The Turning Wheel, Philip K. Dick
The Turning Wheel, Philip K. Dick
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The Turning Wheel
When the Wheel Turns, Who Rides and Who Breaks?

Author: Philip K. Dick

Narrator: Scott Miller

Unabridged: 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Scott Miller

Published: 11/27/2022


Synopsis

In a far future built on rigid social castes and absolute faith in reincarnation, Sung-wu Ung believes the universe is governed by an unbreakable cosmic wheel. Every action determines the next life, every suffering purifies the soul, and nothing must interfere with the divine plan. When a forbidden glimpse into his own future reveals a horrifying fate, Sung-wu becomes desperate to preserve his spiritual standing before time runs out.Sent on a routine investigation to suppress a suspected cult, Sung-wu instead encounters the Tinkerists—people who reject passive suffering and actively reshape the world through forbidden technology. Their ideas challenge everything Sung-wu believes about morality, destiny, and justice. As his fear grows, so does the realization that the greatest threat may not be heresy, but the system he has devoted his life to defending.Philip K. Dick was one of the most influential science-fiction writers of the twentieth century, known for questioning authority, reality, and the nature of belief. His stories often explore how systems of power manipulate truth and how ordinary people struggle when those systems collapse. In The Turning Wheel, Dick delivers a sharp, unsettling vision of faith weaponized as social control.This story blends social satire with moral horror, forcing listeners to confront uncomfortable questions about suffering, obedience, and whether progress itself can be considered a sin.

About Philip K. Dick

Over a writing career that spanned three decades, PHILIP K. DICK (1928–1982) published 36 science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned to deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly, as well as television's The Man in the High Castle. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, including the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and between 2007 and 2009, the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bill on April 27, 2019

First published in Science Fiction Stories (1954), “The Turning Wheel” depicts a post-apocalyptic society, where America is controlled by the “Holy Arm”—a pseudo-Asian religion that disbelieves in progress, disdains invention, and is dominated by reverence for nature, fear of karma, and belief in re......more

Goodreads review by Bruno on December 22, 2015

Em uma sociedade futura o mundo é dividido em castas sendo a dominante a dos bardos fundada por um líder religioso sugestivamente chamado de Elron Hu.......more

Goodreads review by Austin on April 08, 2018

This almost appears to be in the same Universe as "The Man in the High Castle", it is a role-reversal on Scientology being a state-religion and Medicine being the Cult. Cutting Edge Sci-Fi for the 50's.......more

Goodreads review by Tania on February 13, 2025

How does he do it? Seriously. The Turning Wheel is about a world ruled by the teachings of Elron Hu, where the goal of mankind is to get clear, because only clarity allows progress on the wheel. But this story was written in 1953. The Church of Scientology wasn't formally established until 1954. So h......more

Goodreads review by Seth on February 16, 2020

Fascinating story by P.K.D. I'm always amazed by his view of a post-destroyed Earth, and the collapse of the "white European culture".......more