Philip K. Dick (1928 – 1982) was an US-american novelist whose dark tales of twisted realites and sinister utopian societies always reflected his complex mind and personality.

Dick was born a twin, although his twin sister Jane died only a month after birth. The feeling of loss of his 'opposing half' remained with him as an determining influence on his life and also his writings, where Dualisms in various forms are a recurring theme.

In his lifetime Dick published well over 30 novels and countless short stories, most of which fall into the realm of Science Fiction, a genre Philip K. Dick helped greatly to develop and which he profoundly influenced through his work. Among his most famous novels are Eye in the Sky [1957], The Man in the High Castle [1962, Hugo award winner], The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch [1965] and Ubik [1969]. Although Dick was fairly well known in his time, literary recognition and mainstream acceptance eluded him for the time of his life - only to follow after his untimely death: High profile movie adaptions of his work such as Ridley Scott's Bladerunner, Verhoeven's Total Recall, Spielberg's Minority Report, and John Woo's recent Paycheck underline the surging interest in PKD's work and its recurring themes: paranoia + totalitarian control, subjectivity of perceived realities, ethics of artificial humanity.

One of the most fundamental experiences in Philip K. Dick's life was what he himself often refers to as 2-3-74: Seeing a golden fish neclace in the spring of 1974 - symbol of early christianity - initiated a series of elaborate visions and methaphysical experiences that kept occuring for well over a year. The remaining years of his life Dick spent searching for a coherent meaning in these "divine invasions" by engaging himself with theology and philosophy and other diverse sources.

Dick's metaphysical experiences of 1974/75 are reflected throughout his subsequent writings: Among them his famous Valis trilogy as well as his extensive - and in it's entirety unpublished - Exegesis, over 8000 pages of autobiographical notes, thoughts and speculations.

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