The Game-Players of Titan

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Premise Handled With Great Skill
Review: I cannot claim to know much about Philip K. Dick as this is, thus far, the only one of his novels I have read. But based on a reading of The Game-Players of Titan, it will not be the last. The premise of the inhabitants of Earth playing the game, Bluff, for spouses and land is wonderful and the story only grows weirder and more original with each passing chapter. The only small quibble is the ending is somewhat anti-climatic after the strongly built, witty, creatively heightened build up but this book is about the journey and one could have no better guide than the author for this unique trip.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Premise Handled With Great Skill
Review: I cannot claim to know much about Philip K. Dick as this is, thus far, the only one of his novels I have read. But based on a reading of The Game-Players of Titan, it will not be the last. The premise of the inhabitants of Earth playing the game, Bluff, for spouses and land is wonderful and the story only grows weirder and more original with each passing chapter. The only small quibble is the ending is somewhat anti-climatic after the strongly built, witty, creatively heightened build up but this book is about the journey and one could have no better guide than the author for this unique trip.

Rating:
Summary: One of the worst things I've read, sci-fi or otherwise...
Review: I'd read Dick's _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_, (the basis for the great film _Blade Runner_), and enjoyed it a lot. I was expecting the same level of entertainment from _The Game Players of Titan_, but I did not receive it. This book is simply awful. The premise is too thin and non-existent to even be called "flimsy"; there is really no characterization (Pete is suicidal and lots of characters light up cigarettes at tense moments, that's about it); the description is nearly non-existent, and when it's present, it is extremely shallow and unimaginative. Oooh, the aliens (cleverly named "vugs" as to rhyme with "bugs") are described as blobs of protoplasm. The background of the story is barely touched on, and the game, "Bluff", the basis of the story, is ludicrous. Barely any descriptions are spent on it, but from what Dick says, the reader can see that it's just a shallow, boring idea (people gambling over large chunks of real estate and mates, with arbitrarily boring results time and again). The plot-twists are forced and pointless, and not enough background is even given to make the supposed "revelations" surprising or exciting. This is easily one of the worst books I've read, in terms of just about every aspect of it. I assume Dick later used his ideas and talents to better effect, because his reputation can certainly not be explained by the likes of _The Game Players of Titan_.

Rating:
Summary: Shattered Story, Unbroken Souls
Review: I'm having a hard time writing about Game-Players of Titan, and I think I've finally figured out why. It's quite a good PKD novel, but it veers off in so many directions it's hard to get a grip on.

In his best stuff, PKD's focus can be truly awesome. Even throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, his stories move. Either everyone's racing toward the same goal, or everyone's under the influence of the same drug, or the actions of one person will save the world or end it - something. What we've got here are good pieces of four or five different novels, and they don't really gel into one story until about two-thirds of the way through. Once that happens, the novel improves real quick, but the ability to build a story from widely separated elements is a difficult trick and one that PKD didn't master until a little later in his career.

Granted, the same group of people remains more or less intact throughout, which helps the cohesion a lot. They are all California landowners on an Earth where some wartime disaster has depleted human fertility. They spend their time playing a game imported from the alien species native to Titan, which forces losers to trade spouses and land holdings. Fine, but how are you supposed to identify with the group's struggle when the struggle keeps changing?

Story Number One is a thriller in which the group members try to stave off a hostile takeover from an East Coast conglomerate. Story Number Two is a murder mystery in which they all realize that they have no memories of the time at which the murder took place. Story Number Three is a conspiracy fantasy in which they confront a cabal of Homo Superior out to destroy them. Story Number Four is a paranoid nightmare in which they must return to their game, this time against the Titans, for the Earth itself. Game-Players of Titan is less a science fiction novel than a 200-page science fiction library.

Nevertheless, despite the patchwork, Game-Players of Titan is a greater piece than other PKD novels with similar flaws. What saves it this time out is the author's attention to fleshing out his characters. It's not perfect, but by the time the story is over the reader can recognize most of the members of the original character grouping just by their actions and manner of speaking - that's how you can successfully identify with them, not through the plot. The original group consists of about eight characters, and five or so of them are fully three-dimensional - an excellent batting average, and one which PKD would improve upon later.

What's more, underneath all of the plot machinations is a genuinely inspiring story about a man contemplating suicide who recovers his love of life through meaningful work and a good relationship with his wife. Pete Garden is an irritating whiner on the first page, a charismatic leader on the last, and that's a dramatic story well worth anyone's time. You've got to dig for it, though.

So Game-Players of Titan is really a cheer for the guy who struggles unsuccessfully and comes close to despair, but goes out and fights again because his friends help him. Regular readers of PKD's work will recognize this theme as the same dealt with so successfully in classics like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Now Wait for Last Year. Once again, the author proves that he's at least as much interested in love as he is in paranoia and the nature of reality, his better-known concerns.

Benshlomo says, Here's to the ones who don't stop when things get tough.

Rating:
Summary: Shattered Story, Unbroken Souls
Review: I'm having a hard time writing about Game-Players of Titan, and I think I've finally figured out why. It's quite a good PKD novel, but it veers off in so many directions it's hard to get a grip on.

