Rating: 
Summary: Visionary Gem by PKD
Review: Lost in all the mind-boggling 'what is real' question that would later flavor most of this master's work, is the groundwork he lays for relationship building. At the time this book was published--1959--sci-fi was, for the most part, hard science. This, however, is not the only 'gem' this book provides. Read the short scene with the youth--spiked, colored hair. Wait a minute. This book was published in 1959. Spiked, colored hair in 1959? I don't think so, not even California in 1959. In the annals of Dickdom, Time Out of Joint represents the same visionary mark of his talent as 'Meet the Beatles' did for The Beatles. A must read for any PKD fan.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely Worth An Afternoon
Review: Often in his works, Philip K. Dick will attempt to tie together too many plot threads and mind-bending concepts. Such books, with "Dr. Bloodmoney" being the best example I can think of, render themselves ineffectual and unenjoyable. As "Dr. Bloodmoney" was the second PKD book I read, and "Time Out Of Joint" the third, I was expecting to have to follow a complex plot and sort everything out. I was pleasantly surprised by what I read. "Time Out Of Joint" investigates only one PKD concept- false reality being supplanted by true reality- but he goes far more in depth than usual. This allows him to develop his characters more than usual, and the decreased emphasis on sci-fi concepts causes the first three-quarters of the book to develop much like a novel. Given that that is not familiar PKD territory, it was also surprising how smoothly it developed. Toward the end, the book lost that smoothness, and the last few chapters went by very quickly and jerkily. This wasn't that bad, though, as Dick used that jerkiness to impart a sense of gradually increasing intensity. This helped, as dawning awareness of the situation corresponded to an increase in the urgency. The book's ending seemed rather abrupt, but PKD may have wanted it that way. I would recommend this book to anyone, PKD fan or no. The compelling premise and highly effective dawning awareness make it very easy for anyone to read and enjoy. PKD fans should buy this for completeness- not just completeness of their collection, but also completeness of PKD's range of writing.
Rating:
Summary: Going Sane and loving it. Read the story then the introduct
Review: One of the smoothest, most charming, funny, and light-hearted books by PKD. Warning! Do not read the introduction! It spoils the book!
The introduction gives us a new way to look at the works of PKD and I highly recommend it(after you have read the story.)
If you like movies like "The Matrix" you might be surprised at their possible (subconscouis or otherwise) origins in stories like this one. Dick is to Sci-Fi movies what Lovecraft is to Horror movies. The going may be rocky, but what a spectacular view at the top!
If you prefer the idea of science, over the idea of fiction, this may not be for you. If you suspect that the most creative science fiction was written before we went to the moon, this is definitely for you!
Rating:
Summary: Going Sane and loving it. Read the story then the introduct
Review: One of the smoothest, most charming, funny, and light-hearted books by PKD. Warning! Do not read the introduction! It spoils the book!
The introduction gives us a new way to look at the works of PKD and I highly recommend it(after you have read the story.)
If you like movies like "The Matrix" you might be surprised at their possible (subconscouis or otherwise) origins in stories like this one. Dick is to Sci-Fi movies what Lovecraft is to Horror movies. The going may be rocky, but what a spectacular view at the top!
If you prefer the idea of science, over the idea of fiction, this may not be for you. If you suspect that the most creative science fiction was written before we went to the moon, this is definitely for you!
