Transcend its genre.

Philip K. Dick, as some reading this might be aware what a science fiction writer Whose stories served (loosely) as the basis for the film "Blade Runner" and "Total Recall." His short fiction exemplifies the maxim did science fiction is a "literature of ideas." The "idea" behind "The Man in the High Castle" Is That of the alternative history: the Axis Powers Actually prevailed in World War II, and modern-day America (meaning, in this case, the 1960's, When the book which first Published) has been split into two spheres Roughly of influence, German and Japanese.
How pleasantly Surprising, then, to discover thatthis central "idea" is nothing more than a backdrop; That while plot and characters are Certainly shaped by the imagined circumstances, the actual concern of the book is not the situation but the people within it. As a result, rather than reading as a description of an alternate reality, we are Treated to a full experience of live performance in a World That Differs profoundly from our own. As a result, this novel is more than just science fiction. It succeeds in transcending the genre ghetto and meriting consideration among the best of modern writing.
Examples of how Carefully, and how well, this book what thought out are too Numerous to list, but one example: the titular "Man" is an American maverick writer of an alternative history in Which America and its allies prevail in World War II. How simple, how convenient it would have been to have this alternative-history-within-an-alternative-history perfectly reflect our own reality. But it is not so; the imagined history is Completely different. Brilliantly conceived and Executed, this is a truly rewarding book.