Flow My Tears, the Policeman said was the last book by Philip K Dick before his VALIS incident. The book is one of my personal favorites. It shows Dick’s growth as a writer, as the book is better written than a lot of his work in the previous decades. His earlier novels are mostly plot centric with Dick’s wonderful thoughts and ideas driving those book forwards. As the 1970s started, Dick was better using his talent and the writing quality became better and better. When combined with his amazing ideas it is clear to see why this book was a Nebula nominee and won the John W Campbell award. So, what is the book about?

In a future (1988) dystopia, society has passed through a second Civil War and is now under the control of a dictator. Jason Taverner is a multimedia sensation. He has a top TV show and is also a popular singer. When a parasite is thrown at him, Taverner finds himself in an alternate reality where no one knows him. He gets mixed up with a police general (Felix) whose sister (Alys) brings Taverner into her home to annoy her brother. Taverner is also a Six (a highly modified genetic human who was designed to be successful). The drugs and mind blowing confusion about identity and reality make up the rest of the story as Taverner tries to get back to his own reality.

This book was clearly influenced by the social and drug experimentations from the late 1960s, with Dick positing a future based off what he saw in his world. The mix of alternate realities, drug induced consciousness and genetic modification make for an interesting future. Dick does an amazing job of extrapolating trends and pushing them forward to present a possible future that might have seemed likely at the time. The book, as mentioned above, is well written and brimming with ideas. Highly recommended.