In his short yet busy career, Philip K. Dick engaged in only two collaborations. There was The Ganymede Takeover in 1967 with Ray Nelson, which proved to be a rather obvious rip-off of Heinlein's Starship Troopers. And, then, in 1976, there was Deus Irae with Roger Zelazny, a man that by then had already become a science fiction god.

First, a little background on the book. In 1964, Dick began work on it. He toiled for a week or two of straight, uninterrupted writing (as was his style) and managed to pound out four or five chapters. Then, he realized he could go no further. He knew nothing of the chief topic: Christianity. So, in an effort to salvage his story, he contacted Roger Zelazny and asked him if he knew anything about Christian theology. Zelazny replied, and I quote: "You bet, Jack." (Dick repeated his reply in that notorious interview "The Mainstream That Through the Ghetto Flows") Dick sent him all the work he had accomplished along with a brief outline of what he expected to come.

Years and years past with no word from Zelazny. Dick went on to write and write as usual, pounding out God only knows how many novels. Then, in 1976, Zelazny told him it was finished. Soon after, it was published.

And, now, the review.

Its pretty obvious, even to the casual Dick fan, where Dick's portion ends and Zelazny's begins. Dick's sparse, yet poetic prose ends around chapter five. Then, the signature, overblown work of Zelazny kicks in and the rest is history.

Here is the story, in essense: Tibor, a limbless artist for a local church is on a quest of sorts to meet and take a photo of Deus Irae (for you non-Latin majors, that's "God of Wrath"). His religion worships the man who was the US general that dropped the atomic bomb thus leading to the post-apocalyptic world Tibor knows all too well. But Tibor will first have to overcome the Christian man sent by a local priest to stop him, just in case Deus Irae is, so to speak, the real deal.

It may also be obvious to the reader which characters were crafted by Dick, and which by Zelazny. The Christian man in search of God through the use of hallucinogenic drugs, the insects that worship and broken down Volkswagen Beetle, and the Great C (taken from an early short story of the same name) are all distinctly Dickian.

On the whole the book is very interesting. The reader is constantly kept in the dark as to the next move. Some of the events in the Zelazny portion may seem random, but as the book progresses, the purposes of such scenes come into focus clear as day. Though Dick's part is not as extensive, it definitely sets the perfect mood. By the end of the first chapter, we have a clear vision of the state of the present world: derelict cities, embittered clergymen, horrible mutations, and other such atrocities. They are all written, by Dick and Zelazny alike, with an eerie beauty. Unlike some of the other Dick novels of the period, the environment and its effects loom over the characters, rather than serve as a pleasant or misery-ridden backdrop.

As I read, I was faced with a question: Could this book be as interesting and engaging as it is without Zelazny?

Answering such a question is no mean feat. Often, there is a sense of confusion over the true nature of the characters. Zelazny tries his best to keep Dick's vision in check while managing to add his own style.

Upon reading of some of Zelazny's other fiction, I found that his ideas, though nevertheless intiguing, were very much typical to the style of storytelling in the time they were written. Thus, I conclude that only Dick could conjure up a plot like this and no matter how involved he was, his role is no more or no less important than Zelazny.