A Scanner Darkly

I always hesitate to read PKD. The synopsis of his novels always sound so interesting, and so I give them another shot, despite the fact that his books are a puzzle to me. I just don't fathom his writing.

This book takes place in the near future (at least as of the time of publication), in a world where a drug called Substance D is so big, the police and federal government hire people to infiltrate its supply chains at such an alarming rate, one gets the impression that there are more agents then regular civilian drug users. The book, or at least its beginning, is centered around one of these agents, named Bob Arctor. Arctor is doing his job, and well, but as time goes on, the drug begins to affect his mind, so that he starts to lose grip on reality. As an agent, when not undercover, his real identity is hidden using a clever suit. When in the suit, Arctor goes by the name "Fred." Even his boss knows him only as Fred, and when said boss orders Fred to start monitoring known D user Bob Arctor, his brain is far gone enough to do so, which slowly seems to split him into a kind of multiple personality. Bob, the D user, and Fred, the officer watching Bob, reporting on him, and even encouraging the authorities to turn the pressure up on him.

This middle section of the novel is quite interesting, and I really enjoyed the strangeness of a man reporting on, and trying to bust, himself. However, there is a turn near the end that takes the focus a bit away from Arctor as his life and drug use come to a head, and the book really lost it for me at that point.

I gave this novel three stars out of five. It's just barely a pass for me, and barely a recommendation.