Rating: 
Summary: Masterfull Sci - Fi
Review: Anyone who has read Phil K Dicks novels before will love this, it is as if he had so many exciting ideas and not enough time to write all of them as full novels. He wrote hundreds of short stories, these are some of the best. If you are new to PKD then this is like the best episodes of the twilight zone but written with a touch of paranoia and perhaps a small amount of Hallucinagens. I can't think of a better introduction to the world of such a prolific writer.
Rating: 
Summary: will keep you pondering
Review: As I recall the movie Total Recall, it was a more interesting than usual Summer blockbuster, though still marred by excessive special effects and overlength. It had an intriguing basic premise, but the nuances of the story kept getting lost amidst all the exploding heads. The movie is based, like the equally uneven Blade Runner (see Orrin's review of the book), on the work of the cult favorite sci-fi author, Philip K. Dick. But while movie tie-in versions of Blade Runner abound (Dick's original, more descriptive, title was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall is based on just a short story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, which is harder to find. Until that is I stumbled upon this cheesy looking, but gem filled, collection of stories by various authors, each of which is the basis for a recent science fiction film. Dick's original short story is, predictably, a great improvement over the film, idea-filled rather than action-packed. While Douglas Quail may be a miserable little salaried employee, for the West Coast Emigration Bureau, he has one abiding dream, "Before I die I'll see Mars." Such a trip though would be enormously expensive and his wife constantly derides his ambition. Lucky for him, Rekal, Incorporated, can implant it's customers with false memories that will make it seem as if they've actually experienced their fondest dreams: Was this the answer? After all, an illusion, no matter how convincing, remained nothing more than an illusion. At least objectively. But subjectively--quite the opposite entirely. So Quail goes to Rekal for the Mars "extra-factual memory implant," complete with a scenario that has him acting as an agent for Interplan. Then, as the process gets underway, an unusual thing happens; under sedation he begins to recover genuine memories of a past trip to Mars. As one of the technicians explains: He wants a false memory implanted that corresponds to a trip he actually took. And a false reason which is the real reason. He's telling the truth; he's a long way down in the narkidrine. The trip is very vivid in his mind--at least under sedation. But apparently he doesn't recall it otherwise. Someone, probably at a government military-sciences lab, erased his conscious memories; all he knew was that going to Mars meant something special to him, and so did being a secret agent. They couldn't erase that; it's not a memory but a desire, undoubtedly the same one that motivated him to volunteer for the assignment in the first place. Realizing the gravity of their situation, the folks at Rekal hustle him out the door and refund half his money. But now Quail starts to get fragmentary memories of a Mars trip, some from the implant and some from the real trip, so he returns to Rekal to get the matter straightened out. Meanwhile, agents from Interplan, who have been monitoring his thoughts against just such an eventuality, show up to try and kill him before he can reveal the details of his secret mission to Mars. Quail convinces them to have another try at implanting false memories, but this time the genuine memories that are recovered are even more bewildering. It's a clever, twisty story, somewhat reminiscent of a really good Twilight Zone. In addition, over the space of just twenty or so pages, Dick raises some unsettling questions about memory, desire, delusion and reality, and how they all interact in the human mind. Total Recall is a perfectly adequate way to kill a couple hours; We Can Remember it For You Wholesale, though it takes just a half hour to read, will keep you pondering for a good long while. GRADE: A
Rating:
Summary: will keep you pondering
Review: As I recall the movie Total Recall, it was a more interesting than usual Summer blockbuster, though still marred by excessive special effects and overlength. It had an intriguing basic premise, but the nuances of the story kept getting lost amidst all the exploding heads. The movie is based, like the equally uneven Blade Runner (see Orrin's review of the book), on the work of the cult favorite sci-fi author, Philip K. Dick. But while movie tie-in versions of Blade Runner abound (Dick's original, more descriptive, title was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall is based on just a short story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, which is harder to find. Until that is I stumbled upon this cheesy looking, but gem filled, collection of stories by various authors, each of which is the basis for a recent science fiction film. Dick's original short story is, predictably, a great improvement over the film, idea-filled rather than action-packed. While Douglas Quail may be a miserable little salaried employee, for the West Coast Emigration Bureau, he has one abiding dream, "Before I die I'll see Mars." Such a trip though would be enormously expensive and his wife constantly derides his ambition. Lucky for him, Rekal, Incorporated, can implant it's customers with false memories that will make it seem as if they've actually experienced their fondest dreams: Was this the answer? After all, an illusion, no matter how convincing, remained nothing more than an illusion. At least objectively. But subjectively--quite the opposite entirely. So Quail goes to Rekal for the Mars "extra-factual memory implant," complete with a scenario that has him acting as an agent for Interplan. Then, as the process gets underway, an unusual thing happens; under sedation he begins to recover genuine memories of a past trip to Mars. As one of the technicians explains: He wants a false memory implanted that corresponds to a trip