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The Crack In Space Paperback – January 24, 2012

by Philip K. Dick (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 361 ratings
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For a far-future overpopulated Earth, a parallel world may be ripe for colonization—or conquest—in Hugo Award–winning author Philip K. Dick's The Crack in Space.

When a repairman accidentally discovers a parallel universe, everyone sees it as an opportunity, whether as a way to ease Earth’s overcrowding, set up a personal kingdom, or hide an inconvenient mistress.

But when a civilization is found already living there, the people on this side of the crack are sent scrambling to discover their motives. Will these parallel humans come in peace, or are they just as corrupt and ill-intentioned as the people of this world?

"Dick’s best books always describe a future that is both entirely recognizable and utterly unimaginable."—New York Times Book Review
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  1. Print length
    208 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    January 24, 2012
  4. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.52 x 8 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0547572999
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0547572994
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Dick s best books always describe a future that is both entirely recognizable and utterly unimaginable." The New York Times Book Review

When a repairman accidentally discovers a parallel universe, everyone sees it as an opportunity, whether as a way to ease Earth s overcrowding, set up a personal kingdom, or hide an inconvenient mistress. But when a civilization is found already living there, the people on this side of the crack are sent scrambling to discover their motives. Will these parallel humans come in peace, or are they just as corrupt and ill-intentioned as the people of this world?
Over a career that spanned three decades, Philip K. Dick (1928 1982) wrote 121 short stories and 45 novels, establishing himself as one of the most visionary authors of the twentieth century. His work is included in the Library of America and has been translated into more than twenty-five languages. Eleven works have been adapted to film, including Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly.
"

About the Author

Over a writing career that spanned three decades, PHILIP K. DICK (1928–1982) published 36 science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned to deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly, as well as television's The Man in the High Castle. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, including the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and between 2007 and 2009, the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books Classics; Reissue edition (January 24, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0547572999
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0547572994
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.52 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 361 ratings

About the author

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Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick

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Over a writing career that spanned three decades, Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) published 36 science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned toward deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film; notably: Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2007 the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
361 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Gabby M
4.0 out of 5 stars Slim But Thought-Provoking Volume
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2016
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The Crack in Space posits our world about 2080 (which, at the time it was published, would have been over 100 years in the future): there is severe overpopulation, to the extent that many young people are choosing to be cryogenically frozen until the labor market is better. It's an election year, and there's a black presidential nominee for the first time ever. That nominee, Jim Briskin, is struggling in his campaign until he's tipped off about some major news: there's been a rift discovered to a whole new world...one that looks like it will support human life. Briskin seizes on this development to announce that it will be his platform to thaw out the frozen and give them this world to settle, and his opponent jockeys to match his promises, when it's revealed that the new world is populated after all, but not by people as we know them. Instead it's Peking man that survived. So now what?

That's maybe half the plot of this slim volume (it's about 200 pages long), but it's the main one. First of all, let me say that I'm glad that we beat out Dick's predictions and had our first black president 75 years ahead of schedule. Moving on from that, though, what I really enjoy about reading Dick's work is that he poses interesting, thoughtful questions rooted in an understanding of human nature. As much as we might think that if we discovered a parallel Earth we'd learn from our past and thoughtfully go about exploration and potential colonization, the reality is that in an election year, politicians would be falling all over each other to posture and secure an important position for themselves. If the world's population was so huge that abortion wasn't just widespread but encouraged, that people were freezing themselves in hopes of a better life someday, it would absolutely end up with people getting sent through the door/portal/whatever without much in the way of an actual plan while news cameras flashed and the powers that be congratulated themselves on a job well done. Maybe I'm a little cynical (I was a litigator and now I'm a lobbyist, so that probably comes with the territory), but I feel like Dick gets how people would actually behave instead of how they'd prefer to imagine they would. I found it a quick and enjoyable read which had me pondering alternate realities.
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Dave Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars Rating the reprint quality from the shipper
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2023
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Arrived in excellent new condition. Softcover and easy to read with one hand. The cover art is what you see advertised: a non-descript dull cover image (not even art really).
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Josh Mauthe
3.0 out of 5 stars Compelling ideas, as ever, but it's ultimately a book for PKD completionists only
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2019
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It's somewhat unusual to find Philip K. Dick being as overtly political as he is in The Crack in Space; after all, Dick is mainly known for his more philosophical and cosmological ideas, and less for his direct commentaries on the world around him (even though the influence of the times is fairly evident in his work). And yet, The Crack in Space is about the first African-American candidate for president, and just what it would take for America to overcome racial prejudice in order to consider electing a non-white man to the highest office of the land.

