tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post6950245607130019347..comments2024-03-28T22:32:39.500-07:00Comments on Total Dick-Head: More Thoughts On MazeRagle Gummhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13951340313214410331noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-65936870197486574902009-09-28T10:55:10.661-07:002009-09-28T10:55:10.661-07:00Anyone else's thoughts about the full-page gro...Anyone else's thoughts about the full-page group conversations repeated almost identically towards the beginning of the book (after Ben's arrival and Seth's arrival). It first came across to me as some major oversight on the editor's part, as if the conversations were different drafts of the same conversation and Phil hadn't fully rewritten the second, but of course it became clear that that was too glaring an oversight. Still, very (intentionally) awkward and an early indication that the story takes place in a synthesized, holographic, or laminated environment.Der Zorn Gotteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12035166958341139640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-70611660835533886212009-09-12T22:26:04.852-07:002009-09-12T22:26:04.852-07:00I was blown away by the Tench--such a nice surpris...I was blown away by the Tench--such a nice surprise in a novel that had already established itself fully. It's one of the most interesting input-output parables in PKD and I love the suspense that builds before we find out various explanations of what it was "made up of." It reminds me the most immediately of the reality tape in The Electric Ant. I love the crazy logic of the decision to try asking it to copy words. It has so much potential as an esoteric allegory that one could write a book of exegesis on this single monster.Mr. Handhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00308380761257083577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-38310617705774450842009-08-25T20:55:16.418-07:002009-08-25T20:55:16.418-07:00the I Ching (Book of Changes) is not so much arbit...the I Ching (Book of Changes) is not so much arbitrary as random. Carl Jung explained how it taps the unconscious mind in his introduction to the Wilhelm/Baynes translation. <br /><br /> ~~~tuffy777https://www.blogger.com/profile/06169895128599237020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-51211057914309789342009-08-25T18:43:11.422-07:002009-08-25T18:43:11.422-07:00i also think this is a very underrated book. its o...i also think this is a very underrated book. its one of my favorites as well. it has a lot of elements that are very dickian. i think there are a lot of hidden meanings in the book that are tied to religion. imo it seems like a tale of faith. <br />anyway, the i ching can seem very arbitrary but its actually a way of 'divination' by allowing you to reset neural pathways and sift through information making connections in unknowable or unlikely situations. the difference between the i ching and western divination techniques are most western teq.(ie the tarot) have very fatalistic outcomes. they are tied to instances of fate. the i ching allow the user to make decisions based on their own wisdom, knowledge and experience.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-71030942095932890632009-08-24T20:18:18.488-07:002009-08-24T20:18:18.488-07:00Phil intended for the titles to have nothing to do...Phil intended for the titles to have nothing to do with the book. He got them from soap operas. <br /> ~~~tuffy777https://www.blogger.com/profile/06169895128599237020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-36803463896537642822009-08-24T18:03:42.510-07:002009-08-24T18:03:42.510-07:00What do you make of the chapter titles at the fron...What do you make of the chapter titles at the front of the book? They are semi-cute domestic sounding chapter titles for what seems to be a different book.The book's chapters don't seem to reflect,even tangentily, the chapter titles.<br />Any thoughts?Uncle Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11591185005325726208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-60210383954218630092009-08-23T10:35:12.879-07:002009-08-23T10:35:12.879-07:00Thank you!!! "Maze Of Death" is my favor...Thank you!!! "Maze Of Death" is my favorite book of all time and i think it's very underrated.Pollution Q. Thrashbarghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12887480850354309170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-82271846280254518692009-08-22T11:05:15.223-07:002009-08-22T11:05:15.223-07:00Did your edition have the Author's Note? Mine ...Did your edition have the Author's Note? Mine began with a one-page Author's Note that confirmed that the Tench's responses came from the I Ching, and also explained several other theological concepts used in the book as to their real-life origin. At first I thought the note contained spoilers and was a little bothered by it, but when I got to the end of the book I realized it hadn't actually spoiled anything.Andrew TSKShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102428606697946367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-18317699678201906582009-08-21T12:32:03.563-07:002009-08-21T12:32:03.563-07:00when trying to understand Maze, it is important to...when trying to understand Maze, it is important to realize that Phil was trying to understand mental illness, esp. schizophrenia and autism. <br /> ~~~tuffy777https://www.blogger.com/profile/06169895128599237020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-545440750034924302009-08-20T14:34:39.612-07:002009-08-20T14:34:39.612-07:00The end Walker...how very Dickian. Kinda makes yo...The end Walker...how very Dickian. Kinda makes you wonder which part of the made-up world was also part of the real world.