Another interesting read from Philip K Dick. 

A mixture of emotions following Bob Arctor’s story, from the abstract yet comic nature of the main characters drug fuelled conversations, to the disillusionment of addiction and the confusion that comes with it. Philip Dick almost makes you feel like you yourself are on Substance D while reading this book, as you never quite know fully what’s really at play underneath the hazy, self-indulgent intoxication. 

The book obviously is slightly dated now, as are all of PKD’s novels, but this does not effect the experience at all, if you’ve read other books by him, you won’t struggle to read this one. 

There are some quite wordy sections, and it’s clear to the reader that the author had experiences with drug use in his own life, and this definitely reflects in his prose. Morality, sanity, rationality and self-conflict/identity are the spectrum of prevalent themes discussed in this book.