he actually took. And a false reason which is the real reason. He's telling the truth; he's a long way down in the narkidrine. The trip is very vivid in his mind--at least under sedation. But apparently he doesn't recall it otherwise. Someone, probably at a government military-sciences lab, erased his conscious memories; all he knew was that going to Mars meant something special to him, and so did being a secret agent. They couldn't erase that; it's not a memory but a desire, undoubtedly the same one that motivated him to volunteer for the assignment in the first place. Realizing the gravity of their situation, the folks at Rekal hustle him out the door and refund half his money. But now Quail starts to get fragmentary memories of a Mars trip, some from the implant and some from the real trip, so he returns to Rekal to get the matter straightened out. Meanwhile, agents from Interplan, who have been monitoring his thoughts against just such an eventuality, show up to try and kill him before he can reveal the details of his secret mission to Mars. Quail convinces them to have another try at implanting false memories, but this time the genuine memories that are recovered are even more bewildering. It's a clever, twisty story, somewhat reminiscent of a really good Twilight Zone. In addition, over the space of just twenty or so pages, Dick raises some unsettling questions about memory, desire, delusion and reality, and how they all interact in the human mind. Total Recall is a perfectly adequate way to kill a couple hours; We Can Remember it For You Wholesale, though it takes just a half hour to read, will keep you pondering for a good long while. GRADE: A
Rating: 
Summary: First Book of his that I read
Review: I must have missed something about this book. I can't believe that Minority Report and Total Recall, two movies that I did enjoy, came from this author. The stories seem to be missing something. Perhaps, this version should not have been the first works by this author for me to have read.
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss the book for its dazzling ideas
Review: I started reading PKD's work 6 years ago and I had a... copy of this book. Looking back, I was very glad I picked this superb volume to begin with. The amount of entertainment and thought-provoking ideas I got out of the ...book made me buy every book (new or old) I could find of PKD. Now I just hope I have the time to read all of them...at least once. Don't miss any of PKD's books, especially the short stories.
Rating:
Summary: More early works from one of the masters
Review: It is a credit to Philip K. Dick's talent that even in his early days - at a time when he was cranking out stories just to keep food on the table - that he was able to write so much fiction that is not only good, but great. In this second volume of a five book set that includes essentially all his short works, we get to read more of his earliest tales and find there is little to disappoint here. The title piece is the short story which was adapted into the movie Total Recall. I like the movie well enough, but outside the premise, there is little that is really similar to the original story, which has much more of an emphasis on the comic than on action. In fact, the majority of these stories have a comic touch. Since these are tales of dark futures - most involve Earth's that are either environmentally wrecked or repressive dictatorships - the humor prevents things from getting too depressing. You don't have to be a Dick fan to enjoy these stories, nor even much of a science fiction fan (though it helps); this is just a fantastic collection of short stories that are both fun and thought-provoking. What more could you want?
Rating:
Summary: Laboratory Of The Strange
Review: Philip K. Dick's short stories are the best work of one of the greatest ( science) fiction writers in the history of the genre. His spare style leaves plenty for the imagination, as opposed to those writers who feel it necessary to fill their pages with endless technological detail. His staid characters are straight out of the Eisenhower Years, and are put through hoops such as no one has dreamed up before or since. Brilliant premises create psychological dilemmas that almost always resolve unexpectedly. As testament to his fertile imagination, five movies directly credit his short stories, and many more arguably rip him off. This five volume set comprises half of my ten most treasured books; if you like fiction, short stories, or genius social commentary, buy these stories.
Rating:
Summary: Laboratory Of The Strange
Review: Philip K. Dick's short stories are the best work of one of the greatest ( science) fiction writers in the history of the genre. His spare style leaves plenty for the imagination, as opposed to those writers who feel it necessary to fill their pages with endless technological detail. His staid characters are straight out of the Eisenhower Years, and are put through hoops such as no one has dreamed up before or since. Brilliant premises create psychological dilemmas that almost always resolve unexpectedly. As testament to his fertile imagination, five movies directly credit his short stories, and many more arguably rip him off. This five volume set comprises half of my ten most treasured books; if you like fiction, short stories, or genius social commentary, buy these stories.
Rating:
Summary: Solidly Strange
Review: PKD was without a doubt one strange cookie...This book has some of the best examples of this strangeness and surprisingly a healthy dose of off-beat humour too. For anyone who likes to commune with their brain without the need to be too serious. His short stories are often better realised than some of his novel length work. Money well spent...
Rating:
Summary: Classic Philip K Dick
Review: This book is one of a series that contains short stories by Dick. Each story is unique, which is quite a feat considering there are at least twenty in this volume and there are seven total. The stoies run from the macab to the humorous. Well worth the money for this collection of Sci-Fi writing.
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