I have not really read it.
Can somebody explain this book?

Well, it's P.K. Dick to begin with, so you know it's going to be whacky. Think of it this way: imagine a harshly facist state where 'big-brother' looms constantly (hard to imagine eh?.. lol...). Now imagine you're an undercover cop, but undercover here means taking enough pharmaceuticals to get to the point where you actually believe you are the character you're attempting to pose as.

Then add a dash of paranoia, and you have a Phillip K Dick book.

I love PKD, but I couldn't get through this book. It's very complex and confusing. It's about a FBI-type agent assigned to combat the spread of the addictive drug substance-D, although he doesn't know that he is in fact the dealer he is trying to catch, since the drug messes your mind up so much. Also, there is a kind of universal camouflage that disguises people.

There was this one story I read that was even more wierd. It involved LSD, other dimensions, phase shifting, teleporting, etc etc etc etc etc

Wish I could remember the name

Saw the film version a couple of days ago.
Must read the book now. The movie didn't leave you any time to pause to contemplate some of the concepts being laid out.

Liked Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Barris - his rapid-fire ramblings & rationales - and the general atmosphere of weirdness, which reminded me a bit of my own "my body is a laboratory" days of experimenting with fun-wow chemicals, wherein circumstances occaisionally seemed something entirely different than they actually were.
A bit like Cheech & Chong meet Kafka, at times .
;)
Keanu was his usual wooden self... seemed rather apropos for this part, tho'.
LoL

That "compu-rotoscoping" animation effect was a bit odd. Sometimes it seemed to add to the film, but sometimes it gave it a sort of cheap 2-dimensional look - as though it was used before being perfected.
Of course, that could have the intent...

I've read only one other Phillip K Dick work - The Divine Invasion.
The story went something like - God forgets he's God after the traumatic experience of the crucifiction, and the Devil tries to take over while God's dawdling about in a state of amnesia, utilizing an evangelical church as a front in the modern day. EL Satano creeps along toward victory, and seems to have it in the bag, when God remembers he's God, taps the Devil on his goatly noggin, and effectively kills him...
:confused:

I really look forward to seeing this film. At the current advancement rate of technology, who knows what will happen next in society, perhaps this film isn't so off from reality.

Just so you know, this movie doesn't focus on a lot of "government spying" and all that as made you believe in the previews which is why I went to go see the movie. However, it is a cool movie and I absolutely love the dialogue. Robert Downey Jr. did an awesome job. I laughed more than anything with this movie. Was fun. It's more of a paranoid st0ner-type movie more than anything just with a slight insight to government/N4rc surveillence.

And it didn't hurt being able to finally see Winona Rider's b00bies even though those aren't really hers. She wore a sports top and the animators drew in what the rest of her would look like with their imaginations, heh.

- N

I didnt think the book was that confusing. Though the ending is not what i woudl call cinema friendly.

I could see a screenplay version clearing things up a little, they are usually less complex than novels (like with American Psycho).

american psycho is one of the best pieces of american literature of the last 100 years.

Yeah it was incredible, but can you imagine making a movie directly from the book? Only Rob Zombie could do it justice, and it would be unrated.

I did like the much tamer movie version, though.

yeah the movie was good, all things considering. i expected much worse, actually.


i would have liked to see kubrick do it...too bad he is dead.