Counter-Clock World by Philip K. Dick

            I've read several novels by Philip K. Dick, as he is one of my favorite authors. I've thought about reviewing one of his best, but I have already reviewed two works of his which are among my favorites (shorter works, but excellent reads nonetheless). Therefore, I decided to do the opposite, and review a work of his which wasn't that great. I thought it would be hard to find something, and for a while it was, but then I read Counter-Clock World.

            I will start off by saying I still haven't read anything by Philip K. Dick I would consider flat out bad, including this novel, but it's certainly not on the top of my recommendations list. What a shame, considering the novel's premise had massive potential, that being a story about a society which lives backward due to a temporal reversal called the Hobart Phase (which is limited to Earth in the novel; Mars colonies are free from this paradox). This means people say "Goodbye" as a greeting, blow smoke into cigarettes, pump "sogum" into their anus and spit out food later, and revert into babies and therefore, of course, resurrect from the dead.

            Phil was smart enough to take the opportunity to reference religion with this idea, and the story definitely starts off intelligently enough. Everything moves swimmingly for a while, with Phil's signature analytical, paranoid style. That is, until approximately halfway through the novel, in which every single dumb thing that could possibly take place does. Perhaps this was Phil's intention, but the events which take place can be mind-blowingly stupid. Most perplexing, perhaps, is Phil's decision to kill off a central character over halfway through, which was when my opinion really started turning against this book. It wasn't because I liked the character, rather because the logic of someone dying when they hadn't died in the past, considering time is moving backward, makes absolutely zero logical sense to me and this is usually Phil's forte is relying on logical outcomes.

            I don't know if Phil was just being lazy, or got writer's block, or what, but he could typically think of something much better than that. In fact, I will do just that right now. The central point of the story involves a man who resurrects in the story named Anarch Peak, who is seen as an extremely important religious figure, and everyone wants to acquire him (through actual purchase, another strange idea by Phil) for a variety of reasons, some even want him dead. In the novel, Anarch Peak dies, and that's pretty much it. What I would have proposed to Phil, in keeping with his religious theme, is suggest Anarch Peak die in the end (like he did in the novel anyway, he got that part down), but have him not only be the only character that dies, but have his death cause some kind of paradox, whether it be the end of the Hobart Phase, or the start of an alternate reality, or even the end of all existence.

            But that's just wishful thinking. As it stands, the novel was just fun enough to plug forth through the whole debacle, but nothing makes any real sense even if you think of the events as a forward-moving spectacle, and every bad thing that happened could've been avoided easily enough (though I understand bad things happening, the novel wouldn't be as entertaining otherwise). But I see the novel as ultimately pointless, as there is simply a constant struggle and absolutely nothing is gained and everything is lost. All of this with a plot which had, as mentioned before, incredible possibilities.
            Oh, and there's a bunch of silly relationship drama, probably related to Phil's own turbulent love life. Get it together, Phil, you horny dog.

            So, while I wouldn't stop someone from reading this novel, I would warn them that this is one of Philip K. Dick's rare missteps. It makes for an interesting footprint in his bibliography. Thus far, from what I can gather, his most famous novels are generally the best, but some of his more obscure work can still be good and worthwhile. This, not so much. And I also hope this shows anyone reading that not everyone is perfect and, also, that I've no biases and will critique anyone no matter how much I like them.

            Seriously, Phil, what were you thinking? Or was it just drugs? It was probably drugs. Damn it, Phil.