Rating: 
Summary: of Toad and Donkey
Review: With over 140 reviews I really wonder if i can bring anything else to the fore. I won't bother going into the details of the story because it has been mapped out by previous reviewers what I wanted to speak of is the question of what is life? In this book human beings are of course the most important beings. However, even with humans there are certain stata: normal folks, people of lesser mental ability called chickenheads, and those of even less ability called antheads. The chicknenheads's and antheads mental ability was lowered due to the effect of fallout dust. Besides these strata there exists androids At first androids were a bit clunky, but as time went on they became almost indistinguishible from humans, but because they were created they were only to serve humans. However, some did not want to do that and they killed their owners to live new lives. Of course this was not proper, so bounty hunters were sent to destroy the androids. This book is an excellent look into artificial intelligence and it makes one question what is life?
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Summary: Bleak, Dark, Irrational and Demented Existence
Review: This is the most depressing Sci-fi novel I have ever read, Perhaps I was expecting something else. It shows you how truly irrational life and experience can be. For me it reflects present day life and probably most life untill now, the imposibility of any REAL empathy between living things, the lack of coherence in most beings and the power of the "current" against change, the failed and innatural wirh that we have that life should stand still. It is a pessimistic work at least and I think it was intended to be depressing, so some people can actually understand what that means, or in the case of a lack of response to the book it is a sick joke about the "flattening of affect". The work of course is designed to either produce a negative emotional response or to show the ovious sickness of any lack of it, and it succeeds admirably, sickening the gut of the most unflinching lunatic, for there is something very wrong in the lives of the characters as it indeed is a reflection of reality and the lack of "empathy" in it.
Rating:
Summary: Total commitment
Review: Other SF writers have ideas; Philip K. Dick had visions. In fact, all of his visions may be said to be part of a single Uber-vision, a life-long attempt to construct a picture of the world and to ask meaningful questions about it. Most of his SF novels were different "takes" on this vision and explorations of those questions. To say, as so many people have done (including Dick himself), that his themes are "what is reality" and "what is human", is to touch only on the surface of the problems he was grappling with. It is necessary to understand how thoroughly Dick lived with his vision of life to know what his explorations meant, especially if one wishes to grasp their emotional center.Take this novel for instance (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?). One could read it as if it were an ordinary SF novel and be fascinated by its "ideas", such as androids with false memories or the economy of real-animal trade in a post-apocalyptic setting -- in the same way that some fans of the "Star Trek" shows are interested in the structure of the Federation, the nature of the Borg, etc. But Dick's ideas are nothing more than access points to his larger vision, and the novel has some interesting little conduits that can take you there. One thing of note (that few notice) is the idea of the "Penfield mood organ" which triggers an argument between Deckard and his wife in the opening chapter. Apparently one selects a desired emotional state and "dials in" settings to send one's brain the electrical signals that create that emotion, such as "pleased acknowledgement of hushband's superior wisdom in all matters". (The name of the gadget is obviously derived from Wilder Penfield, 20th century pioneer in brain mapping research. A variant of this idea was used later in another of Dick's robot-or-man novels, the neglected We Can Build You.) Significantly, the device "frames" the novel, referenced again during the last scene. Such a device is the least outlandish piece of "science fiction" that the novel contains, since it is based on real science. And that fact roots the other speculations of the novel, however wild, in a very real and pressing contemporary question: if our moods and attitudes can be manipulated via electrical currents, then... what are we? Another fascinating aspect of the story is the quasi-religious figure named Mercer. Mercer speaks at times with words like those of Christ, at other times with Zen riddles and self-contradiction. He offers empathy without salvation, salvation without truth, a truth through lies. When he is exposed as a fraud (when the set for the Mercer films are "subjected to rigorous laboratory scrutiny"), he admits it but insists that it does not detract from his validity. Mercerism is the only hint of transcendence offered by the novel, which raises the question: if such transcendence is exposed as fraudulent, then... what can be our transcendence? The devestation that Deckard experiences in the end is a reflection of Dick's own emotional response to the conundrums of life as he saw it. That's because his vision was never an abstract or academic construct, an intellectual game without consequences -- it was always a life-or-death matter for him. And so it is for us, because Dick's true theme is neither ontology nor human identify, but the value of our existence, our origin and our fate, our relationships to one another and to God.
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Summary:
You Can Have My Pet
Review:
This nice new edition of Dick's novel (it's insufficient to call it a masterpiece, because that's a tendency which runs through much of his output) will make an appropriate introduction to his body of work, particularly for the young aspiring writers in your family and circle of friends. Like much of his work, it's deeply paranoid and warped, which is one of the attractive characteristics of it.
