The Transmigration of Timothy Archer

Philip K. Dick

Oct 2011 · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

About this ebook

From the acclaimed author of VALIS, the world of an Episcopal bishop is shaken up by death and the discovery of ancient scrolls in Israel.

 The final book in Philip K. Dick’s VALIS trilogy, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer brings the author’s search for the identity and nature of God to a close. The novel follows Bishop Timothy Archer as he travels to Israel, ostensibly to examine ancient scrolls bearing the words of Christ. But, more importantly, this leads him to examine the decisions he made during his life and how they may have contributed to the suicide of his mistress and son. 

This introspective book is one of Dick’s most philosophical and literary, delving into the mysteries of religion and of faith itself. As one of Dick’s final works, it also provides unique insight into the mind of a genius, whose work was still in the process of maturing at the time of his death.

“An eerie and splendid book.”—Washington Post

Ratings and reviews

This book was very disappointing after reading the other books in the series. I was hoping those stories would be finished instead of getting this. Aside from that this book is sometimes boring and ideas get redundant. However, does have a few interesting concepts worth thinking about.

About the author

One of the greatest authors of the 20th century, with a career spanning 3 decades and 36 science fiction novels and 121 short stories. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film; notably: Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly. Dick won the Hugo Award in 1963 and was inducted into the SF Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2007 he was the first science fiction to be published by the Library of America.