Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said — Philip K. Dick

THEODORE STURGEON writes:

"I want to tell you about Philip K. Dick's new novel, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. It is not for nothing that the new rash of academic studies of sf, which may nod in passing to a parade of our greats, give whole pages, whole chapters, to Philip K. Dick. Writing a concise description of one of his books, sketching one of his plots, is like trying to carve a leafless tree in granite. Real and solid (and strange, and far out) as his characters may be, they all exhibit complex traceries of personality quite impossible to predict and sometimes just the other side of the reader's ability to understand. The effect, of course, is the creation of a work that your head won't put down even if your hands do.

"The policeman here is that rarity, a totally detestable character with whom you must empathize, and with whom, ultimately, you will sympathise as well. But he isn't the protagonist. It isn't his story, though the story could not exist without him. The narrative belongs to Jason Taverner, TV superstar, who awakes in a world in which he has never existed. This is not the first time this unset fling concept has been used but I will guarantee that you won't anticipate the rationale for this one until Dick is good and ready to give it to you. And then there's the girl called Alys . . . now there's one you'll forget about as readily as a tattoo on the back of your hand. Buy this one and brace yourself for a mystery tour."

--Galaxy