Yeah, that's right, it was the basis for the movie "Blade Runner", which sucks by comparison. The movie "Total Recall" was based on Dick's super, tiny short story, "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale". "Minority Report" was based on still another P.K. Dick story. "Blade Runner" can be enjoyed for itself, as long as the viewer isn't expecting great cinema, or even a great sci-fi flick. But it ain't this novel.
This one is an out of the park home run that smashes through the sun roof of a Lexus parked outside the ballfield, sets off the car alarm, and spills the cold coffee all over the leather upholstery.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Story
Review: As of now, I have completed three Philip Dick novel; A Scanner Darkly, The Game Players of Titan and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. While all were thoroughly engrossing, particularly A Scanner Darkly, this story rings most accessible. Rather than deal with elements such as psychic and telekenetic powers, or the consequences of drug abuse, Dick lays out a story universal in both symbolism and characterization. While the movie exploits the idea of Rick Deckard being an adroid through a contrived and unsatisfying climax, the book requests we view Deckard as a human facing mental anguish, which borders on a stale mechanical existence. Dick's use of machine life questions our beliefs on human's motivation on topics ranging from friendship to religion. In addition, the ease by which one can understand the story is simple compared to his other novels. The ending, while glum, is satisfying because Deckard's journey to the truth allows him to surmise the phoniness that has spread among the humans he lives with.
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Summary: Thoughtful and intelligent.
Review: Most people at this stage have seen 'Blade Runner' the excellent film adaptation of this book. But it is important to remember that the movie is an adaptation, one which explores certain themes within the book. But it does not explore all the issues raised in the book, and it is only one interpretation. The book explores a number of important and universal themes. One is the theme of love and care and empathy. It contrasts the attitudes of various individuals in terms of how much they can love or empathise with other creatures. Why is an electric sheep less deserving of love than a real one? Why are androids less deserving of love than people? Why do we objectivise some beings and empathise with others? What does our love for other people or animals say about us as people? Dick sharply contrasts the empathy of humans with the coldness of androids in the spider leg incident. This scene is powerful and disturbing. The book delves into the area of social status, as evinced by animal ownership. Deckard is prepared to beggar himself to have a large animal. Size matters, it is a statement of self worth, but in Dick's world it goes even further than this. Animal ownership is equated with humanity. To own an animal and care for it is not only a statement of career success, it is a statement of personal worth as an individual. The book also explores themes such as intellectual discrimination (Chickenheads), future slavery and rights of synthetic life forms, spirituality and religion. The interlacing of spiritual aspects into this book is done extremely well. The appearance of Mercer and his interaction with the real world does not jar at all. It is well handled by phasing in the spirituality at a time of extreme psychological stress. All in all this is an intelligent and thoughtful book. Don't think you know the story because you saw the film. There is much more in here than ever made it onto the screen.
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Summary: For Goodness Sake, Give the Man a Sheep!
Review: I avoided reading this book for quite a while; in fact, I thought I would never read it in my lifetime. But one evening as I browsed around in the bookstore, I picked it up and began skimming the first page. Twenty minutes later when the clerk announced over the intercom that the store was closing, I had to tear myself away from it. The next day I came right back and bought it. I've always been a huge fan of the "Blade Runner" movie, and I've read quite a bit about the movie and how it was adapted from the book. Knowing that basically only the names of the characters and the basic premise were the same, I didn't like what I heard about the novel and how it differed from the fantastic world that Ridley Scott created for the big screen.
But after reading just the first few pages that evening in the bookstore, I was hooked. If you are a fan of the "Blade Runner" movie, you absolutely can't go into this novel wanting to read about the characters and events in the movie. If you do, you will be disappointed. For all intensive purposes, it is an entirely different story. However, you will experience deja vu during certain sequences, such as the Voigt-Kampff test with Rachael. Much of the dialogue is identical, but the differences in the story line make the scene fresh and exciting. On the other hand, if you hated the "Blade Runner" movie, don't turn away from this book either. As I said, the two are practically two different stories. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" is essentially the story of a man, Rick Deckard, who is stuck on a war-ravaged Earth because of his job and his lack of money to move off world. He is unhappy with his life, what he has accomplished, where he's headed, and what other people think about him. His largest agony is, in this world where real animals are a rarity, extremely expensive, and a status symbol, he can't afford a real sheep. He has to make do with an inferior electric sheep whose inanimate quality must be kept secret from the neighbors lest they think less of him. Deckard soon becomes obsessed with buying a real animal and will do almost anything to possess one. When Deckard has a chance to make extra money at his job of killing androids, he jumps at the chance. This will allow him to buy a real animal after all. However, throughout the events in the novel, we see that Deckard is really on a quest to give his life meaning and to find out who he really is. Filled with detail and amazing creativity, Philip K. Dick's Earth is indeed strange but believable. Dick has a talent for making the absurd seem ordinary, for merging an idea with a human element. It isn't the story or the science fiction or the plot twists that keep you reading (although they are intriguing) - it's the connection you feel with Deckard. You care about Deckard and want to know what happens to him. You relate to him, struggle with him, feel pity for him, and hope desperately that he will find what he is looking for. Even though "Androids" is extremely readable and enjoyable, there is much more going on in this short novel than meets the eye. It says a lot about human nature and human desire. The issues are serious and important: global destruction, endangered species, nuclear war, technology, social status, empathy...but overall, it questions the humanness in us all.
Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal in it's best moments
Review: Philip Dick is known to everyone these days, but some of his best work is actually unknown. This book is great, but I found it less intriguing than his short stories. Dick himself once said that he doesn't like novels because they don't cut to the chase. Having said that, some of the best moments in this novel are when the protagonist (Deckard) chases his bounty and at some point does not know whether to kill them or not. He is torn knowing that they are so close to being human, that they could actually be, if only they dreamt of electric sheep. Dick's plot machinations are great, and he proves it time and again here. There is a sudden shift in the plot which shakes you up and makes you read the book more carefully. Amazing writer who comes up with sci-fi terms (not acronyms, but cool sounding words like precogs, conapt, vidscreen, inertial, teep) like they are in some candy jar in his attic. Witty in a dry sort of way (when Deckard and his wife discuss what mood they should choose from the mood organ) and profound when he wants to be. PKD has given me a renewed love for Science Fiction. Definitely for the more paranoid among us. I recommend it heartily.
Rating: 
Summary: Seen Blade Runner?
Review: If you have seen Blade Runner don't worry about it spoiling the ending, completely different messages. Everything of Dick's I have read have been wild, inventive, and extremely interesting. I would recomend trying to completely forget Blade Runner (or vice versa) while reading this book, only the names and a few constructions are the same. I actually preferred Blade Runner's main theme, but if you are into sci-fi, you absolutely must read something by Philip K. Dick (Scanner Darkly, Ubik, Three Stigmata of Palmer Elderich, for instance) if you have not already.
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Summary: Does Phil Dick Dream of Electric Scott?
Review: Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Millennium, 1968) This short novel is best known these days as the basis of Ridley Scott's finest film, Bladerunner. The two are as different as night and day, but the two are roughly recognizable in places, in the same way some people will say "you look just like your father" to an adopted son. And since it's been a few months since I committed any great literary heresies, it's high time for one: Ridley Scott took the meat of this novel and adapted it into something greater, asking some hard questions that Dick avoided (or, perhaps, never thought to ask). For those who've been living under a rock since Bladerunner's 1982 release, the story involves Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter whose specialty is androids. Androids are no longer supposed to live on Earth; they were created as servants and workers for the mass of the populace, who migrated off earth after a nuclear war left most of the planet devastated. (Those reading the book after seeing the movie are likely to wonder where the huge population of LA comes from, given the mass exodus stage up Dick gives us. Oh, yeah, and the book is set in San Francisco.) Those hardy souls who are left Earthside try to eke out a living however they can, and everyone raises animals. There aren't enough animals to go around, though, and not everyone can afford them, so some people have android animals. Those who have android animals keep such things a grave secret, lest their neighbors shun them. (Deckard and his wife, conspicuously absent from the movie, own the electric sheep, also conspicuously absent from the movie, of the title.) You will notice that very little of the above description matches the film version. Neither does much of the book's action. The number of androids loose on earth is larger in the book, and they go to great lengths to try and off Deckard before he offs them (no descriptions of how here, lest I ruin the book for enterprising readers), leading to some of the book's most surreal, and fun, passages. By the time the reader gets to the end, there are questions in his mind as to whether any of it's real at all, or whether it's existed nowhere but in Deckard's head. The most pressing question in my mind, though, was why Harrison Ford didn't have himself an electric sheep in the movie (and why Rachel, a teen in the book, was played by the much older Sean Young). Had Dick's writing style been as stark and minimal as Scott's vision of the future, the book would have worked in spades. However, Dick tended towards melodrama here, and some of the books passages come off as amusingly overwritten given the subject matter therein. Definitely worth reading for Bladerunner fans, but those attempting Dick for the first time may be better off with his brilliant novel Valis. [Three and a half stars]
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