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Summary: Animal Lovers...your humanity has been confirmed!
Review: This is a book with, among many thought provoking ideas, about humans loving animals and furthermore, humans identifying their humanity by their capacity to LOVE a fellow living creature: animals. So what is the problems? The problem is, humans have decided that androids must be destroyed, there is an industry to destroying them, AND the destroyers, "bladerunners" such as Rick Decker are beginning to think that androids may be just as VALID to live as humans. Why? He hasn't figured out just what makes a human a human such as loving fellow living creatures (but aren't androids fellow living creatures too?). And what of the androids INCREDIBLY strong WILL to live? Don't they have as much rights to live too?? Humans are keeping android animals in secret to "pass" as real and androids are living in secret and passing as humans, so the ONLY real "defining" way to prove whether one is a human or one is an android is to give a "test" like a lie detector test that shows that one has empathy for a living creature. Do you kill a coach roach? Do you recoil at a snake? Then maybe you aren't human, maybe you are an android?? How do you define your humanity when it is defined by your empathy for life as it is in this world? Then how do you reconcile your job when it is to KILL androids who think that they are alive and do not wish to die? And how do you live with yourself when you are killing androids just so that you can have money so that your wife can buy a real life sheep so that she can feel that she is more human?? This is a maddening paradox and so incredibly inspired that Philip K. Dick is recognized as one of the best writers (sci-fi or not) in the English language. The movie, "Bladrunner" is good but it is not the book. With the poaching done from the book, and the movie in the mainstream consciousness, the book still stands alone and cut above as what PKD intended. You can enjoy both although the book is more profound and much more of a puzzle/a Rorschach test of just what you think you see in this book.
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Summary: Yet Another "Blade Runner" Comparison
Review: "Blade Runner" is and had been for many years one of my favorite sci-fi movies. I'll take its film noir-ish depiction of the future over Star Wars's cartoonish-ness any time. And after all these years, I finally got around to reading the source material. When they say that "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" only "inspired" the movie "Blade Runner," brother, they are not kidding. "Blade Runner" took a story written in Phillip K. Dick's usual absurdist style and gave it flesh and blood. Dick's writing is quite philosophical and tends to leave you cold as a reader. Often his characters act in ways that seem to make little sense on a narrative level. "Androids" is no exception to this. The concepts are great, but the details are baffling. For instance, could anyone really live on an Earth mired in the throes of a post nuclear holocaust raidiation cloud? Ultimately, comparing "Androids" to "Blade Runner" is quite unfair to both. "Blade Runner" represents that rare science fiction film with more brains than brawn while "Androids" is a typical Phillip K. Dick mindbender. If you like his stuff, you'll like this book. If you're contemplating reading it just because you liked the movie, don't waste your time.
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Summary: Strange and Perplexing
Review: I first saw the movie BladeRunner before I read the book. The book to me was hard to understand especialy when Isidore had hallucinations or dreams. The book did not explain who Mercer is or who the killers are. The androids in the book seemed stupid compared to the ones in the movies and made less an effort to survive or fight back. The book was partialy intresting but became boring at the end.
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Summary: Do people dream of electric androids?
Review: I would just like to apologize for that title there, that was pretty much lame... But good news!The book isn't! It is the best thing that I have read in a while considering that I am a college student and read a lot of things that suck. Bladerunner, the movie, was pretty good, but this is even better. The book starts out pretty cynically, but I was quite moved by the quest for life portrayed in it and a sort of ultimate new hope. So, buy the book, be moved and entertained- I coudn't put the thing down for two days.
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Summary: Good Movie, Great Book
Review: What an excellent example of the oft-stated principle that "reading the book is better." Blade Runner is a good movie, in my opinion, but Dick's story on which it was based is a lot more cerebral, offers many extras that would have been difficult to pull off in film, yet is no less entertaining. There is a pervasive animal component to the story that is not fleshed out in the film, which is not only interesting but a neat commentary-slash-prediction on the possible future implications of Earth's growing list of endangered and extinct species. Also, there is a much different dynamic to the Deckard- Rachael Rosen relationship than was presented in Blade Runner, and another, colder bounty hunter is introduced who causes Deckard to rethink his personal philosophy. The descriptions of the futuristic setting were intriguing, yet not over the top (that was predictably better handled on film), and there are clever technologies presented such as mood organs and empathy boxes. Do Androids Dream... has a fascinating story line and unique perspective that is a refreshing change from the more apocalyptic tones of science fiction. Instead of trying to save the earth per se, Deckard is charged with keeping the peace, albeit in a sense not (yet) faced by today's law enforcement officers or vigilantes. "Retiring" androids might seem to be amoral on the surface, yet the equation gets complicated the more human the androids are built. The only aspect I wasn't crazy about was the presentation of the religion/philosophy of Mercerism. I appreciated the commentary made by Dick about people's cultish devotion to a belief system, and the system's eventual expose, but I thought that aspect of the story needed more developing. The Mercer passages were largely symbolic, and described in vague terms of imagery- a sharp contrast to the rest of the book's style. [As an aside, the copy I had of this mixed up the words "emphatic" and "empathic" often, which was kind of an odd editing oversight, especially as the ability of humans to empathize was a central theme of the work.]
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Summary: Deep, moving science fiction
Review: In addition to having the most original book title in history, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is an amazing novel. At its most fundamental level, it questions what it means to be human. Is the soul fundamental to life, or is it the product of compassion and experience? Furthermore, is religion a product of human experience, or is it a guide for human experience? Dick doesn't claim to know the answers to these questions, but, as is the case in many of his novels, it is the asking that is important. The fact that such deep thinking occurs in a brilliantly imagined post-apocalyptic city populated by deep, wonderful characters makes this novel all the more remarkable.
