You must log in or # to comment.
The Metamorphosis of a Prime Intellect.
I went into Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? blind. Hadn’t seen the movie, hadn’t read any other Dick, hadn’t even had it hyped to me by a friend. What a series of mindfucks.
If you want something really wild by him you can try Valis. Going in blind or not won’t really make a difference.
Lies, Inc. is another by PKD that will leave your head spinning.
I love pkd but haven’t read that, thx.
The only Philip K. Dick I’ve read is Flow my tears the policeman said (epic title). It’s pretty linear and coherent until one point towards the end where, without question, 'ol Dick popped some acid.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is an obvious but nonetheless relevant answer. What a ride.
Also Infinite Jest.
Diaspora by Greg Egan, it’s one of the best thought out take on what a post human society could look like. Lots of amazing ideas in the book.
China Miéville - The City & the City is one that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Wild because as far out as it feels, it’s also a pretty accurate portrayal of how we’ve trained ourselves to intentionally not see. I find myself thinking of the book often.
The premise for this book was so strange I often had to reread passages to fully understand the differing perspectives of people standing next to one another and yet be in two different realities.
Depends in what way you mean ‘wild.’ Crazy even psychedelic, but nonetheless benign? Or are we including disturbing?
Ya
Hogg by Samuel Delany
The Road. Still think about it a lot.
NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub. Wildest because it’s an autobiography, and they spill it all.
Edit: find the audiobook if you canI gift this one out SO many times!
Philip K Dick - The three stigmata of palmer eldritch.
It’s like a dream, where you forget where you came from, but at the same time there are powerful themes that are personally and emotionally affecting. Like an acid trip or religious experience, you aren’t the same person after you’ve finished it, whatever lesson you got from it.
anarcho-syndicalism theory and practice by rudolf rocker, it was let’s say enligthening, I was already an anarchist before reading it, but now I’m an anarcho-syndicalist
currently reading networking in the rust programming language btw
Gary Jennings’ Aztec. Come for the historical accuracy of pre-columbian exchange Central America, stay for the depressing twisted sickening outlook.
Wildest as in…?
I finished reading Maldita Guerra, which is the current de facto book detailing the Paraguay War (1864-1870). Francisco Solano López, Paraguay’s dictator at the time, is possibly the worst thing to have happened to the country. The fucking psycho established a cult of personality (saint figures in churches were removed to put photos of him), the only newspaper allowed to print was always cheering on how great and perfect he was, plus a secret police to ensure nobody would dare rise up against him. Oh, and the population was incentivized to denounce anyone that didn’t show enough love for the president.
To make matters worse, there was no real justice system. If you were accused of treason or conspiracy, you were as good as dead, no recourse. Oh, and López’ head was deep inside his own ass, any war reports that showed difficulties or stated losses from the Paraguayan army were rebuked and the person could end up dead for giving the bad news. The fucking asshole willfully ignored facts while giving orders to his army. He could’ve wiped the Triple Alliance’s forces when they began the counterattack, but his “strategic genius” was composed of himself and nobody else.
Kafkas famous book, I think the title is the transformation.
Also Orson Wells about the civil war in Spain. This was not fiction, but it points out so much real life non sense and lies that had my head spinning for most of the book.
Which book is that about the Spanish Civil War?
On that topic, George Orwell’s book, Homage to Catalonia, is also very much recommended.
Assisted Living (aka Äldreomsorgen i Övre Kågedalen) by Nikanor Teratologen. It’s a very bleak and horrible story about a boy who is in an incestuous relationship with his nazi philosopher grandfather. Together the go around committing murder, rape, and other crimes, while relating everything to obscure authors and texts. The original is written entirely in a swedish dialect which is hard to understand, and it didn’t translate that well into other languages I think. Despite all this, it is very well written and has won prizes and been made into a play and radio reading etc.
Wild Animus
It’s about a Berkeley graduate who takes a bunch of acid and then dresses up like a mountain Ram in Alaska and becomes increasingly more deranged.
It was on a reading list for a college class. Pirate the book if you decide to read, because the author is a raging asshole.
