In order to plug a hole in my erudition I started reading some of Philip K. Dick‘s books. “Time Out of Joint” (1959) has some similarities with “Simulacron-3“, in the sense that the protagonist is also asking himself the question whether the world around him is not some kind of scam, a virtual reality. Perhaps the most interesting parts in both books are the descriptions of moments of lucidity in which the virtual world around the protagonist seems to fall apart. And in the editions I have of both books there is no link whatsoever between the cover and the content of the book, which is an interesting phenomenon in itself.
“Ubik” (1969) is probably Philip K. Dick’s most famous book (or is it that other book of his that was the inspiration for “Bladerunner” ?), but i’ve just started reading it, so there’s not much I can say, apart from the fact that it is mindblowingly psychedelic. Perhaps not appropriate reading for on commuter trains…