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The Man in the High Castle
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
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The Man in the High Castle
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Summary
Now an Amazon Original series
Winner of the Hugo Award
"The single most resonant and carefully imagined book of Dick's career." --New York Times
It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war - and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.
This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it, Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to wake.
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mrs
- 14-12-15
Like listening to brightly coloured paint dry.
So, we have all seen the thrilling trailers for the Prime Series and we want to get a jump on it and listen to the book.Great marketing from Amazon as we will watch the series and get the book. Win win for them.
My advice is don't bother with the book. I've not seen the series but it can't be worse than the book. The trailers alone seem more interesting.
Other than the alternate history slant there is nothing else to this book, the characters are dull and undeveloped and there is barely a story line until the last 2 hours. The author just seems to be using the characters as a vehicle to describe his alternate world and it just makes the whole experience confusing and dull.
The best way I can describe it is like watching two grand-masters play chess. You are watching the chess pieces going about the board with no emotional attachment to them or no idea what on earth their significance is to the over all match. Until BAM! A grand master says 'Check' and you snap out of your lethargy and realise something has happened and you're wondering what it was and what it's significance is. You're then left watching the chase as the grand master goes to finish the match, but you still don't care about the pieces and you're still none the wise as to what the hell is going on.
The narration wasn't the best either, can't put my finger on it but for me it wasn't working.
All in all, the only reason the majority of us is reading this book is because of the series. Not because it is well written and interesting.
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44 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mark Brandon
- 20-03-16
If you've seen the Amazon version, read this also
'The Man In The High Castle' is probably Philip K. Dick's second best-known novel (after 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?', which inspired Blade Runner), and the inspiration of a lusciously-produced Amazon series, just about to go into its second season.
As with much of Dick's work, the premise is better than the execution: the Axis has won WWII and has divided up the United States, the Japanese occupying everything west of the Rockies, the Nazis the East Coast and most of the Midwest, with a notionally neutral buffer zone in between.
The novel is very different to the TV series, which takes the book as inspiration rather than following the rambling, ultimately unsatisfying plot and deals much better with character than does the book.
This audiobook, then, acts as an interesting companion volume to the TV series, or a quirky solo 'read'. The focus of the book is much less on the characters, and much more on the Chinese philosophy which links them all (Taoism), which adds dimension to what might otherwise be a rich but essentially political drama. As with every Dick novel, it loses energy, cohesion and sense as it moves towards anti-climax, so don't expect a big payoff.
Narration is decent, though female characters all sound alike and rather breathy and insubstantial (having said that, female characters rarely figure greatly in Dick's novels, so there is nothing much lost).
Not a bad buy, and if you've seen the Amazon series, definitely worth it. If you haven't seen the Amazon series, get yourself a Firestick now!!!
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27 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Dean
- 03-12-15
THE most tedious book I've read
Despite a very promising idea, this was dry, dull and totally lacked any kind of interesting story. TV adaptations nearly always disappoint. I think it is impossible for the TV show to be worse than this. I shall certainly not be delving into any other of this guy's work.
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22 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- MASTER
- 21-01-16
Couldn't get into it.
Having been recommended this by a friend who's then girlfriend was setting off to Canada to film the Amazon series I wanted to give this book a go. What I found was a confusingly difficult world to get into. I found the characters hard to follow and remember and struggled every time I went back into this story. I so wanted to like this but ultimately did not.
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21 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- SLM
- 31-01-16
Could have been so much better.
The setting of the 'story' is very interesting and certainly what attracted me. However nothing happens in this book. Nothing. You think it is building to something then that part of the plot just finishes. It happens over and over again and the ending is the most disappointing thing about the book.
Also the narrator does some very poor voice work. The female character and the oriental characters are particularly bad.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- RT
- 31-12-15
Not all women are stupid
Enjoying the story but the narrator reads all female characters like they're ditzes, even though they're not written that way. It's irritating and jars with the intelligent ideas the female characters often express.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- AndThink
- 29-07-15
Starts well but disappointing ending
The story had so much promise, how could it not with such a rich imaginative topic.
However, it ends so abruptly so as to ruin the run up to it, making all that happened before a non-event. Have I missed something?
The narrator does a good job of the voices but the decision to portray Julianna as a simpering weak voice fool made listening to her role difficult and not caring what happens to her.
Shame it missed the mark sadly, for me.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Ian Gill
- 15-10-15
Wasted Time
Do you ever read a book which rambles but then comes together in the last few chapters? Well this one just rambles.
I've read a few Dick books and enjoyed them, but felt that this one was just a wast of my time.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- PurplePiglet
- 14-03-16
Narrator awful
I made the mistake of purchasing this without sampling first, hoping to get through the original story before watching the Amazon TV dramatization. I've only managed to get about an hour in as I cannot stand the narrator. His attempt at voices is laughable, and most of them come out sounding like you little brother mocking someone. It's a real shame as the story has so far been intriguing, but I think I'm going to have to stick to the TV version.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Lynda S.
