Solar Lottery

Philip K. Dick
Solar Lottery Cover

Solar Lottery by Philip K. Dick

zoomer1971
1/22/2012
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Solar Lottery was Philip K. Dick's first published novel, and while it lacks some of the stylings of his more renowned novels it does introduce a number of themes that would become deeply ingrained in his body of work.

Set in the year 2203, the novel takes place in a future where the head of Government (or Quizmaster)is chosen according to a totally random lottery. The whole process of selection, and the assignment of a nominated assassin also chosen at random, is also a form of mass entertainment. The Quizmaster must use a squad of telepathics bodyguards to foil the assassin and so gain the respect of the people. When Ted Benteley is tricked into swearing an unbreakable oath of allegiance to outgoing Quizmaster, Reese Verrick, he unwittingly finds himself playing an integral part in a plot to assassinate the new Quizmaster, Leon Cartwright. In order to confuse the Quizmaster's telepathic bodyguards, Verrick's supporters create an android called Keith Pellig which can be controlled by the minds of a number of volunteers - by regularly switching minds Verrick and his team are essentially able to break any telepathic connection made by the bodyguards.

The publication of Solar Lottery was a bit of a double edged sword for Dick. He had originally approached publishers with a number of non-science fiction manuscripts, but due to his previous success with a string of short science fiction stories these were continually rejected. So while he was getting his first novel published, he was also being drawn back into the science fiction 'ghetto' that he wanted to distance himself from as a serious writer. In his lifetime Dick remained regarded as a pulp science fiction author, and it was only after his death that his work was radically re-evaluated and given the cultural and critical importance that it has today.

The novel was originally published in the US as part of a back-to-back science fiction double partnered with The Big Jump by Leigh Brackett. It eventually appeared in a slightly revised version under the title World Of Chance in the UK in 1956. Reading the book now it seems pretty ahead of its time in terms of its narrative and concepts - you have to wonder what contemporary readers must have made of it in 1955.

The narrative is fast-paced but a little disjointed. However, there is much evidence of what would become familiar themes of Dick's including androids, paranoia, telepathy, and corporate and government conspiracies. The only element that does not gel is a sketchy subplot concerning a team of Leon Cartwright's followers travelling to the far reaches of the solar system in search of a mysterious cult figure named John Preston.

Though not great starting point for first time Dick readers,Solar Lottery has all the hallmarks of a fledgeling novelist trying to find their feet in a longer format and should be sought out by anyone interested in his earlier writing.

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