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The Penultimate Truth

by Philip K. Dick

A manufactured picture of a world at war

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A manufactured picture of a world at war

Most people in this future live underground, laboring to produce weapons while propaganda keeps them convinced that a nuclear war still rages above. The novel’s central tension comes from the divide between that inherited account of reality and what Nick St. James encounters when he reaches the surface. Political oppression, propaganda, and the influence of military power shape a science-fiction premise about who controls public knowledge—and what happens when its foundations are tested.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers interested in science fiction built around political control and propaganda.
  • For readers drawn to stories about manufactured realities and hidden truths.
  • For readers exploring classic science-fiction treatments of military power.

Themes

Political oppressionPropaganda and public knowledgeMilitary powerReality and deception

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

What if you discovered that everything you knew about the world was a lie? That's the question at the heart of The Penultimate Truth, Hugo Award-winning author Philip K. Dick's futuristic novel about political oppression, the show business of politics, and the sinister potential of the military-industrial complex.

"At a time when most 20th-century science fiction writers seem hopelessly dated, Dick gives us a vision of the future that captures the feel of our time."--Wired

In the future, most of humanity lives in massive underground bunkers, producing weapons for the nuclear war they've fled. Constantly bombarded by patriotic propaganda, the citizens of these industrial anthills believe they are waiting for the day when the war will be over and they can return aboveground.

But when Nick St. James, president of one anthill, makes an unauthorized trip to the surface, what he finds is more shocking than anything he could imagine.
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