Rating:
Summary: The book that The Truman Show (unofficially) derives from
Review: Saw The Truman Show in the cinema when it was out. Was perplexed, as I was getting a massive sense of deja vu throughout the film. So when I got home I began digging through the book collection. Eventually I found Time Out of Joint,the book I believe was the (unconscious?) memetic root of the film's ideas. Weird thing, in the book the hero is living in a perpetual 1958 (the book was written around then) where he is the centre of attention, and when he finally breaks out of the pretend town (some scenes, such as the wall of fire, are scene-for-scene the same as Truman Show) he finds out it's 1998 -- which is the year the Truman Show came out. Weird or what? In the book, I liked the description (from a 1959 person's point of view) of youth gangs in 1998. Women and men, with piercings and tatoos, the women with short hair and trousers were indistinguishable from the men. Great stuff, paranoiac exposition and crisp dialog put together in splendid economy. Great stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: Disguise Is the Nature of Nature
Review: Somewhere I read Philip K. Dick say that the one most important piece of knowledge he had picked up from philosophy is that, "The nature of reality is to disguise its true nature" (which he claimed to have read in Heraclitus, though it's difficult to be sure if Heraclitus actually said that). TIME OUT OF JOINT is one of Dick's earlier novels that treats the theme of "The World Is Not What We Think It Is" explicitly. It's a novel about knowledge and recognition. The characters play parts in a detective story where the mystery involves piecing together missing parts of the world. Some of the clues include finding light switches on the wrong side of the door, finding a note where a lemonade stand used to be, finding pictures of some actress nobody's ever heard of, and seeing visions. A number of PKD's later books involved more significant permutations of this theme of Nature-In-Disguise. This story is like a one-trick pony in comparison to books like PALMER ELDRITCH, NOW WAIT FOR LAST YEAR, UBIK, MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, MAZE OF DEATH, or VALIS. But the gradual accumulation of evidence, the dawning of recognition in the main characters, makes for pretty fascinating reading. For good or ill, several modern film makers have really taken this motif to heart (e.g., Dark City, The Matrix, The 13th Floor, The 6th Sense, etc.).
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful perspective
Review: That Dick could be as popular as he is now without his works containing some literary merit seems impossible. The characters are drawn in settings with about as much detail as viewing them in immediate experience would provide. Words are twisted or invented to represent objects or ideas - real and familiar- though not previously experienced except on the printed page. Floods of recognition are released in the reader's mind by the loving representation of the "lowly" objects of everyday life. Dick becomes a friend invited into lunch discussions with colleagues, or to be "haunted" by when in moments of quiet contemplation. If you are at all thoughtful you will enjoys his writings. If these qualities are not representative of "literary value" they should be. For they are the qualities sought after by ordinary people - like me. Dick, as a philosopher, avoids the error commited by many of the "great" ones. Ideas cannot affect us only though the cerebrum and its logic. The limbic system and associated areas generating emotion are intimately intertwined with the cerebrum in development. The experience of reading the TIME OUT OF JOINT has left me with only one regret: how I wish Sammy could have known I was in the Tree House listening in on his crystal set.
Rating: 
Summary: hmm...
Review: The biggest problem with this book is that the themes that Dick would later use are presented far too neatly. When you finish most Dick novels, you're never quite sure what is and what isn't. Here, the seemingly inexplicable events are all neatly tied up at the end, which rather takes away from the richness. It's still Dick, though, and thus it's still quite good. Addendum: I have no idea why I gave this four stars. It's just not that good. Insufficient claustrophobic paranoia for my personal taste. A sign of things to come, but not brilliant on its own. I dig the cover of the new Vintage edition, though. When were all these books reprinted?
Rating:
Summary: Whooahhh...
Review: The title of this review has a double pun involved...one is to the sheer masterpiece this book is...and the other to something the star of the matrix (which was GREATLY contributed to by this book) and his catch phrase... All puns aside...this is simply one of the greatest novels ever written...the plot is so obscure and oblique that it strikes remarkably close to home...and the overall idea of the entire book is enough to make you want to look over your shoulder when you are walking down that long corridor...(1984 pun...god im full of them tonight...)...this is one of the greatest books you can read...(and coincidentially a very hard one to find) if you like this book...i suggest you read "The Man in the High Castle" "The World Jones Made" "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep"(book that the movie bladerunner was based on) by the same author...and also "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley and "Fahrenheit 451"... by Ray Bradbury....and of course...."Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clark.....ALL of these books i have mentioned and made puns of are awesome books...and should be read by anyone interested in seeing the future of the human race...
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: This book has a great set-up - a man who slowly starts to realize that his "reality" is just a sham. There is a long (compared to the length of the book) build up, where piece by piece, he starts accumulating information that leads him to finally break out of his world. It is at this point where you figure the story can really take off. Instead, it ends, pretty much in short order. It's sort of like opening a huge beautifully wrapped present and then finding there's a gift certificate inside. Not so bad, but, it brings the experience down. Worth a read.
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