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A review by mayoroffailure
The Zap Gun by Philip K. Dick
3.0
I've long thought that The Cold War was probably the stupidest "Conflict" That America was ever involved with. There were never any troops on the ground slinging lead at one another for some cause, there were never any planes bombing vast amounts of land, and no mass amount of casualties could ever be attributed to the war. The Cold War was simply of conflict of ideals fueled by Americas irrational fear of the spread of communism (Don't get my wrong, communism is bad but looking back we went overboard). Perhaps the dumbest aspect of The Cold War was the constant anatomy measuring contests by both sides as they attempted to outdo each other in everything from space travel to Olympic wrestling.
Part of that contest involved weapons, each side wanted to be able to build better weapons than the other and before the other with the knowledge that we would most likely never be used. That conflict is at the heart of Mr. K Dick's The Zap Gun, it takes place in a future where the western civilization and eastern communist nations are creating bigger and better weapons in a contest to outdo the others. That contest is thrown out of alignment however when an alien race begins to plant satellites up in Earths atmosphere, with the human race fearing an invasion both of the worlds premiere weapons designers have to work together to create one that will be used to destroy the aliens.
Let me make one thing clear, this book has almost nothing to do with aliens until the last third of the novel. This book is instead a focused satire and critique of the sensibilities of Cold War America. I always mention in my reviews of Mr. K Dick's work that he was an author who used his craft to comment on issues of his time, and he certainly achieves a commentary on the stupidity of the contest between the US and Russia. Several passages are dedicated to the fact that both weapons designers, from their prospective countries, know the weapons they make will never be used and instead will be parted out to create consumer inventions that make life easier. This idea is essential because it creates a crisis of conscience when they are called on to create something that actually needs to function in the act of killing.
The last third of this book is where Mr. K Dick begins to turn everything over on its head, after all it still needs to be a science fiction novel and not just a satire. Famously towards the end of his books like Ubik he leaves the reader with, usually a description but sometimes a dialogue, some major question that makes the reader scratch his head, but its for those moments that Mr. K Dick sets himself apart from the others. The Zap Gun has that kind of ending that will make you question just what is going on, and while that question will never be answered its a joy simply to sit back and wonder.
The Zap Gun is classic K Dick, it features all the usual inventions he's made, the same kind of writing and dialogue, and a plot with a great parallel meaning to the world of yesterday. If your a fan of Mr. K Dick's work then this is going to be something you'll enjoy, like a cold soda on a Sunday afternoon.
Part of that contest involved weapons, each side wanted to be able to build better weapons than the other and before the other with the knowledge that we would most likely never be used. That conflict is at the heart of Mr. K Dick's The Zap Gun, it takes place in a future where the western civilization and eastern communist nations are creating bigger and better weapons in a contest to outdo the others. That contest is thrown out of alignment however when an alien race begins to plant satellites up in Earths atmosphere, with the human race fearing an invasion both of the worlds premiere weapons designers have to work together to create one that will be used to destroy the aliens.
Let me make one thing clear, this book has almost nothing to do with aliens until the last third of the novel. This book is instead a focused satire and critique of the sensibilities of Cold War America. I always mention in my reviews of Mr. K Dick's work that he was an author who used his craft to comment on issues of his time, and he certainly achieves a commentary on the stupidity of the contest between the US and Russia. Several passages are dedicated to the fact that both weapons designers, from their prospective countries, know the weapons they make will never be used and instead will be parted out to create consumer inventions that make life easier. This idea is essential because it creates a crisis of conscience when they are called on to create something that actually needs to function in the act of killing.
The last third of this book is where Mr. K Dick begins to turn everything over on its head, after all it still needs to be a science fiction novel and not just a satire. Famously towards the end of his books like Ubik he leaves the reader with, usually a description but sometimes a dialogue, some major question that makes the reader scratch his head, but its for those moments that Mr. K Dick sets himself apart from the others. The Zap Gun has that kind of ending that will make you question just what is going on, and while that question will never be answered its a joy simply to sit back and wonder.
The Zap Gun is classic K Dick, it features all the usual inventions he's made, the same kind of writing and dialogue, and a plot with a great parallel meaning to the world of yesterday. If your a fan of Mr. K Dick's work then this is going to be something you'll enjoy, like a cold soda on a Sunday afternoon.