Rating: 
Summary: TIGHTLY WOVEN
Review: The Transmigration of Timothy Archer is the third book of four that make up PKD's VALIS series. The fourth book is RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH, a posthumeous work. Unlike some of PKD's books, ToTA is very tightly woven--elements from early on in the book appear dozens of pages later on. PKD doesn't change gears halfway, like he did in THE PENULTIMATE TRUTH, where he started off getting us to believe one thing and then, halfway, wanted us to believe something else that contradicted what we just read. ToTA doesn't do this. The main characters in ToTA are: TIMOTHY ARCHER--a bishop. The story is entirely about him and his search for Christ--in the form of a mushroom. JEFF ARCHER--Tim's son. Jeff likes Kirsten. ANGEL ARCHER--Married to Jeff. Although the story is about Tim Archer, the entire story is told from her point of view. KIRSTEN--Tim Archer's mistress. She feels that Angel, Tim's daughter-in-law, likes Tim. She is also the mother of BILL--a hebephrenic who later gets a major part in the story. Some of PKD's books are hard to get into, but not this one. No sooner had I scanned the first page than I hunkered down and started to devour this novel. What's really ironic is that this is a VALIS book but it NOT ONCE mentions VALIS. But it DOES mention subliminal messages from elsewhere. This is a FICTION novel by PKD--you won't find conapts, plasteel, aliens, etc. Overall, this is a very good book that holds your attention all the way through.
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Summary: Mainstream not all it's cracked up to be, Phil
Review: This is perhaps the most readable book by Philip K Dick, a science fiction writer whose driving ambition seems to have been to finally be recognized as a "real" writer. The character this book is organized around is based on Dick's real life friend, Bishop James Pike, who never seemed to care if he was considered orhtodox or not. Perhaps that's why he was brought up on heresy charges and almost excommunicated from the Episcopalian church. The character in the book seems to reflect the real Pike, who went around California getting little old ladies from Pasadena (literally) to sit on the floor of their churches and give Zen a chance. He also wrote a fairly controversial book, The Wilderness Revolt, painting Jesus as a Hebrew nationalist intent on driving out the Romans.
Some real life events that led Pike to write his book The Other Side are outlined in PKD's book from his own perspective. This was supposed to be PKD's big mainstream novel, his breakthrough to the other side, but only he would decline Greek nouns in a "mainstream" novel, or claim that Jesus never existed and was a code-name for psychedelic mushrooms designed to throw the man, the Romans, off the track (he doesn't even have the good grace to call it "manna" but insists on some Hebrew verb for "I am"...). PKD writes from a woman narrator's perspective throughout, which makes it even more interesting.
The central problem in the book revolves around transmigration really, or reincarnation as it is more commonly called, and deals with the unknowability factor. It mercifully allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, just as life does. In terms of style it almost achieves a kind of perfection all its own, a polishedness that gleams the way a well-used doorknob might, the thoughts of a man used to dealing with metaphysical happenings on an everyday basis. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Concept without form
Review: Timothy Archer is not the saint that he should be. Dick tells us that he is a widely-published bishop, respected the world over, who is in the business of saving souls. The real Timothy Archer is a sophomore who internalizes any new idea like a sponge, only rejecting a philosophy when it is proved false through practice. His relationship with Kristen and Angel is non-existent. His suicidal lover and deeply depressed daughter-in-law are merely in the room as he reads aloud from books. It is indeed difficult to sympathize with Dick's creation, let alone desire his transmigration. Huge portions of the book read like an undergraduate excercise in snobbery. References to classical culture are painfully specific. (Dick has to let us know that he knows the differences between "Fidelio" recordings.) One does much better to read his direct assault on the issues he attempts to raise in this narrative. His "Exegesis" is a much more engaging exploration of gnosis and simultaneous realities. Like all science fiction writers, Dick's heart is all concept. The working out of his ideas is never as intriguing as the germinating concept. Even his best books, "The Man in the High Castle" and "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" are best remembered for their concepts than for their writing. As he aged, his non-fiction writing became the best outlet for his ideas, and his novels became ever more inchoate. "Timothy Archer" is a cold novel about an even colder central character who is all concept and no action. Dick's idea of the bishop is far greater than his writing of the bishop. I can only imagine a fan enjoying this novel.
