Well, I have finally finished reading The Penultimate Truth by Philip K. Dick. It has been really hard to find time to read lately. Or really, it has been really hard to find time to read for recreation. I have been doing a great deal of reading, just not material of my choice. However I have finally found the time to finish The Penultimate Truth. I started reading the book because of its similarities to Fallout 3.
The story follows a character named Nick St. James, who is the president of an underground fallout shelter. He and millions of others have been living underground for years in shelters while the world above them was engaged in a nuclear war. Or at least this is what they have been told. When an important member of the shelter falls ill and is in need of medical supplies, Nick St. James leaves to find help, but only finds that things are not exactly as they have been told.
Or at least that’s what the back of the book and the first couple of chapters would have you believe. In the end, the story centers around a different group of characters, leaving Nick at the wayside for the majority of the story. The plot still remains interesting enough, but it was surprising how the story did not at all go in the direction I was expecting.
There are a few notable similarities between this and Fallout, but not enough to claim plagiarism. At worst a few details of the Fallout 3 universe were inspired by the book, but overall the two stories are uniquely their own things. Plus, Fallout 3 was much more interesting in my opinion.
Overall, the book was enjoyable but not a must read. Fallout 3 fans might get some enjoyment out of reading it and seeing another take on a similar topic. Or if you simply like post-apocalyptic stories you could certainly do worse.
7/10
I am now moving onto Neuromancer by William Gibson
Case was the sharpest data thief in the Matrix, until an ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run against an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence. With a mirror-eyed girl street-samurai riding shotgun, he’s ready for the silicon-quick, bleakly prophetic adventure that upped the ante on an entire genre of fiction.