Even if Dick was too conservative in his timeline in how long it would take the country to do that, his ideas here about what it would take are strong ones. There's overpopulation, a younger generation that feels there's no place for them in society, and concern about employment, all of which contributes to the economic anxiety of the country. Oh, and there's also a gateway to a parallel universe that might provide an answer to all of this - if, that is, we could just figure out what keeps happening to our explorers over there.

As with any Dick novel, The Crack in Space has ideas to spare, but unlike his best work, they don't entirely flow together all that well. Indeed, The Crack in Space feels a bit all over the map, with interesting ideas and characters dropping out of the novel abruptly, an ending that feels vague and too open-ended, and too many themes that don't quite coalesce. But even so, it's compelling in the way Dick can often be, as he zeroes in on this parallel world (one that turns out to be a sequel to one of my favorite Dick short stories, "Prominent Author") or plays around with a pair of twins with a most unusual shared attribute. It's readable and intriguing, as always, but it's a novel more for Dick completionists than for casual fans. 
13 people found this helpful
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Scychry
4.0 out of 5 stars Decent PKD
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2014
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This book was written in 1963 and had a lot to do with race issues in the U.S.A. Dick incorporated this into a story set in the distant future. But there was also a plot about a rift in the space-time continuum (sorry, I couldn't resist) that led to an alternate Earth. The author ties these aspects together nicely to make a decent story.

It's always interesting to see how sci-fi authors back then visualized how the future might be. A lot of times they wrote about incredible developments or inventions that we still don't have or may never have (but were around in the "future" time of the story). And then they wrote about things that we may laugh about now - televisions that still have to take some time to warm up, having to answer the phone and say, "I'm busy now so please call me back later" because there is no voice-mail. Yet there is an incredible weapon that can kill someone by having a copy of a person's brain waves and simply turning the device on. I told my wife about that and she asked, "Did that have to warm up first too?" Hmmm...good question.

I don't get something about the story unless I'm missing something. Seems that in this future there is a problem with the population explosion. One way to deal with this is to have a "brothel" in the sky where men can go to take care of their desires without getting anyone pregnant. I guess the prostitutes up there were all infertile. I don't think it was explained in the book. I guess that was no such thing as birth control in that future. But there were abortions. So the barren hookers and the abortions took care of the growing population. This all was confusing to me but again, maybe I missed something.

Anyway, dealing with the consequences of the rift is a big part of the story. And Dick comes up with a good tale and a decent ending.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

J. Evans
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy but intelligent SF
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2012
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Compared to some of Dick's more surreal (later) works, this is a 'straight' science-fiction novel. The plot is interesting and it's an easy, quick read. But, of course, there's more going on here for the thoughtful reader who wants to scratch below the surface. I see the book as an allegory of the colonization of the Americas - the 'old' earth and 'new' earth featured here are direct analogies for the Old World and the New World. It explores several aspects of colonization and the motives of those involved: politics, race, money/corporate power, the pressures of overpopulation, individuals hoping for a fresh start, the spirit of exploration and scientific discovery, and so on. You might see the book differently, and that's fine. The point I'm making is that, despite its apparent simplicity, this is smart SF that can be enjoyed on two levels. It might not be counted as one of Dick's classics, but it's well worth reading, whether you're a fan or a newcomer.
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