Summary: The year is 2203, and the ruler of the Universe is chosen according to the random laws of a strange game under the control of Quizmaster Verrick. But when Ted Bentley, a research technician recently dismissed from his job, signs on to work for Verrick, he has no idea that Leon Cartwright is about to become the new Quizmaster. Nor does he know that he’s about to play an integral part in the plot to assassinate Cartwright so that Verrick can resume leadership of a universe not nearly as random as it appears.
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Marc: Solar Lottery deals with recognizable PKD issues like the power that government, business, and media have to manipulate the lives (and realities) of common people. The plot makes more literal sense than many PKD novels, but the characters feel flat and unconvincing. Leon Cartwright, for example, becomes inexplicably passive during the second act. The subplot concerning the religious cult doesn't really cohere. Fascinating ideas pop up unexpectedly like non sequiturs throughout the story, but never gel into something bigger.
About the Author: Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928 and lived most of his life in California. He briefly attended the University of California, but dropped out before completing any classes. In 1952, he began writing professionally and proceeded to write numerous novels and short-story collections. He won the Hugo Award for the best novel in 1962 for The Man in the High Castle and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year in 1974 for Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. Philip K. Dick died on March 2, 1982, in Santa Ana, California, of heart failure following a stroke.
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