I've got to do some ironing today but as you can see I'm avoiding it. A quick post her to continue with my ongoing look at my favorite authors. Today one of the greats of the Science Fiction genre.
My Ongoing Look at My Favorite Authors - Philip K. Dick
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| Philip K. Dick |
1. Time Out of Joint (1958).
"I've read quite a few of Philip K. Dick's books over the past many years. He is one of the unique Science Fiction writers, definitely taking a different perspective on his subject. Time Out of Joint is one of his earlier efforts, written in 1958. You can see many of the themes that crop in his works; alternate realities especially play a major role in this and the other books I've read previously.
Ragle Gumm lives in a small town in Wyoming, living with his sister and her husband. He makes his living solving a mathematical contest that the local paper puts out each day. As time moves along, he and his family become more and more aware that things aren't quite what they seem. They find an old yellow pages and magazines. The phone book contains numbers that don't work and seem to indicate that they might be being monitored by some outside agency. The magazines show famous people, but people they don't know. Are the neighbours watching them. Why does the man from the newspaper drop in on Ragle?
We get tidbits from other people around Ragle, very suspicious things happening in this town. Ragle moves to discover what is really taking place and what he finds out makes for a fascinating story. Philip Dick never disappoints but he can confuse and leave you hanging... Interesting story from him and well worth trying to get a feel for his work and ideas. (4 stars)"
"I've read many books by science fiction author Philip K. Dick over the years. The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dr. Bloodmoney or How We Got Along after the Bomb and The Crack in Space were all excellent, quite different stories. Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said was published in 1970 and was one of his last books.
While it was an entertaining read, I don't think it was one of his best books. Basically, Jason Taverner, a media star wakes up one day and discovers that he no longer exists in any records or is not recognized or known by anyone. Now Jason must find out why this happened and how he can get back into reality. It's an interesting journey and the description of this world is fascinating. Taverner is a 'six', although this isn't explained too much.
We meet some interesting people in this journey, especially Kathy, the expert on forging documents, Police General Buckman and others. This is a police state or world but once again, while things are hinted and intimated at, we don't get lots of details. I think that was my biggest problem with this story. There was so much potential but it seemed that Dick kind of was going through the motions. I still enjoyed it but wanted more. (3 stars)"
"I've seen the movie based on the book, that being Blade Runner, many times and always enjoy. For some reason, even though I find Philip K. Dick a fascinating science fiction writer, I've not picked up Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? before. It might be one of those things about not wanting to ruin the movie by reading the book, or something like that. Anyway, a couple of years back, I saw a new edition at one of my favorite book stores in Victoria and picked up a copy. And this year it was chosen for me as one of my Challenge reads. And for that I'm glad.
The story follows the basic plot line of the movie. Rick Dekkard is a bounty hunter for the San Francisco PD, paid to hunt down and 'retire' escaped androids. The story is set in a future where the world was almost by a World War. Many people have emigrated to the Moon and Mars and other planets. Few remain behind. Some, known as chicken heads, don't have the mental abilities to emigrate, due to the effects of the dust from the World War. Others just don't want to.
A group of androids, the Nexus 6 version, escape from Mars and come to San Francisco. Dekkard is given the assignment to find and retire them after his partner is almost killed by one. So that is the gist of the story.
Other elements only hinted at in the movie play much bigger roles in the book. The desire to have 'real' pets as most animals were killed in the world. People keep them on their roof tops. Dekkard is only able to afford an electric sheep and craves a real animal as he hopes it will help his marriage. Yes, he is married in the book. The other main character, John Isidore, a chicken head, works for a company that builds and repairs electric animals. There is also the interesting dichotomy between the Buster Friendly TV program that blasts out all day long on TV and also radio and Mercerism, an emotional linkage between millions of people.
All in all it's a unique story, quite fascinating. Dick can leave you feeling cold with his stories, I find, but as this story progresses and comes to the end, it did provide an emotional satisfaction. Well worth reading if you've not explored the Science Fiction of Philip K. Dick. (4 stars)"
4. A Maze f Death (1970).
"Excellent story. I read it before but back in the late '70s so it was just like a first-time read. Well-paced science fiction story, alternate reality. Neat little touches; compare the chapter titles in the index to the actual chapters (I'll say no more, but very interesting). I liked the ending, it was a an interesting twist that I didn't see coming. Very enjoyable and I'm glad I read again after all these years." (4 stars)
5. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965).
