My review of Philip K. Dick’s A Maze of Death is up over at SFF Audio. This was one of those books that started off weird, got weirder, and ended weird, and got better the more I thought about it.

It’s probably not the best title to start with if you are not already familiar with PKD’s work, but if you’re on his vibe already or are a bit weird yourself, it’s a goodie.

a-maze-of-death

Excerpt from A Maze of Death:

People, including Mary, were always telling him that he had a morbid streak. What I have, he said to himself, is a mordant wit. People confuse the two terms because they sound similar.

Looking at his wristwatch he saw that he had time to make a trip to the packaging department of the citrus products factory. So he made off in that direction.

“Ten pint jars of class AA marmalade,” he said to the shipping clerk. It was either get them now or not at all.

“Are you sure you’re entitled to ten more pints?” The clerk eyed him dubiously, having had dealings with him before.

“You can check on my marmalade standing with Joe Perser,” Morley said. “Go ahead, pick up the phone and give him a call.”

“I’m too busy,” the clerk said. He counted out ten pint jars of the kibbutz’s main product and passed them to Morley in a bag, rather than in a cardboard carton.

“No carton?” Morley said.

“Scram,” the clerk said.

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