- 18-01-16
alternative history<br />
Interesting idea with some very compelling intrigue but felt it didn't quite get there.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Michael G Kurilla
- 28-07-15
Alternative history
The Man in the High Castle is PK Dick's 1962 Hugo award winning novel of an alternate history where the US has lost WWII. In this vision, due to the assassination of FDR in his fist term, the subsequent US president fails to prepare the nation for war with a quick defeat after Pearl Harbor and the fall of England due to lack of US support. The country is divided between the Japanese controlling the west coast to the Rockies, while Germany controls the East with the Rocky Mountain region somewhat murky. Germany dominates science and has made it to Mars and Venus, while they continue to move across the globe with ethnic cleansing. The story centers around several characters barely surviving, including introspective Japanese. Most intriguing is a story within a story concept from which the title is derived, referring to the mysterious author of another alternate history where the US has won the war.
The sci-fi elements are minimal especially given the span of time, although for 1962, colonization of Mars and Venus was probably novel with the US Mercury and Gemini space missions barely getting into orbit. The focus is mainly on how the various characters respond to their situations, while at the same time describing a more macabre, hopeless world. At the same time, Dick contrasts the Japan and Germany styles of conquest which differ greatly. Dick also was quite prescient in his notions of evolving social mores.
The narration is superb with an excellent range of voices and solid pacing. Don't expect some climatic revolution at the end to reset history. This is a tale of "what if" and Dick provide a compelling, credible, and engaging alternative version.
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157 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ray
- 12-08-15
Grating Voices
I've listened to dozens of books on Audible, and this performance is the worst. I wish I could rate the performance zero stars. It seems the reader has never actually heard a Japanese, Jewish, or German person speak. They all sound like caricatures. Stereotypes. It's almost offensive. Each Japanese character sounds like a buck-toothed 1940s US propaganda cartoon. The main Jewish character sounds like the unholy offspring of Jackie Mason and Yogi the Bear. The main female character sounds like a Kids in the Hall sketch. I could barely pay attention to the story. Terrible.
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146 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Luke A. Reynolds
- 10-03-16
A classic ruined by its narrator
Philip K. Dick's Man in the High Castle is a classic. An unflinching alternate history with science fiction sprinkled liberally throughout the background (space colonization, 45 minute rocket flights from Northern Europe to San Francisco, and an intriguing passing mention of the damming and draining of the Mediterranean to gain massive amounts of land are three spoiler-free examples). For those who have found themselves here via Amazon's mini-series: The book and show are different entities with different foci. You will find the book to have different character priorities - I would urge you, despite this, to enjoy both the novel and the series as different approaches to the same rough story. I will say no more about the book - there's a reason it's a classic and should be read. I cannot, however, recommend this audiobook of it.
The narrator, quite simply, ruins it. Dick's work was published in 1963 and is deliberately harsh in its language, especially when it comes to race - he was making a point. But the racial and national slurs that pervade the work seem tame compared to the outrageously stereotype accents used by the narrator. The Japanese voices would be at home in Second World War Warner Brothers' cartoon propaganda, the Germans are right out of 'Allo 'Allo or Dad's Army, and one of the main protagonists' Jewish ancestry and faith is demonstrated by a straight out of central casting "Jewish New Yorker" so bad it would make Jackie Mason and Woody Allen wince in pain (which makes no sense as Dick plainly states the character has gone out of his way to hide his background for safety reasons). Read the book or find another recording, but avoid this version (and this narrator) if you want anything other than painful stereotypes.
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117 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Gray
- 23-06-15
Wanted to see what all the buzz was about!
I watched the pilot on Amazon and then picked up the book. Interesting premise but was difficult to always comprehend his steam of thought. The audio book made it much easier for me to enjoy.
I probably need to listen again to try and catch more. Book is a different direction from the TV show... But enjoyed it. Would recommend... Just realize that this isn't your typical novel...
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109 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- TallDenverite
- 21-07-15
Couldn't bear the voice.
I've listened to the first two chapters and I can't continue. Instead of listening to the story, I can only think about how much I dislike the voice actor.
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95 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- William
- 04-12-15
Tough listen
Any additional comments?
Story was very good and engaging. Narrator does the worst accents I've heard in a long time . Germans sound more English, Italians sound Russian. Very distracting for me
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80 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Richard
- 03-10-15
I'll never get those hours back
Painful listen. Narrator's accent work on the characters was tough to listen to, as well as, the story that started, jumped around and just ended. Brutal
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47 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- tomcatx
- 12-12-15
Unfinished
The author never really finished this book. After a while, it's seem to lose focus and he never really tied the story together fully. The television series is actually much better.
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41 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- LaNae
- 04-11-15
Cool Idea, Terrible Read
The idea of what would happen if the Nazis and Japan won WWII was really intriguing to me. However, I probably could have eaten a bowl of alphabet soup and crapped out a better story than this. Basically, America is the same--everyone works, there's pretty much no discrimination against Americans by the Germans or the Japanese, not really any oppression, and everyone is reading this book that shows what the world would be like if America won the war, and the Germans don't really give a flying flip that everyone reads it. Actually, it's very popular with the Japanese. I highly doubt America would be that chill if it was under nazi rule. Not only is it implausible, it was boring, the characters were underdeveloped, and the story ended abruptly and in a way that made me go "Huh??"
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39 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- ViewFromTheTop
- 17-07-15
Racist and Sexist Accent Much?
It's almost impossible to listen to this audio book. Half the book is narrated by the guy in a terrible stereotypical Japanese accent while the other half is read in an uncomfortable breathy imitation of what the actor perceives to be a female voice. It makes you cringe throughout. Unfortunately there is no alternative on Audible.
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35 people found this helpful