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Counter-Clock World Audiobook
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(3.00) - 1,622 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In Counter-Clock World, time has begun moving backward. People greet each other with "goodbye," blow smoke into cigarettes, and rise from the dead. When one of those rising dead is the famous and powerful prophet Anarch Peak, a number of groups start a mad scramble to find him first — but their motives are not exactly benevolent, because Anarch Peak may just be worth more dead than alive, and these groups will do whatever they must to send him back to the grave. What would you do if your long-dead relatives started coming back? Who would take care of them? And what if they preferred being dead? In Counter-Clock World, one of Dick’s most theological and philosophical novels, these troubling questions are addressed; though, as always, you may have to figure out the answers yourself.
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"In the future, time begins moving backwards, so everything is reversed. You are born in the grave and regress to being a baby where you are implanted in a woman until you become a zygote. Libraries, rather than altruistic public information sharers are fascist eradicators of knowledge. And if that's not bizarre enough, instead of saying hello when you answer a phone, you say goodbye. Yeah, it gets even weirder. Just read it."
— Nicholas (5 out of 5 stars)
Counter-Clock World Listener Reviews
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" Another solid effort by Dick. The oddest thing about this book is that it everything is so normal, until you really try and wrap your head around someone un-smoking a cigarette. In that moment, you realize that Dick has left so much unsaid, for you to get lost in on your own time. "
— Aris, 2/4/2014 -
" I guess main problem with the novel is that PKD didn't go all the way with this one, and he certainly could have. Human daily life is starting to run backwards, but not consistantly or uniformly. Existing ideas will disappear in time, but not if they are written down and preserved in a library -- huh? Unpregnant women have to have sex with ANY man so as to be able to meet a post-determined pregnancy deadline -- did PKD never hear of DNA? At the heart of the novel is a question of what to do with deceased religious figures who come back to the living world -- will they be shown to be authentic heralds of the view of the afterlife they advocated while alive, or once they return from the real afterlife will they admit to the falsehoods during their first life? The prose ain't bad, but the novel itself is weak. A few interesting ideas, but they are just unpursued strands. I think even PKD would give this one a 2/5 star rating "
— Stephen, 2/3/2014 -
" It's so long since I've read it, I can't remember that much. Remember enjoying the idea of being born backward. People rising from the dead and living life backwards until they were a baby again. Crazy stuff. "
— Fiona, 1/31/2014 -
" Like the Penultimate Truth, a very cool idea, but again not the highest quality of writing Dick is capable of. "
— James, 1/15/2014 -
" Interesting take on a reversal of time, complete with nefarious information destroying library. "
— Billy, 1/7/2014 -
" Not my most favorite PKD story but like all the books I've read so far he builds such a believable future. This story isn't as vast a vision as some of his more well known titles but it is a vision. "
— Willy, 12/30/2013 -
" You don't hear about this book as being one of Dick's best, but it is. Do youself a favor and read it. "
— melvinhiddenelder, 12/22/2013 -
" This is high-end Dick. His imagination is in full flight! "
— Raimo, 12/19/2013 -
" My first Philip Dick. And I enjoyed it, felt a little lost in parts and may have read it too fast, but looking forward to reading more of his works. "
— Nitya, 12/5/2013 -
" This is a great alternative to the ordinary. "
— Staci, 5/27/2013 -
" Neato. It passed the time in the waiting room. "
— Brandon, 3/7/2013 -
" Someone recommended this to me and....well it was an interesting premise, but I just couldn't finish it. I just lost momentum and didn't want to pick it back up. So I didn't. "
— Alice, 11/28/2012 -
" This was an enjoyable read, I liked it, but Dick can do better. "
— Sebastian, 11/14/2012
About Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick (1928–1982) published thirty-six science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned toward deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2007 the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.
About Patrick Lawlor
Patrick Lawlor, an award-winning narrator, is also an accomplished stage actor, director, and combat choreographer. He has worked extensively off Broadway and has been an actor and stuntman in both film and television. He has been an Audie Award finalist multiple times and has garnered several AudioFile Earphones Awards, a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and many starred audio reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.