the whole point. To the every day person on living in a Japanese occupied territory, decades after the event, maybe aside from getting used to a different culture, life wouldn't be that much different. Unfortunately for me it didn't make good reading, purely because I found it very difficult to emphasise with the characters.

What If...?, 24 May 2008

This was the third Philip K Dick novel I have read. This novel was very interesting from an historical point of view and I became engrossed with the main characters. However I believe that this shouldn't be the first Philip K dick you should read, I think that "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is a far better book.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover... but isn't the cover just brilliant?

Please read this book... it gives a clever and witty insight of how the world would have been if Germany won WW2.

4 Stars


Pure Genius?, 16 Mar 2008
I first read this in my teens, and I think that much of the subtlety passed me by. I have just aquired a new copy from Amazon,decorated with one of the most un-pc book sleeves you are likely to come across ( not a "tube-reader" folks)! I have just finished reading it, and well, this is clearly a work of genius. The book for anyone who hasn't yet read it, contrasts a novel, The Grasshopper Lies Down, about our post-1945 world; within a novel where the Axis powers won the Second World War. Japanese- controlled West Coast of USA is honourable,spiritual and superstitious, and speak in clipped English; whereas the Nazi-controlled Eastern seaboard is materialistic and technologically advanced. Africa has been obliterated as an extension of the Final Solution. Dick's book questions the exact nature of history and reality; that what is real is only