Deus Irae
Post-apocalyptic novel co-authored by Philip K. Dick and Roger Zelazny.
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Deus Irae is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by two American authors. Philip K. Dick began it, and Roger Zelazny completed it. The book was published in 1976. Its title is Latin for "God of Wrath," a wordplay on the phrase Dies Irae, meaning "Day of Wrath" or "Judgment Day."
Dick started the novel but realized he lacked sufficient knowledge of Christianity to finish it. He asked editor and writer Ted White to collaborate; White reviewed the manuscript but never began work. In early 1968, Zelazny found the manuscript at White's home, read it, and contacted Dick about collaborating. Work proceeded irregularly over several years, as each author periodically forgot about the book.
The novel was completed quickly in spring 1975 after the publisher, Doubleday, demanded either the manuscript or repayment of the advance. The editor discovered Zelazny had sent photocopies of many pages and, per Doubleday policy, demanded the originals. To Zelazny's chagrin, he had to submit pages stained with cat urine; he later wondered what the editor made of them.
Plot
The story is set after a devastating nuclear war in 1982. Fallout and radiation have caused widespread mutations in humans and animals, and national communications are permanently down. A new messianic religion, similar to gnosticism, has arisen. Its members, the Servants of Wrath (SOWs), worship Carleton Lufteufel—from the German "Luft" (air) and "Teufel" (devil)—the former chairman of the Energy Research and Development Agency of the United States, who created and detonated the war's ultimate weapon.
In Charlottesville, Utah, debates occur between the Servants of Wrath and the dwindling Christian congregations. The SOWs' faith is driven by an anger-based concept of godhood, contrasting with Christian survivors' beliefs, giving the book its name. Tibor McMasters, an armless, legless cyborg phocomelus artist, is commissioned to paint a mural of Lufteufel, though no one knows where Lufteufel lives or what he looks like. The SOW leadership provides only a 3D photograph, forcing McMasters to undertake a deadly pilgrimage from Wyoming to California to meet Lufteufel in person.
A Manuscript's Unlikely Journey to Completion
Deus Irae began as a solo project by Philip K. Dick, who ultimately set it aside because he felt he lacked sufficient knowledge of Christianity to carry the story to a satisfying conclusion. He reached out to science fiction editor Ted White, hoping for a collaborative partner, but White reviewed the manuscript and never picked up the work. The pages sat dormant in White's home until early 1968, when Roger Zelazny stumbled upon them, read through the draft, and reached out to Dick about co-authoring. What followed was a peculiarly languid partnership: over several years, each writer would lose track of the project and forget to continue.
The novel only saw a rapid push to completion in the spring of 1975, when Doubleday, the publisher, demanded either the finished manuscript or repayment of the advance originally paid to Dick. Even the final submission carried a stain—literally—because Zelazny was forced to hand over original pages that had been marred by cat urine after he had previously sent photocopies. He later mused with amusement about what the Doubleday editor must have thought of those pages.
A World Rebuilt Around a New God of Wrath
The novel is set in the aftermath of a catastrophic nuclear war that occurred after 1982. The fallout has permanently disabled national communications networks and triggered widespread mutations across both human and animal populations. In this broken landscape, a new messianic faith has taken root, drawing on gnostic traditions. Its adherents, the Servants of Wrath, worship Carleton Lufteufel—a name that fuses the German words for "air" and "devil"—as the creator and detonator of the war's ultimate weapon.
He had served as chairman of the U.S. Energy Research and Development Agency. The SOWs' theology centers on an anger-driven conception of divinity, standing in sharp contrast to the dwindling Christian congregations still found in places like Charlottesville, Utah, where the two groups engage in ongoing theological disputes. This tension between a wrath-worshipping faith and the older Christian tradition is the structural and spiritual backbone around which the entire narrative turns.
The Cyborg Artist and the Pilgrimage to a Living God
The story's central quest belongs to Tibor McMasters, a cyborg artist who has lost both his arms and legs. The Servants of Wrath commission him to paint a mural of Lufteufel for their new church, but they possess only a three-dimensional photograph of their deity. To render him faithfully, McMasters must undertake a dangerous pilgrimage—called a "pilg"—stretching from Wyoming to California to see Lufteufel in person.
Along the way, he and fellow seekers confront sentient mutant lizards, birds, and insects that evolved from the radiation, as well as the "Big C," a decaying artificial intelligence that survives by consuming humans for trace elements. At Lufteufel's home, the god is removing shrapnel from his own forehead when he bleeds out and loses consciousness. His intellectually challenged daughter, Alice, presses a shirt to the blood, leaving a permanent imprint—the only true likeness of his face, echoing the Christian relics of the Veil of Veronica and the Shroud of Turin.
The Mural, the Murder, and the Myth That Remains
The novel's most pointed irony arrives in its final act. Lufteufel, hiding under the German name "Jack Schuld"—meaning "guilt"—kills a dog belonging to McMasters, and McMasters, unaware of the man's true identity, murders him.
After the death, Alice is visited by Lufteufel's spirit, which silently lifts the fog from her mind, curing her disability, while another survivor glimpses a "Palm Tree Garden" reminiscent of Eden, hinting that Lufteufel may have been a gnostic demiurge: a self-aggrandizing earthbound deity whose power is limited relative to higher divinity. Yet McMasters, still ignorant of the god's death, is deceived by his Christian companion Pete into painting the commissioned mural from the likeness of a dying alcoholic vagrant. That mural endures in Servants of Wrath institutions, serving as a quiet, devastating argument that religious belief is frequently built on mythological accretions rather than faithful accounts of what actually transpired.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Deus Irae?
It is a 1976 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel co-written by Philip K. Dick and Roger Zelazny, released by Doubleday. Dick originated the project, but Zelazny stepped in to see it through to completion.
What does the title 'Deus Irae' actually mean?
The Latin phrase translates to 'God of Wrath,' a deliberate play on 'Dies Irae,' the traditional term for Judgment Day. The naming underscores the novel's focus on divine retribution in a collapsed world.
How did Zelazny end up finishing Dick's manuscript?
Dick felt he lacked the depth of Christian knowledge needed to wrap up the story, and his first intended collaborator, Ted White, never actually put pen to paper. In early 1968 Zelazny happened to find the manuscript at White's house, read it, and then contacted Dick to propose they work on it together.
More in Novels by Roger Zelazny
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Deus Irae (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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