The Man in the High Castle

By: Philip K. Dick

Narrated by: Jeff Cummings

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Now an Amazon Original series

Winner of the Hugo Award

"The single most resonant and carefully imagined book of Dick's career." --New York Times

It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war - and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.

This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it, Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to wake.

©1962 Philip K. Dick, © renewed 1990 by Laura Coelho, Christopher Dick, and Isa Hackett. (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Alternative history

The Man in the High Castle is PK Dick's 1962 Hugo award winning novel of an alternate history where the US has lost WWII. In this vision, due to the assassination of FDR in his fist term, the subsequent US president fails to prepare the nation for war with a quick defeat after Pearl Harbor and the fall of England due to lack of US support. The country is divided between the Japanese controlling the west coast to the Rockies, while Germany controls the East with the Rocky Mountain region somewhat murky. Germany dominates science and has made it to Mars and Venus, while they continue to move across the globe with ethnic cleansing. The story centers around several characters barely surviving, including introspective Japanese. Most intriguing is a story within a story concept from which the title is derived, referring to the mysterious author of another alternate history where the US has won the war.

The sci-fi elements are minimal especially given the span of time, although for 1962, colonization of Mars and Venus was probably novel with the US Mercury and Gemini space missions barely getting into orbit. The focus is mainly on how the various characters respond to their situations, while at the same time describing a more macabre, hopeless world. At the same time, Dick contrasts the Japan and Germany styles of conquest which differ greatly. Dick also was quite prescient in his notions of evolving social mores.

The narration is superb with an excellent range of voices and solid pacing. Don't expect some climatic revolution at the end to reset history. This is a tale of "what if" and Dick provide a compelling, credible, and engaging alternative version.

Good idea

Any additional comments?

It was a really great idea for book. But it was slow to develop and it could have been so much better. The ending was disappointing.

Interesting but falls flat

I was stoked to here what would have happened if Germany and Japan were two of one World War II but this book talks more about individual people in their daily lives more than the broad spectrum of things I would've been fine with just talking about Giuliana then the other half fact thrown in characters that didn't really affect the story at all. It was interesting but the ending like most books left me wondering what I just listen to at all.

A Classic

Hard not to like this book. Jeff Cummings' narration makes it even better. Would recommend.

Different from the Tv Show

Could you see The Man in the High Castle being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I love the Amazon Tv show for this book! The season ending is what had me running to get the audiobook. It's a different story, which is interesting at times, but I've had this book in my library for a year now and still haven't been able to bring myself to finish it. It puts me to sleep, unlike the tv show.

GREAT narration...ignore his critics

Ignore the naysayers who don't like this performance. It is perfect. He reads it EXACTLY like Dick wrote it. If you don't like it, then blame Dick, not Jeff Cummings. The book is filled with stereotypical voices. They have accents. Their grammar is bad. They say stupid things. Some are racists. It's all there in the text and Cummings captures it beautifully.

I'd rather not promote this book...BUT

What made the experience of listening to The Man in the High Castle the most enjoyable?

After more consideration, I decided to rerate this book from a 3 to a 5. Why? Because I realized that I rated it a 3 solely based on the fact that the plot disgusted me so much. I rerate it a 5 not only because it pissed me off so much, but also because I think it well (especially considering the current US election cycle), that many more people listen to it. Remember, it was written in 1962. A lot of good came out of 1962 no matter how goofy they seem today. This book, like Woodstock (1969), I think compels US to ask the question, "Why did this happen?". So, listen (it's short enough at least), and ponder why this reality existed in the 2nd place.

Tv show is way better

This was just too slow and all over the place. The voice actor is horrid. The show is different than the book but that is fantastic that it is as it’s one of my favorite shows.

Not as good as I was hoping for

3.5 stars edging towards 4. The premise was interesting, what if Germany and Japan had won World War II and divided the world (and the US) between them, what would things look like 15 years after the war. I found this to be very much a "head book", where probably 80% of the book was the various characters just thinking about the things they were going to do or the things that they had done or wondering what the other people were thinking or going to do about them. I had some expectations for the book based on the TV series, but the novel was considerably less dramatic and more cerebral.
It was okay and I'm glad I listened to it, but I found it a bit dry and the ending to be unsatisfying.

A brief window into a window.

Very interesting seeing a "what if" inside of a "what if" story. I enjoyed it for the ride that it was, but do feel as if the ending was slightly rushed and the serendipity of it all was a little too much. Would still recommend though.