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Summary: made me want to buy all pkd novels
Review: this novel made me want to write sci-fi it shows that sci-fi can be literature and be entertaining at the same time. the characters in my opinion are all well-developed (buster friendly is my favorite) and are engrossing. i had seen this book in the library years ago and ignored it, i wish now i had been reading his work years ago. i had read now wait until last year and am in the process of reading valis (which i love so far) dick is a major writer who deserves attention on par with any american writer of this century. this is considered by some to be pkd's best work by some. the plots twists are excellent and unpredictable. this book is far better than the movie. read the book first and then see blade runner if you haven't already and you will see that the book is far better. but as it has been said film and fiction are two different mediums.
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Summary: Not bad, not bad at all
Review: After the third World War ended, millions of humans lay dead, entire species of animals became extinct, and the earth was covered with a thick radioactive dust. The dust was so harmful it eradicated species such as owls and toads. Many other species became extremely rare. An animal seen in the wild was unheard of, but people still were able to keep certain types of animals alive by caring for them as their pets. To own a real live animal was a great status symbol, something that people took great pride in. However not all could afford real animals, so companies produced artificial ones. The dust also had an adverse effect on humans; it worn down their physical appearance and even corrupted their brains. Many humans elected to leave earth and set up colonies on Mars. One company that produced artificial animals decided it would be profitable to manufacture artificial humans. These androids were sent to the colonies to work, but some aspired to be more than a mere slave. They would escape to earth where they hoped top have a life. Androids could be detected only by administering tests. The humans on earth, realized the havoc these androids could cause, made it illegal for them to be on earth. Bounty hunters were employed to ¡°retire¡± these androids taking refuge on the earth. Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter, struggled with his career and his humanity. This led him to consider whether the androids just existed or were alive. Deckard had to choose whether to retire six fugitive androids and possibly face his own demise, or quit his job. This book brings up topics that we may have to address in the future, such as world war, extinction of animals, and artificial beings. The author attempts to make the reader come to his/her own conclusion on whether any of the electric beings are actually alive. Some of the language used is quite confusing, and some details are lost due to this. However one could still comprehend the issues presented. The story had a descent rhythm and does not drag anywhere. One thing that could have explained more thoroughly was the world war. The background information about the war is minimal to say the least. Dick could have developed the history behind the war in order to answer questions one might have. The ending leaves some lose ends, but overall it is quite a good read.
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Summary: Read it
Review: I'll hold my hand up now and say that I'm not a sci-fi afficionado. However, I must make an exception in the case of 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'. This is one original and fiercely intelligent novel, which transcends the genre that spawned it: it is the equal of many highly regarded works of 'serious' literature and undoubtedly the product of a formidable intellect. The ideas that Philip K Dick generates and the way he applies them to the human condition in this book throw up some fascinating themes: is empathy what makes us human? Is life precious for its own sake? Can we be sure that we are even 'alive'? The novel is set on a post holocaust Earth now only sparsely populated by 'specials' - humans whose genes have been rendered defective by radioactive dust - and a few others. The remaining healthy humans have migrated to Mars, seduced by the promise of owning their own android. The value of life on Earth is so high that a ludicrous extreme now exists, where the ultimate status goal is to own a live animal - which only the affluent, or the desperate, can afford. The sad, but cheap, alternative is to own an electric replica in order to save face with the neighbours. Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter, his job to 'retire' renegade androids who have escaped from Mars. Six of the latest, highly sophisticated, Nexus 6 models have committed murder and escaped to Earth. The trouble is, these androids are so convincing it is only possible to be sure they are not human by gauging their reflex reactions to a series of questions, to test their empathy. This approach obviously has its shortcomings - the android could well have a laser gun pointed at you underneath the table. Set over the course of a single day, the novel charts the psychological voyage of discovery that Deckard unwittingly embarks on which sees him transformed from a down at heel private eye, who does his job without ever questioning the ethics or consequences, to an existentially uncertain refusenik who is profoundly unsure of his own sanity. Dick's novel was the inspiration for Ridley Scott's 'Bladerunner', though the two are significantly different. Where 'Bladerunner' is a sort of ultra stylish sci-fi film noir 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' is a more cerebral experience that touches on some fairly weighty philosophical themes. The film is visually stunning and manages to captures a nightmarish vision of a post apocalyptic future more perfectly than any other movie in the last twenty years, except perhaps 'Terminator'. It is a work of atmosphere over ideas, though this isn't a criticism. The book covers more ground - certain elements, such as the bizarre religion Mercerism and the almost fanatical sociological obsession with live animals, are omitted from 'Bladerunner', and these help to contextualise the warped evolution of human life on earth since World War Terminus. In conclusion this book is a classic, and that is not a term I would use lightly. It works on all sorts of levels, whether you're after a thought provoking exploration on what it means to be 'alive' or simply an exciting, well written sci-fi detective yarn. Read it.
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Summary: Great Book
Review: I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep quite a few years ago, and many years after seeing the movie that was based on this book, "Blade Runner." It was an extremely engrossing read. If you've seen the movie, don't worry about the book being old hat. The two are actually quite different. The whole premise is kind inverted. Instead of the replicants being hunted down because they had developed emotion, they are being hunted down because they HAVE no emotion, so have no qualms about killing others. It's definitely a twist, but a very interesting one. The preciousness of life, particularly animal life, however, is probably even more emphasized in the book than the movie. In addition, the book adds another dimension called Murcererism, which is this odd hi-tech form of religion. Kind of a machine that produces spiritual experiences and thus makes life more livable in a post-apocalyptic world where all animals (aside from humans) have been made extinct by the radiation from the bombs.
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