The Penultimate Truth is Philip K. Dick's take on Plato's parable about the cave. Tom Mix is the president of an "ant tank" underground, where its denizens produce "leadies" to fight a war between the Soviets and the Americans. When one of the most important engineers needs an artificial pancreas, Mix braves the surface world, only to find that the war has been over for 13 years, and "Yance-men" live in comfort on the surface while most of humanity toils away underground, akin to Metropolis.

In Plato's story of the cave, a man escapes the cave only to be ignored when he comes back because his eyes haven't adjusted to the light. A similar fate befalls Tom Mix, although with a slight twist at the end. This really is a clever but depressing book. There is also a murder-mystery subplot taking place on the surface world, but I can't help but get the feeling Dick added this on to flesh out the novel a little bit. There was a lot of good in this novel, but overall, it left me a little wanting. ***1/4
The Penultimate Truth is Philip K. Dick's take on Plato's parable about the cave. Tom Mix is the president of an "ant tank" underground, where its denizens produce "leadies" to fight a war between the Soviets and the Americans. When one of the most important engineers needs an artificial pancreas, Mix braves the surface world, only to find that the war has been over for 13 years, and "Yance-men" live in comfort on the surface while most of humanity toils away underground, akin to Metropolis. In Plato's story of the cave, a man escapes the cave only to be ignored when he comes back because his eyes haven't adjusted to the light. A similar fate befalls Tom Mix, although with a slight twist at the end. This really is a clever but depressing book. There is also a murder-mystery subplot taking place on the surface world, but I can't help but get the feeling Dick added this on to flesh out the novel a little bit. There was a lot of good in this novel, but overall, it left me a little wanting. ***1/4