Valis

By Philip K. Dick,

Book cover of Valis

Book description

It began with a blinding light, a divine revelation from a mysterious intelligence that called itself VALIS (Vast Active Living Intelligence System). And with that, the fabric of reality was torn apart and laid bare so that anything seemed possible, but nothing seemed quite right.

It was madness, pure and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

5 authors picked Valis as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I read Valis amongst several other Philip K. Dick novels for my research and found it incredibly compelling.

The struggle of the narrator to work out the meaning of his experiences is relatable, and the stakes are as high in fiction as they are in reality.

I have a feeling that this book will remain essential for a long time to come and wish I had read it sooner.

I consider myself a very spiritual person and I believe that it is a person’s responsibility to question what it means to be spiritual in order to better understand one’s own faith.

As I am, Philip K. Dick was obviously obsessed with wanting spiritual answers. Valis is very entertaining, but it also made me question all that I believe in a way that expanded and made my spirituality stronger.

This book served as a primary inspiration for my book. One of Dick’s later works, it follows a drug-addled protagonist, Horselover Fat, in his search for the Vast Active Living Intelligence System: an artificial AI that coincides with Dick’s vision of a gnostic God.

There are few books, in my view, that will change how you will see the world. Typically, experience does that, but this book is almost a substitute for experience. At the least, it will disorient you. Like Dick’s other works, it is disorienting.

You may not remember the story, the characters, or even the message! But…

Victoria Unveiled

By Shane Joseph,

Book cover of Victoria Unveiled

Shane Joseph Author Of Victoria Unveiled

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Shane's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

A fast-paced literary thriller with a strong sci-fi element and loaded with existential questions. Beyond the entertainment value, this book takes a hard look at the perilous world of publishing, which is on a crash course to meet the nascent, no-holds-barred world of AI. Could these worlds co-exist, or will they destroy each other? And more importantly, how will humans tolerate their own creations, the robots, on this planet?

In this, his latest speculative fiction novel, Shane Joseph, returns to the “what if” questions facing humanity that he raised in After the Flood, a book that won him the…

Victoria Unveiled

By Shane Joseph,

What is this book about?

With Chatbots and Large Language Models changing the world of writing and publishing dramatically, what happens when we introduce a sentient robot capable of feelings into the mix?

Phil Kruger, inventor, and serial womanizer, believes he has the answer in his creation, Victoria, the first sentient robot in the world, imbued with beauty, knowledge, and strength and on a crash course to acquire human feelings through massive infusions of data. Arrayed against him are independent trade publisher Artemius (Art) Jones and his rebellious and sexually starved daughter, Paula, an editor herself, who is determined to take her father's failing press,…


Blimey. Even by PKD’s standards, this is an unconventional read. VALIS is a story which seeps into the author’s real life, or vice versa. It includes autobiographical elements as well as science fiction and philosophy. Its bravery impresses me. This is art written with the utmost passion, honesty and perhaps even desperation, as it details the author’s mental illness and unexplained experiences and tries to make sense of them. And yet it also manages to be great fun. Really. 

VALIS—Vast Active Living Intelligence System—is one of PK Dick’s most inspiring, and at the same time, depressing, novels. A bizarre film leads a rag tag group of friends to even more bizarre adventures. They meet a 2-year-old Messiah who cures the protagonist’s psychosis. Any more would be spoiling the plot.

Want books like Valis?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Valis.

Browse books like Valis

Book cover of The Guide for the Perplexed
Book cover of Theological-Political Treatise: Tractatus Theologico-Politicus
Book cover of Four Novels of the 1960s

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,172

readers submitted
so far, will you?