The Transmigration of Timothy Archer
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The Transmigration of Timothy Archer is a 1982 science fiction book by Philip K. Dick. As his final work, the book was published shortly after his untimely death in March 1982 following a series of strokes, although it was written the previous year. The book was originally titled, Bishop Timothy Archer.
Set in the late 1960s and 1970s, the story describes the efforts of Episcopalian Bishop Timothy Archer, who must cope with the theological and philosophical implications of the newly-discovered Gnostic Zadokite scroll fragments. The character of Bishop Archer is loosely based on the controversial, iconoclastic Episcopalian Bishop James Pike, who in 1969 died of exposure while exploring the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea in the Israeli West Bank.
Transmigration is one of Dick's most overtly philosophical and intellectual works. While Dick's novels usually employ multiple narrators or an omniscient perspective, this story is told in the first person by a single narrator: Angel Archer, Bishop Archer's daughter-in-law. Dick's work was often criticized for its flat, stereotypical female characters, so Angel may represent his effort to prove he could create a rich and believable feminine voice.
Main characters
- Angel Archer: narrator, manager of a Berkeley record store, widow of Jeff Archer
- Timothy Archer: Bishop of California, father of the late Jeff Archer and father-in-law of Angel
- Kirsten Lundborg: Timothy Archer's secretary and lover
- Bill Lundborg: Kirsten's son, afflicted by Asperger's syndrome (a disorder similar to autism) and obsessed with cars
- Edgar Barefoot: Houseboat guru, radio personality, lecturer, based on Alan Watts
- Jeff Archer: professional student, Angel's deceased husband, son of Timothy Archer
Other works
Transmigration is thematically related to Dick's unfinished VALIS trilogy of novels:
- VALIS (1981)
- The Divine Invasion (1981)
- The Owl in Daylight
See also
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