Synopsis

World War III is raging – or so the millions of people crammed in their underground tanks believe. For fifteen years, subterranean humanity has been fed on daily broadcasts of a never-ending nuclear destruction, sustained by a belief in the all-powerful Protector.

Now someone has gone to the surface and found no destruction, no war. The authorities have been telling a massive lie. Now the search begins to find out why. (Source: Amazon)

The Truth Will Set You Free!

Part post-apocalyptic dystopia, part political thriller, Dick’s The Penultimate Truth takes the reader to a version of Earth where World War III is raging—or at least that’s what the millions of survivors living in underground tanks are led to believe. In truth, the tankers have succumbed to a false narrative told through the enigmatic speeches of The Protector and his league of hoaxers as they seek to protect a new world at peace. 

The Hoaxer – Joseph Adams

To support the novel as it develops, PKD utilises the perspectives of several of the main cast members. Joseph Adams is the first character introduced in the story and the one who offers the most insight into life on the surface. 

Through Adams’ day-to-day, we’re shown that after the war, the surface is only populated by the very richest in society. They own large swathes of land across the globe and only see conflict through land disputes carried out by their robotic servants, known as leadies. As a result, most on the surface claim that they’ve managed to fix the problem with their species and that it was the general populous who were the cause of the war, an irony that Dick makes more and more apparent as the story moves towards a plot of schemes and political intrigue.

These schemes, conspiracies, and political intrigues all begin at Adams’ place of work. As the novel quickly tells us, he’s one of the many hoaxers whose sole purpose is to preserve the lie. Known as Yance-men, their job is to research and write speeches, eventually feeding them into an animatronic that plays the role of Talbot Yancy—the Tankers’ protector.

As the story develops, Adams is brought onto a special project by the agency’s boss, Stanton Brose. He’s to help the agency bring down a man suspected of assisting the Tankers learn the truth, a man who also happens to be beating Brose to certain land deals. What should be an easy job for the veteran hoaxer, however, turns out to be a nightmare, as this special project turns out much deadlier for Adams than expected. 

Juggling sci-fi, political thriller, and murder mystery aspects all at the same time allows PKD to show his deep mastery of the craft. In less than 200 pages, he’s able to give each of these aspects enough time to breathe as well as give them a satisfying conclusion. Moreover, through these action-packed segments, he’s able to develop several characters with understandable yet complex motivations. 

Joseph Adams’ foray into Brose’s deadly special project shows him to be more than just a vapid and detestable hoaxer. He’s one of the few on the surface to truly wrestle with the truth of what they’ve done to the Tankers. A constant creeping shadow in his life, the idea haunts him, and the indecision he has as to whether to stay as a hoaxer or help those living underground makes for a great central conflict. 

Stanton Brose, on the other hand, is the living embodiment of the surface people’s selfish behaviours. The ultimate fat cat, he’s a mass of hedonistic rot only kept alive by a dwindling number of artificial organs that he hoards behind walls and walls of litigation. Yet, for all his power and wealth, he’s paranoid to a fault about anyone or anything that could send his empire crumbling. 

The Tanker – Nicholas St. James

PKD’s wonderfully believable characters continue as the focus shifts towards those living in the tanks. 

The reader’s chief point of contact for these sections is Nicholas St. James, president of the tank and a morally upstanding man. His need to help others is what got him to finally decide to leave the tank and brave the outside world. This is no small feat given the dangers said to lurk in the outside world as well as the ones in the tank. 

Dick uses the short time the story spends in the tank to deliver a clear vision of the underlying horrors of propaganda. Giving his speeches like a god from on high, The Protector’s messages tell of the constant losses happening on the surface and how their missed targets on leadies are costing them the war. Downtrodden and fed a litany of lies, it’s no wonder that so few ever choose to question The Protector’s will. 

Once Nicholas arrives on the surface, he finds that the treatment for ex-tankers is just as bad as inside the tank. Unbelievably harsh yet utterly believable, those who escape to the surface are either packed into prison-like apartment complexes or forced to live a life on the run, never knowing if or when one of the Yance-men’s leadies will get them. 

These sole options for the Tankers sum up perfectly the attitudes of the high society. Out of sight, out of mind. Who needs their conscience telling them what to do, when they could be spending their time acquiring land and engaging in robot battles? 

Fortunately, Nicholas ends up under the care of the mysterious David Lantano. 

The Twist – David Lantano

David Lantano is another Yance-man under the employ of Brose. Young, ambitious, and full of spirit, he’s seemingly the complete opposite of Joseph Adams. 

As the novel progresses towards its conclusion, however, it’s revealed that Lantano is much more of an enigma than first thought. PKD sets up for the eventual reveal rather well. With hindsight, there are plenty of clues towards his identity dotted throughout that make sense within the in-world narrative. 

Without spoiling the twist, Lantano’s character is the single largest death knell for Brose’s regime. He utilises the Yance-men’s powers to hoax and propagandise with sickening efficiency, ironically ending their time in charge by catching them in their own web of lies. As a result, the tankers are set free, and the only open-ended aspect of the story ponders whether Lantano’s motivations for bringing down the regime will ultimately help or harm humanity in the long run. 

Philip K. Dick’s The Penultimate Truth is more than a mere tale speculating on a post-apocalyptic dystopia; it’s a political thriller, a murder mystery, and a look at the human condition. All of these aspects, combined with Dick’s quick and witty writing, make for an engaging read that I won’t soon forget. 

I Give The Penultimate Truth: 10/10