Books

First Printings. Four octavo volumes (17.75-22.25cm); Valis in original pictorial card wrappers, with remaining volumes bound in paper-covered boards and cloth backstrips, with titles stamped in gilt and metallic blue on spines; dustjackets; [viii],227,[5]; [6],7-239,[1]; [6],7-255,[1]; [viii],214,[2]pp. Valis appears Fine and unread; hint of foxing to text edges on The Divine Invasion and Radio Free Albemuth, else very Near Fine in Near Fine dustjackets, all unclipped, with some pinpoint wear, a tiny tear, and two faint creases to flaps. A late, detailed series of novels in which a group of religious seekers forms to explore the revelatory visions of Dick's alter ego, Horselover Fat, who has achieved "miraculous enlightenment courtesy of the godlike Vast Active Living Intelligence System (VALIS) but has difficulty communicating his insight to others" (Barron, Anatomy of Wonder II-337). The group's hermeneutical research leads to a rock musician's estate where they confront the Messiah a two-year-old named Sophia, who confirms their suspicions that an ancient, mechanical intelligence orbiting the Earth has been guiding their discoveries. The books were inspired by a series of theophanies Dick experienced during the final years of his life. Levack 44a, 11a, 2a.

The Divine Invasion is a 1981 science fiction novel by American author Philip K. Dick. It is the second book in the VALIS trilogy, and explores themes of gnosticism, the nature of god, and redemption. It was originally published under the title 'VALIS Regained'.