PKD’s semi-autobiographical novel about a religious experience where a pink ray of light imparts the knowledge that his son has a life-threatening hernia, which doctors confirm and successfully operate on, saving the boy’s life. If that sounds like the far-out rambling of a man losing his mind, that’s because it is. Despite that, PKD puts together a surprisingly cohesive novel about rationalism, religion, and altered states of mind. I found the most interesting bits to be the exploration of early Christian texts.

Blew my mind in high school but I guess it didn't take much back then

This way lies madness ... Recommended to me on multiple occasions by readers of various stripes, most recently by a compatriot of my manic early adolescent sci-fi/horror devouring days at a class reunion, this book takes every cosmic, New Age conspiracy theory you could imagine and advances a unified theory to rule them all. Think The Matrix crossed with Chariots of the Gods, Mr Robot, Fight Club, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Carlos Castaneda, Paulo Coelho, Grant Morrison, What the Bleep Do We Know, The Man Who Saw Tomorrow, Prometheus, and 2001. Stir until thick. Of course, not all those things were around when it was written, which suggests something of a long shadow. If I didn't know it came from the drug-addled, paranoid, psychotic, mind of late career Dick, I might have thought it was intended as a deep dark parody of 70s New Age thought and madness. If it was intended as such, than damned if PKD didn't get clear at the end, as the prose is more robust and self-reflexive than his earlier works.

This is not an easy read, but I loved it.

Not really a fan of Philip K Dick's later writings, but I picked up a collection recently and figured I'd at least give Valis another try. After having finished it I'm not that interested in reading The Divine Invasion or Transmigration of Timothy Archer, but I am thinking of going back and finding some of Dick's less spiritual works.

This is not at all what I expected--I didn't even read a synopsis of the book and know almost nothing about the author's life--but it was thought provoking and riveting. If you have ever delighted in a philosophy class or enjoyed studying the history of religion, you'll get a lot more out of this book than if you are completely uninterested in those things. I get the feeling this is one of the books Snow Crash was making fun of, but I may be wrong. You may not like it, but I thought it was great.

Ho ho ho this is a fuselage either crawling sparkling through your head or a slow slithering “zisch”ing that either goes boom or your dog lifts its leg and pisses on it putting out the flame. It’s a personal one, it’s an in your head where the show goes on one… enjoy!

This book was very interesting to read. It was rather like theology on ecstasy. Philip K. Dick leaves you wondering what was true, what wasn't and exactly how many people there REALLY were in this book.

Took me a long time to get through..