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| Review Summary |
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch takes place in a not too distant future where the Earth is becoming increasingly hot, and many people are forced by the government to "emigrate" to planets such as Mars. These expatriates live in cramped "hovels" and escape harsh reality by taking a mind bending drug called Can-D, which allowes them, for a short while, to inhabit dolls in a playset (not unlike Ken and Barbie), giving the illusion that they are back on earth. Meanwhile, the well known business magnate Palmer Eldritch has returned from the Proxima system with a new drug, Chew-Z. Barney Mayerson (a precog executive) and his artificially evolved boss who owns Perky Pat layouts (read Ken and Barbie playset) engage in a power strugle with Eldritch over control of the drug market. But was it actually Eldritch who returned from the Prox system after a ten year absence, or has he been replaced by an unknown alien?
Scott David Mclemore, Resident Scholar
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The year is about 2016, and the Earth is overheating. The UN drafts involuntary settlers to move to colonies on Mars, Venus, and Ganymede, where life is so bleak that the only way they can survive psychically is by taking regular doses of the drug Can-D, which creates brief fantasies that they are the beautiful and wealthy characters "Perky Pat" Christensen and her friend Walt back on Earth. Barney Mayerson is a Pre-Fash consultant with P.P. Layouts, which designs miniatures for the tiny room and landscape layouts that assist Perky Pat trips. Part of what makes him effective is that Barney is a pre-cog: he can see parts of the future, especially news headlines, as can his colleague and lover Rondinella Fugate. Something ominous appears on the horizon for Barney, Roni, his boss Leo, his ex-wife Emily, her new husband Richard Hnatt, and other characters when Palmer Eldritch, the financier who has been off on a space vogage to Proxima Centauri, is reported to have crashed on Pluto with a lichen culture that supplies a more powerful and lasting drug than Can-D called Chew-Z. This could not only ruin P.P. Layouts but alter reality as humans know it. But is it really Palmer Eldritch, and what is he after? This novel is at times bewildering, with its acid-like alterations of reality and familiar Dick theme of what constitutes sanity.
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%
Tone of book
- cynical or dry-wit
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
Repressive society story
Yes
Repressive because:
- drugs you
Tech./$$$/Info hunt
Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying
- drug (narcotics)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- business executive
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Has magical/special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character:
- can see into the future
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- emotionally unstable
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 60's-90's
- long-lived adults
Profession/status:
- business executive
- wealthy
Has magical powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- mind control
- can see into the future
- teleportation
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- a substantial amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Genius (really!)
Physique
- average physique
- missing body parts/abilities
Setting
Terrain
- Desert
Which planet?
- Mars
Earth setting:
- near future (later in 21st century)
- current (early 21st century)
Spaceship setting:
- futuristic human freighter/transport
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Takes place in spaceship?
Yes
Not Earth, in Solar System?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 1st
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- none/very little science jargon needed
- some scientific explanation
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
- descript of kissing
- actual description of sex
- description of breasts
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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