The Divine Invasion is a 1981 science fantasy novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It is the second book in the gnostic VALIS trilogy, and takes place in the indeterminate future, perhaps a century or more after VALIS. The novel, originally titled Valis Regained, was nominated to the BSFA Award.
After the fall of Masada in AD 74, God, or "Yah", is exiled from Earth and forced to take refuge in the CY30-CY30B star system. Although people of Earth are meanwhile ruled by Belial, the fallen Morning Star who serves as Yah's principal Adversary, Yah is intent on reclaiming his creation.
Writing
The book was conceived as a sequel to Dick's VALIS, though it shares no characters and virtually no plot elements with the other book. Both novels depict divine information being imparted by means of pink beams of light. In both novels, it is suggested or stated that there was a "fall" resulting in impairment to the Godhead, but that some sort of divine method of repair is being processed. Both novels reference a fictitious film titled Valis that had been made in the twentieth century by a fictitious rock musician named Eric Lampton and featuring "Synchronicity Music" by a fictitious composer named Brent Mini. Both novels not only reference Linda Ronstadt, but include fictional characters named Linda; in the case of VALIS, there is a character named Linda Lampton, and in the case of The Divine Invasion, there is a character named Linda Fox. In both novels, a character has a dream that conveys the notion that slippers need to be put on in order for said character to approach the dawn.
The Divine Invasion was conceived immediately after the completion of VALIS, with the working title VALIS Regained. Dick did not begin actually writing the novel until March 1980 (more than a year after VALISs completion in November 1978), when he wrote it in less than a month.