In his best stuff, PKD's focus can be truly awesome. Even throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, his stories move. Either everyone's racing toward the same goal, or everyone's under the influence of the same drug, or the actions of one person will save the world or end it - something. What we've got here are good pieces of four or five different novels, and they don't really gel into one story until about two-thirds of the way through. Once that happens, the novel improves real quick, but the ability to build a story from widely separated elements is a difficult trick and one that PKD didn't master until a little later in his career.

Granted, the same group of people remains more or less intact throughout, which helps the cohesion a lot. They are all California landowners on an Earth where some wartime disaster has depleted human fertility. They spend their time playing a game imported from the alien species native to Titan, which forces losers to trade spouses and land holdings. Fine, but how are you supposed to identify with the group's struggle when the struggle keeps changing?

Story Number One is a thriller in which the group members try to stave off a hostile takeover from an East Coast conglomerate. Story Number Two is a murder mystery in which they all realize that they have no memories of the time at which the murder took place. Story Number Three is a conspiracy fantasy in which they confront a cabal of Homo Superior out to destroy them. Story Number Four is a paranoid nightmare in which they must return to their game, this time against the Titans, for the Earth itself. Game-Players of Titan is less a science fiction novel than a 200-page science fiction library.

Nevertheless, despite the patchwork, Game-Players of Titan is a greater piece than other PKD novels with similar flaws. What saves it this time out is the author's attention to fleshing out his characters. It's not perfect, but by the time the story is over the reader can recognize most of the members of the original character grouping just by their actions and manner of speaking - that's how you can successfully identify with them, not through the plot. The original group consists of about eight characters, and five or so of them are fully three-dimensional - an excellent batting average, and one which PKD would improve upon later.

What's more, underneath all of the plot machinations is a genuinely inspiring story about a man contemplating suicide who recovers his love of life through meaningful work and a good relationship with his wife. Pete Garden is an irritating whiner on the first page, a charismatic leader on the last, and that's a dramatic story well worth anyone's time. You've got to dig for it, though.

So Game-Players of Titan is really a cheer for the guy who struggles unsuccessfully and comes close to despair, but goes out and fights again because his friends help him. Regular readers of PKD's work will recognize this theme as the same dealt with so successfully in classics like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Now Wait for Last Year. Once again, the author proves that he's at least as much interested in love as he is in paranoia and the nature of reality, his better-known concerns.

Benshlomo says, Here's to the ones who don't stop when things get tough.

Rating:
Summary: One of PKD's best
Review: I've read many PKD novels and I rank "Game Players of Titan" among my favorites. It is fun, well written and original.

Rating:
Summary: SF NOVELS OPUS TEN
Review: In 1963, Philip K. Dick published only one novel THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN, a novel you will enjoy very much if you are already familiar with Dick's imaginary world or dislike if it's the first novel of PKD you read. Why ? Because Philip K. Dick, in this novel, was more interested in the psychological torments of THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN's main character - Pete Garden - than in giving a solid literary structure to this novel.

In fact, behind every Pete Garden move, you can recognize the shadow of the personal life of PKD. Garden has problems with women, so does PKD, Pete Garden is an expert in pharmacology and drugs, so is PKD. At last, Pete Garden is always oscillating between psychosis and neurosis like Philip K. Dick in the early sixties.

The Titan invaders had already been partly described by PKD in 1957, in THE WORLD JONES MADE. Now these creatures rule the Earth and have brought to the few humans left their hobby, the Game. The story is not very interesting but one of the most important themes treated by Philip K. Dick - the Simulacra - makes a famous first apparition in THE GAME-PLAYERS OF TITAN. Are you for real ? Are you what you seem to be ? Am I what I think I am ? Those questions torture the characters of the novel. For our pleasure.

A CD to.. No! A DVD for.. NO!! A book for those of you who deserve Philip K. Dick.

Rating:
Summary: Typical 60s PKD--and that's a good thing
Review: In criticial estimation, The Game Players of Titan suffers by comparison with Dick's masterpieces The Man in the High Castle, Martian Time-Slip, and Dr. Bloodmoney, also written in the early 1960s, because it does not have their serious themes or strong sociological dimension. Nevertheless, this book partakes of the brilliance of the overall concept that runs through Dick's work in this period. What's more, it is a very funny novel. The vugs, whose natural form is that of amorphous, gelatinous blobs, have occupied Earth after winning a war in which humanity nearly managed to sterilize itself through radiation exposure. Vugs have the capability of controlling humans' minds or simulating their form, behavior, and memories, often taking names such as U. S. Cummings and E. B. Black. The plot revolves around the game of Bluff, which is somewhat akin to Monopoly, which is used to decide mates and property rights. The plot culminates with an interspecies game of Bluff between the humans and vugs, who have the advantage of psychokinetic powers, which they use to change the values of the cards as they play. There are mind-altering drugs, psychosis, talking cars, and crazy humor. In short, a feast for the Dick fan.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely my favorite Dick novel.
Review: It's one of my favorite books ever. I've just read it a second time, and it was just as good as the first. A fast paced and thought provoking thriller, it ranks as one of Dick's masterpieces (Androids, Flow my Tears, Castle). A great page-turner; you've driven over speed bumps slower than you'll read this book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best.
Review: One of my favorite Dick novels. I'm surprised more people haven't reviewed it. Very strange, very funny, and you can confuse the hell out of your friends and family by calling them "vug sticks."