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Summary: Love, Death, and PKD
Review: TTA has very little to do with either Valis or the Divine Invasion, despite it supposedly being the third in the Valis Trilogy. 'The Owl in Daylight,' the book PKD never wrote, was the third in that trilogy. TTA stands alone. I adore this book; it is simply one of my favourite PKD books. It is about love, empathy, and death. It is part biography of Bishop Pike, but more than that it is a profound study of life and death. The main character, Angel Archer, is one of PKD's best, and truly the best woman ever to inhabit a PKD novel. We have Ursula Le Guin to thank, and least in part, for that. This book is almost completely dialogue, both interior and exterior. The plot means little; it is a cover for the real issues at hand. This is not a biography. The biographical material provides the plot, but this is not where the heart of the novel lies. The best aspect of TTA is the characters: Archer Archer especially, but also Edgar Barefoot. Each character in this book is real, not in the sense that they exist in the real world, but in the sense that they are really real characters (I know this sounds awkward.) It is a book about sadness and pain, but in the end it is about love. Not love as in romantic love, but abstract love, love and understanding for all things. PKD was a truly good-hearted man, and this is the greatest testament to him.
Rating:
Summary: One of his best and most readable
Review: Unlike "VALIS" and "The Divine Invasion", this novel dispenses with science fiction apparatus in its examination of religious and philosophical issues. Based on the life of controversial Episcopal Bishop James Pike, who was a close friend of the author's, this is one of Dick's best written novels. Many of his earlier works were produced at a blisteringly fast pace, without much time for revision; some of them are essentially first drafts. Here, in Dick's last work, he slows down enough to polish his prose and put events in their proper context. The result is a fascinating and deeply moving story. Although this novel is usually billed as part of a trilogy or series, its sole connection with "VALIS" and "Divine Invasion" is that the story has a religious theme. Otherwise there is no connection.
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Summary: Based on the" true" story of Bishop Pike
Review: Well first let me say that this is a great book.Much easier to get into than Valis. However,the thing that I want to bring to potential readers is that this story is basically taken from a book by Bishop Pike titled "The Other Side".Pike's book details his experiences with contacts fom his son who committed suicide in 1966.The book by Pike is an incredible read.It details Pikes various contacts with his son,his liberal theology,and his courage in asking tough questions of his religion.Its is still hard to imagine a Bishop putting out a book like this unless something really incredible happenned to him.An added note is that in the forward of his book, Bishop Pike thanks his good friends Mr. and Mrs. Phil Dick for all their support.Based on the Bishop's story much of what is found in TToTA is based on real events.
Rating:
Summary: Don't let other two books fool you: this is totally unique.
Review: What I mean by other two books are, of course, VALIS and The Divine Invasion...And don't let people tell you these are a trilogy either...this one, Dick's final work stands out by being totally believable and easy to understand for readers not accustomed to Dick's normal fare. While this book is almost always listed as Sci-Fi, I have yet to find a single science-fiction element in it. It is a very poignant human drama, where a young widowed woman tries to make sense out of the senseless deaths of her loved ones against the backdrop of the Bay area circa 1960's and 70's. While some of the plot elements are a little strange (Jesus is really a mushroom), they are never really presented as facts, just speculations...again, people trying to make sense out of that which seems to make no sense. What I found most interesting was the atmosphere Dick presented of Berkley in that era. Having been born in the late 70's, and in the southeast, I had no idea of the state of affairs in the part of the country back then. I think anyone who enjoys a very well-written book concerning personal human dramas should check this out. Forget it's labled sci-fi, and forget about the "first two" books (which are indeed good, but not the same as this one), and check this one out.
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