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Now Wait for Last Year Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,192 listener ratings
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Earth is trapped in the crossfire of an unwinnable war between two alien civilizations. Its leader is perpetually on the verge of death. And on top of that, a new drug has just entered circulation — a drug that haphazardly sends its users traveling through time. In an attempt to escape his doomed marriage, Dr. Eric Sweetscent becomes caught up in all of it. But he has questions: Is Earth on the right side of the war? Is he supposed to heal Earth’s leader or keep him sick? And can he change the harrowing future that the drug has shown him?
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"Dick's misogyny is at full-bore here (PKD's works are so bound up in his own life and experiences that it helps, if you plan to read a considerable amount of his work, to get hold of a good biography like Lawrence Sutin's Divine Invasions and try and correlate the themes and issues in his books with what was going on in his rather messy and chaotic life at the time). So are his explorations of the nature of reality and time, the effects of weird drugs and his deep engagement with ethics, something that gets commented on less often than the first two themes. This is a gripping novel with a whole lot of really cool ideas, none of which are gadget-spec or extrapolation for its own sake. As always, some of the twists the story takes are unexpected and in retrospect truly brilliant. PKD learned well from that old SF master, Van Vogt the arts of building a story from ideas without letting the ideas overwhelm the plot, a tightrope walk that he manages better than most SF writers. I felt the conclusion of the novel was a bit weak and the story had already reached its crisis and climax a while back, and I am not sure that the lead character's final decisions mitigates or merely continues the misogynistic treatment of the major female character in the book, these two elements are the main reasons I'm giving this book 4 stars instead of 5."
— Jayaprakash (4 out of 5 stars)
Now Wait for Last Year Listener Reviews
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" Mediocre Dick. "
— Lukas, 2/16/2014 -
" In the tradition of Philip K. Dick's relentless quest to explore the nature of reality, "Now Wait For Last Year" more specifically explores the notion of time, utilizing a clever political angle to drive this exploration forward. Its an intriguing book that touches on war, peace, politics, marital problems, the effects of drugs, drug addiction, and the purpose of one's role in the world when everything seems to be collapsing. If it sounds like alot, it is. But PKD is so good at pulling all his ideas together, as he seemingly always does. I found this book to be more depressing than the other ones I've read of his, only because its messages rung very true both to me personally and with regards to the state of the world. Another very solid book by one of America's great philosophers. "
— Sal, 2/14/2014 -
" Immortality is only possible within one lifespan. "
— Alex, 2/5/2014 -
" I like the guy who sets free the little robots. "
— Geoffrey, 1/21/2014 -
" really nice, although the leakage into the story of a lot of his real-life marital angst was rather depressing "
— Matus, 1/20/2014 -
" What a cool title. What a cool book. "
— Jason, 1/5/2014 -
" Like any good Philip K Dick novel, it lives in a strange but nearly similar world to hours, just 100 years hence. Very interesting read dealing with different aspects of being human and the relationships we have with each other using the slight twists "what ifs" that come with his novels. "
— Justus, 1/3/2014 -
" Not the best PKD I've ever read. The concepts were interesting, but the storyline was hard to follow, and the characters' actions were sometimes unrealistic. "
— Vivian, 12/12/2013 -
" This may be my favorite PKD book I've read thus far. It has the same logic twist towards the end, but unlike the other formats this one is better at the beginning. The end is sort of anticlimatic. This still rules it, though. "
— James, 12/9/2013 -
" This is definitely one of the 2-3 best books by Philip Dick. "
— Brian, 8/26/2013 -
" Absolute favorite PKD. Experimental drugs, lucid (non physical) time travel, mental institutions, ahhh greatness. I would give a more thorough review, but its been a few years since Ive read it + someone perma-borrowed my copy "
— Ubik, 6/25/2013 -
" It was an ok book. The story was not as engaging as Dick is famous and known for. "
— Andrei, 5/1/2013 -
" Interplanetary war involving humanity and two species of aliens, one bug-like, the other an ancestor of the human race. A planetary dictator who stands between humanity and utter ruin. The dictator's physician and his drug-addicted, time-traveling wife. A collapsing marriage. "
— Thom, 4/16/2013 -
" Very good book. I will try to find time to write a more complete review in the next few days. "
— Ed, 3/25/2013 -
" another great book from p.k.d...had my head spinning, especially the last 50 pages or so! "
— Blackout, 1/21/2013 -
" I like this one just fine. "
— Rob, 6/14/2012 -
" Creates funny sci-fi like a geek, dissects characters like a socialite, experiments like a beatnik, and writes just wonderfully: I can't understand why somebody wouldn't like Philip K. Dick. And all of it is here, evidenced in many conversations with driverless cabs. "
— Edgar, 5/28/2012 -
" a good sci-fi read. The novel is very phildickian, but not one of his best efforts in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend this as your first 3 PKD reads, there are better choices. "
— Byron, 1/22/2012 -
" Loved it! Delightfully ridiculous as usual, full of horrible people fighting a pointless war. It's the little things that make it so funny, like the "sentient nipples". Fashion statement of the year! "
— Jillian, 11/6/2011 -
" Slow to get started but takes off in the end. Dick really feared and loathed drugs. "
— Ian, 9/13/2011 -
" What use to change time? Make good of what you have. "
— Zachary, 8/4/2011 -
" Another great Philip K. Dick book. Classic mind-warping sci-fi at its best. "
— Rachel, 7/16/2011 -
" Interplanetary war involving humanity and two species of aliens, one bug-like, the other an ancestor of the human race. A planetary dictator who stands between humanity and utter ruin. The dictator's physician and his drug-addicted, time-traveling wife. A collapsing marriage. "
— Jason, 7/15/2011 -
" Perfect evocation of loosing perspective in emerging events and time. "
— Rudolf, 7/1/2011 -
" Written for pennies by Kilgore Trout's strung out cousin. He gets even deeper into his addiction, here. "
— J, 3/4/2011 -
" This is definitely one of the 2-3 best books by Philip Dick. "
— Brian, 12/13/2010 -
" Several misdirections (or dead ends/unexplored ideas). I realize more & more that PKD was just writing and rewriting the same story throughout much of the sixties. Again, the lead female is a total shrew. "
— Sam, 6/21/2010 -
" really nice, although the leakage into the story of a lot of his real-life marital angst was rather depressing "
— Matus, 6/19/2010
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 Luke Daniels
Luke Daniels, winner of sixteen AudioFile Earphones Awards and a finalist for the Audie Award for best narration, is a narrator whose many audiobook credits range from action and suspense to young-adult fiction. His background is in classical theater and film, and he has performed at repertory theaters around the country.