"In the overcrowded world and cramped space colonies of the late 21st century, tedium can be endured through the drug Can-D, which enables users to inhabit a shared illusory world. When industrialist Palmer Eldritch returns from an interstellar trip, he brings with him a new drug, Chew-Z. It is far more potent than Can-D, but threatens to plunge the world into a permanent state of drugged illusion controlled by the mysterious Eldritch." (3 stars)
6. Dr. Bloodmoney of How We Got Along After the Bomb (1963).
"Excellent story. I couldn't remember it at all from when I read it back in the late 70's or so. It's a post-nuclear disaster type story. Well-written, interesting, a real page-turner. So many interesting concepts; the different mutations, how people are trying to get on after the disaster. Nice Philip K. Dick twists. I found I couldn't put it down at the end and wanted to see how things were resolved. Excellent story. (4 stars)"
"I've read quite a few of Philip K. Dick's unique brand of science fiction over the years. A personal favorite of mine is The Man in the High Castle, which I've read 3 or 4 times. In 2017, I finished Time Out of Joint, which I enjoyed very much and now, most recently, he Crack in Space, which was quite excellent.
The Crack in Space was written in 1966. The basic premise is an over-populated world, where people have the option of becoming 'Bibs'; they are cryogenically frozen, hopefully being awoken when there is more room on Earth or other options such as the opportunity to move to another planet if that technology is available.
Jim Briskin is running for President and if he succeeds will become the first African American president of the US. A discovery is made where a crack in space presents the opportunity to relieve the overpopulation problem by letting Earth people emigrate to the planet that shows up in this crack. The question is, what's on the other side and if there is an existing population, will they allow this invasion?
I found the story fascinating, with many very nice touches throughout. I did like Dick's idea of introduction of Briskin as presidential candidate. He is intelligent, thoughtful and straight-forward. (I wonder if Barack Obama ever read this story? :0)) The story, itself, moves along at a perfect pace; the characters are interesting; note George Walt, the owner of the satellite whore house, amongst others. It was a thoughtful, clear and well-crafted story and I enjoyed all of it, from beginning to end. Well worth trying if you want to explore Philip Dick's view of the future. (4 stars)"
"Whale's Mouth was a planetary utopia for forty million Earth colonists - but none ever returned. It took only 15 minutes to get there by instant teleportation, but it was strictly a one-way journey. If you wanted to return, it was always possible to go the long way round - 18 years each way by conventional spacecraft. No one relished that, of course. Then one man decided to try it, and encountered some very powerful opposition." (3 stars)
9. A Scanner Darkly (1977).
"A strangely interesting story. Not my first Dick novel; I've enjoyed a few of his stories. Many levels in this, various levels of drug-induced consciousness, various personalities of Fred/ Bob Arctor/ Bruce and others. Dick is a unique writer in the field of Sci-Fi. Reading this has made me want to go through his other stories. (3 stars)"
"One of my all-time favorite Sci-Fi stories. I've read many times; the first time while at university back 74ish. Great concept, got me interested in the I Ching. So much to it.
Update 08 Feb 2013
Read this for the third or fourth time this past week. As good as ever. It's a story that passes the test of time. Such an interesting concept. It's the first alternate history type story that I ever read. It's an alternate history within an alternate history. The basic premise is that Japan and Germany win WWII and have split up the USA and the rest of the world. However throughout the story is another book within this book which tells the story as if the US and Britain had won the war and the issues this causes. There is so much more to this story; culture, religion, art, love. Highly recommended. (5 stars)"
I still have two more of Dick's books on my shelves; Martian Time - Slip (1964) and The Penultimate Truth (1964). That still really only scratches the surface on his work. The complete listing of Philip K. Dick's novels can be found at this link. If you enjoy Sci-Fi or are considering checking the genre out, you should try Philip K. Dick. Have a great week!
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