Lies, Inc. [The Unteleported Man]

London: Victor Gollancz, 1984. Setting Copy and Publisher's Uncorrected Proof for the 1984 novel "Lies, Inc," the posthumously-published first appearance of author Philip K. Dick's revised novel written from his earlier short story "The Unteleported Man."

First published in 1964 in Fantastic Magazine, the rights to "The Unteleported Man" were subsequently purchased by Ace Books, and Dick then revised the novella to bring it up to novel length. The story's expansions, including a generous exposition of a horrifying LSD trip, were refused by Ace, and they instead published it in its original form dos-a-dos with Howard L. Cory's "The Mind Monsters." The revised and retitled novel would not see the light of day for nearly 20 years, until the Gollancz edition seen in this listing, at which point Dick had passed away and author John Sladek was called in to fill in continuity gaps left by two missing manuscript pages.

The full novel remains one of Dick's most experimental, centering on a man whose spaceship business is being rendered obsolete by teleportation technology, and who teleports to a new colony on a foreign world seeking his mistress. It is rendered intentionally difficult to understand not only via the main character's LSD trip but also by modifications to the transporter technology that cause participants to experience viable alternative realities during the transportation process.

Wrestling with themes of totalitarianism, conformity, and antisemitism, "Lies, Inc." remains a thought provoking tale, with this edition representing the first attempt at publishing the work as Dick wanted it to be read.

Uncorrected Proof:
Blue titled wrappers, dated 6th March 1984, with credits for publisher Victor Gollancz. 100 unfolded pages, with last leaf numbered 199. Xerographic duplication, with red manuscript ink annotations throughout. 13 x 8.5 inches, loose leaves, pages Fine wrapper Near Fine.

Setting Copy:
Six typescript and 60 xerographically duplicated pages interspersed into a piecemeal paperback copy, and comprising various publisher's changes, copyedits, and pages unique to this edition. Manuscript annotations throughout. Additional pages approximately 8.5 x 11.5 inches, laid into segments of a 4 x 7 inch paperback. Very Good plus or better.

[Book #145379]