PINK BEAM: A Philip K. Dick Companion: A Philip K. Dick Companion

Anyone who has read a story or novel authored by Philip K. Dick, anyone who has seen a film inspired by a PKD work, or anyone seriously interested in Dick's work and wants to find out more about the author, his life, and his canon, should own this book. Lord RC's pseudonym is a holdover from his days as publisher/editor of the fanzine "For Dickheads Only", and one wonders if this volume would have received more critical attention if attributed to David Hyde, author of two additional books of PKD scholarship. Lord Running Clam, a telepathic Ganymedean Slime Mold, is one of the good guys in Dick's 1967 novel "The Ganymede Takeover," co-authored by Ray Nelson, and the source of the author's nom de plume."Pink Beam" is the most complete analytical study of Dick's entire canon to date, but it is not without its faults. The chronological organization of the analysis can be difficult to navigate for those not already familiar with Dick's publication history, and Hyde's Roman numeral footnoting documentation system is clunky at best. But all essential information can be found here with a little effort. First published by Ganymedean Slime Mold of Ward, Colorado in 2006, this reference work needs minor updating, as a number of PKD works have since been published, reprinted, and filmed. This final criticism has largely been addressed in Hyde's and Henri Wintz's June 2012 published bibliography "Precious Artifacts."Helpful to any reader of Dick's substantial corpus, "Pink Beam" is also one of a handful of indispensable reference works any scholar must consult to advance PKD criticism. Lawrence Sutin's "Divine Invasions," Paul Williams' "Only Apparently Real," Anne R. Dick's "The Search for Philip K. Dick," and the Gregg Rickman interviews are other essentials springing immediately to mind. There are other secondary sources of great interest and value, among them Tessa Dick's memoir "Remembering Firebright," but none of them have the scope of "Pink Beam." Dave Hyde (A.K.A. Lord Running Clam) accomplished what several others (including me) have attempted but failed to complete over the years since the author's premature death in 1982--the construction of a reasonably complete reader's guide to the works of Philip K. Dick.

First, I have to say this book is not for everyone: it's not for the casual reader, as Dave says, it's for "fans and scholars of Philip K. Dick's work." This really is a labor of love from David Hyde (aka Lord RC.) PKD fans are obsessive. We obsessively collect PKD books, trivia about our favorite author, and love to debate minutia and the fine points in his novels (and life.) To this end Dave provides a marvelous resource. The PKD "Companion", as LRC calls it, is really a PKD encyclopedia. It's a large resource book (11.4 x 8.5 inches), not a little pocket reader ;) and it is amazingly packed with insights and summaries of ALL of PKD's novels and several other Dickian works, too. Even for those who have Levack's "famous" PKD Bibliography (which I absolutely love), you still need Dave's resource, too. Dave delves into the content of the novels and works with a lot of zest and a little opinion -- just enough to keep it from being dry and boring. It's a lively, fun approach and anytime I need a refresher on a PKD plot or some obscure fact I've forgotten, you can count on the Pink Beam to provide the perfect perky point (just like Perky Pat.) Hollander, where R U? (Frank "H" is our resident bibliography bibliophile.) Other good reviews of Pink Beam have just been posted and we'll link to those on the famous philipKdickFans site.) If you're a Phil fan, gotta have the  PINK BEAM ! Take it from,  A Kindred Spirit !!

I found this to be the Ultimate reference guide to Philip K Dick... Come on folks it's a no brainer.