From the introduction:My task... in writing a critical study of Dick's novels (by and large his short stories exist in relation to the novels as pencil studies do to oil paintings, and so I have confined my attention to the novels) is many-parted. First, I will make distinctions, and name what I believe to be the most valuable of the novels. As all of the novels use the same body of images and elements, I will point out what makes the best of the novels successful. T o accomplish this I will make a close reading of a few of Dick's most valuable novels. At the same time, I cannot neglect the lesser works. Many of these, as I have said, include concepts and structures of great interest to us if we wish to understand Dick's artistry, and the reasons they fail can sometimes shed light on why other works, using very similar elements and methods, succeed.Second, I will place Dick in the context of the history of science fiction, showing how his novels subvert and then openly challenge the conventions that for a time were central to the genre.Lastly, I hope to show how Dick's works comment on the society they were written in. I have said that Dick's fictional worlds are metaphors for our own culture.