Eye in the Sky

So-called “classic” science fiction from the 50s can now appear incredibly dated, especially when it focuses on technology. Thankfully, Philip K Dick's take on Science Fiction is more about inner space than outer space. This early novel from the late 50s uses an accident at a research lab to explore the inner psyche of several of the victims of the accident, as they are trapped in worlds of their own making.

The technology is used as window dressing. Dick's real subject, which he would revisit many, many times over the next two decades, is the nature of reality itself. Hamilton has just been fired from his job because his wife is a suspected Communist (this is the McCarthy era, remember) and they are two of the eight people caught in the accident. They wake up in a nightmare world soaked in religion, where God is a real presence in the sky (hence the title of the book), the Earth is the centre of the universe, prayer actually works and the laws of physics have been subverted. It's a nightmarish vision of vengeful angels and mindless dogma. Only by knocking unconscious the creator of this world do they escape, only to find themselves in an even more bizarre situation, where one woman's dislike of something erases it from existence.

Dick's imagination is spectacular, creating whole universes with different rules and playing out the consequences. There's mania here and horror as the protagonists struggle to get back to “reality”, whatever that may be. And if they do, will they ever be the same again?

Eye in the Sky is well worth the time of any SF fan and is one of Dick's early classics.

3.5 stars Originally posted at www.fantasyliterature.com

Jack Hamilton has just lost his job as an engineer for a government defense contractor because his wife Marsha is a suspected communist sympathizer. Having nothing better to do for the afternoon, he accompanies Marsha to the viewing of a new linear accelerator. An accident at the accelerator beams the Hamiltons and six other unsuspecting citizens into a parallel universe that at first appears to be their world but soon starts to evince subtle differences that become more and more obvious as time goes on. There is some sort of ???corny Arab religion??? at work ??? God is all justice and no mercy so, for example, telling a lie brings down an immediate curse such as a bee sting.

There are miracles here that can be taken advantage of, such as a cigarette machine that Jack, a darn good engineer, manages to rig up to produce unlimited supplies of excellent brandy, but generally this is an uncomfortable world that most of them would like to get out of. When they surmise that they are actually living in one of their group???s fantasy worlds, they figure out how to escape. Unfortunately, they don???t return to the real world. Instead, they move on to the fantasy world of another of the group, and then another, and then another.

Though it starts out pretty seriously, the plot of Eye in the Sky eventually becomes rather amusing as we view the world from different people???s distorted perspectives. Eye in the Sky was written in 1957, long before Philip K. Dick???s plots became obtuse and dominated by incoherent hallucinogenic sequences. Some of the story goes on too long and some of it may be distasteful to those of certain races, those with certain mental disorders, or those with certain political or religious beliefs, but that???s nothing new for old science fiction, and Dick has plenty to say on these topics. As usual, it???s really hard to like most of Dick???s characters ??? they???re obsessed, irrational, and phobic ??? but we can sympathize with Jack and Marsha Hamilton, at least.

I listened to Brilliance Audio???s recent publication of Eye in the Sky which was narrated by Dan John Miller. He was new to me, but I was pleased with his performance and recommend this version. Eye in the Sky is worth a read ??? it???s a good novel that shows Philip K. Dick very early in his career.

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