<br /><br />I have some ideas on the chapter names in the beginning of the book, but didn't really figure them out until reading chapter 15. <br /><br />My first idea was that these chapter titles would have been more accurate in their various other trips into the polyencephalic state. So, in a past trip, in what would have been chapter 4, Mary would have discovered she was pregnant. Even a further stretch would be to link their aquatic adventure as dolphins with the title of chapter 8: Glen Belsnor ignores the warnings of his parents and embarks on a bold sea adventure. But, most likely I'm just forcing that one to fit into my theory.<br /><br />My second idea is that these are parts of their "manufactured recall-datum", just little bits and pieces that each person has stuck in their memories somewhere, specifically for this trip to Delmak-O.<br /><br />I also don't know if there is any significance to Tallchief and Seth being mentioned twice...<br /><br />There is a faint similarity between this book and the movie, "Event Horizon". It's not a very good movie, but once they were back in the ship, I couldn't help but thinking of it. In the movie, the crew is stuck on a long voyage, and they end up killing each other...while being possessed by some hellish force (Form Destroyer?). And then, after the ship (the world around them) is destroyed, the main character (can't think of the character's name, but he's played by Sam Neil) "wakes up" from a nightmare while in a sleep designed for deep space voyages. The end of the book also is very similar; while Mary finds out she's being sent [back] to Delmak-O, in the movie there seems to be evil forces started to interfere with the crew all over again...this all suggests some sort of hellish, unending cycle. If you haven't seen it, it's probably worth the watch just to see the similarities...but as I said, it's not that great of a movie by itself.ct-scanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09415165623335167516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-17268174071628051782009-08-20T13:51:40.301-07:002009-08-20T13:51:40.301-07:00There's a review here:
http://www.sfsite.com/1...There's a review here:<br />http://www.sfsite.com/10a/md233.htm<br /><br />The reviews on that site are generally not very well-written, but this one does offer some interesting criticisms.<br /><br />I agree about the attititude to women and sex in the novel. I also had the same reaction when the twist was first revealed. "No, not another 'it was all a dream'" But it ended up to be more than just that. I thought it was interesting how everyone preferred murdering each other to just being bored!giospurshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07004196378398706597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-7806338391104000522009-08-20T13:36:41.703-07:002009-08-20T13:36:41.703-07:00I kind of think that that book cover (with the hea...I kind of think that that book cover (with the head in the machine) gives the ending away. It didn't ruin it for me or anything, but it does give a big hint. <br />Anyway, I just finished Maze of Death, and I guess I'm a little slow, but there's a lot of stuff I haven't figured out. What's the significance of the Intercessor existing outside of the polyencephalic world? and why did Mary return to Delmak-O?<br />I have the feeling I've missed out on the last-page twist...<br /><br />---<br /><br />Completely separate question, but I'm just wondering why many people seem to value the I Ching's answers? Surely, it is all completely arbitrary; just a more complex version of flipping a coin to tell you what to do. Obviously, I'm not disregarding the fact that intelligent people like PKD valued it, but how can it possibly work?giospurshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07004196378398706597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-20573648958494601522009-08-20T07:26:28.118-07:002009-08-20T07:26:28.118-07:00I love how all the book covers make sense now afte...I love how all the book covers make sense now after finishing the book =)ct-scanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09415165623335167516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2184123882936370131.post-6863404376367817462009-08-19T21:20:04.700-07:002009-08-19T21:20:04.700-07:00Great post. This is what PKD blogging is all about...Great post. This is what PKD blogging is all about. <br /><br />I'm struck by what you've discussed here as some key elements of what Terence McKenna found inspiring in PKD. TM's weird theoretical musings on media theory and visual language owe a great deal to this kind of thing in PKD, I think. I'm not sure he would have tried to use the I Ching to figure out the structure of time without having first read and "understood" PKD.Mr. Handhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00308380761257083577noreply@blogger.com