The Philip K. Dick Reader

Rating:
Summary: Great collection from a master
Review: Great set of stories here, of course I love everything he did so I may be a little prejudiced. I have his complete collection, all 5 volumes, but I bought this READER too, just so I could have a compact edition of some fine stories.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Books I Own
Review: If you are new to Philip K. Dick, this is your book.
If you are interested in reading the original stories that have adapted into major blockbuster movies "Screamers" (Second Variety), "Total Recall" (We Can Remember It For You Wholesale), "Minority Report" (The Minority Report), and "Paycheck" (Paycheck), this book's for you.
I was introduced to Philip K. Dick after I had seen "Minority Report" in theatres; I loved it so much I saw it twice. It is easily the best movie I have ever seen.
So I looked around for the short story. They released it as a single book, although it's a very short story, but it was a waste of my good earned money.
My school librarian found this at a bookstore after I had asked if she had it in. She bought it, I payed her, and I couldn't be more happier with this book.
I have read a few, "Fair Game", "The Hanging Stranger" (my favorite), "Paycheck", and a couple of others. I could read them again and again. This book is entertaining, sick, twisted, weird, and fun to read. There's something for everyone who is a science fiction fan. Personally, I prefer stories like "The Hanging Stranger" and "Paycheck", which has been adapted into a Ben Affleck flick (I would've much rather prefered Colin Farrell from "Minority Report", but oh well) being released this Christmas.
Buy it. It's worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes dated but always well-written
Review: It's a shame this collection doesn't list the print dates for the stories to help the reader fix them in time culturally. Dick's persistent theme of paranoia and the search for security makes it clear that most of the stories are all reflections of the Cold War but it would be nice to know just where on the timeline they fall.
Because of frequent references to Russia as the enemy and the impending fall of atomic weapons alot of the work is dated, but only in the way that some of the great "Twilight Zone" episodes are dated: you know they are not new but the quality is still there.
Most of the stories are real downers, grim tales with frequent ugly twists at the end but there is always a spark of real creativity. This book might not impress you terribly but it should make you want to try one of his novels.

Rating:
Summary: PKD Reader and Selected Stories
Review: Just to clear up some confusion here, The Philip K. Dick Reader is NOT the paperback edition of Selected Stories. These are the stories featured in The Reader:

Fair Game; The Hanging Stranger; The Eyes have it; The Golden Man; The Turning Wheel; The Last of the Masters; The Father-Thing; Strange Eden; Tony and the Beetles; Null-O; To Serve the Master; Exhibit Piece; The Crawlers; Sales Pitch; Shell Game; Upon the Dull Earth; Foster, you're dead; Pay for the Printer; War Veteran; The Chromium Fence; We can remember it for you wholesale; The Minority Report; Paycheck; Second Variety.

These are the stories featured in Selected Stories:

Beyond lies the Wub; Roog; Paycheck; Second Variety; Imposter; The King of the Elves; Adjustment Team; Foster, you're dead; Upon the dull Earth; Autofac; The Minority Report; The days of Perky Pat; Precious Artifact; A game of unchance; We can remember it for you wholesale; Faith of our Fathers; The electric ant; A little something for us Tempunauts; The exit door leads in; Rautavaara's Case; I hope I shall arrive soon.

For those not familiar with the stories, I'd probably give the nod to The Reader, although serious fans will want both despite all of the overlap. For those entirely new to Philip K. Dick, I'd recommend one of the short story collections before any of the novels. Dick is a rather peculiar writer, and his short stories are more accessible than the longer stories, I think. Also, if you're only familiar with the author as the source for "Total Recall" and the movie version of "Minority Report," both of these collections have the original stories. Dick's short stories tend to read like original "Twilight Zone" episodes, often with "punch-line" endings. While the more sophisticated sci-fi readers of today may find the twist endings a little trite, the stories generally offer up a multitude of interesting "what if" ideas before getting there. Recurring themes include paranoia, xenophobia, technology vs. nature, war and its devastating effect on society, metaphysics, and uncertain realities, probably the most revisited theme in P.K. Dick's work. If you want to try the novels, my recommendations are 'Time out of joint', 'Radio Free Albemuth' and 'The Divine Invasion.'

Rating:
Summary: excellent intro to the world of pkd!
Review: My first intro to philip k dick was at the end credits of of the film "bladerunner"...where i saw his name in small print...thus, i picked up this volume with some passing curiousity only to discover with pleasure, that within it's pages was another story made into the film "we can remember it for you wholesale". i thoroughly enjoyed the story in it's own right and proceeded to find another story called "second variety" which also became a film.Between stories i was hooked...in no time i was reading other great stories in this collection, such as "minority report"-which has been ruined by the overdone version of it for the screen...too bad....
anyway i found myself immersed in a world where the paths of dreams and reality were so confusing and thought provoking ...this volume is a collection of earlier works, and i think it's one of the best places to start; but the best, i think, is to be found in his latter longer works such as "do androids dream of electric sheep' and "the three stigmata...'....this volume is like an appetizer that may make you want to read pkd to the furthermost...

Rating:
Summary: Idea-driven Science Fiction
Review: PKD was one of those rare writers who captivated you w/ his "What if?" scenarios rather than w/ unique characters or tight plotting. You find yourself frantically turning the pages to find what mind-blowing extrapolation PKD will throw at you next, instead of what happens to the characters.

Because of this, I think his short fiction is in many ways more enjoyable than his novels. His novels, although creative and imaginative masterpieces, tend to peter out plot-wise towards the end. His short stories are more focused, and thus less likely to stray from the path. This volume also saves the best for last, "We Can Remember...", "Minority Report", "Paycheck", and "Second Variety", and the opening stories are probably the weakest, "Fair Game" and "The Hanging Stranger". Yet even these two stories play off of PKD's paranoia and ironic metaphysics. The Matrix, Being John Malcovich, heck post-70s X-Men all found precedence in the creativity of PKD.

PKD will put new thoughts in your head, show you things you couldn't show yourself -- that's what fiction should do. Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Idea-driven Science Fiction
Review: PKD was one of those rare writers who captivated you w/ his "What if?" scenarios rather than w/ unique characters or tight plotting. You find yourself frantically turning the pages to find what mind-blowing extrapolation PKD will throw at you next, instead of what happens to the characters.

Because of this, I think his short fiction is in many ways more enjoyable than his novels. His novels, although creative and imaginative masterpieces, tend to peter out plot-wise towards the end. His short stories are more focused, and thus less likely to stray from the path. This volume also saves the best for last, "We Can Remember...", "Minority Report", "Paycheck", and "Second Variety", and the opening stories are probably the weakest, "Fair Game" and "The Hanging Stranger". Yet even these two stories play off of PKD's paranoia and ironic metaphysics. The Matrix, Being John Malcovich, heck post-70s X-Men all found precedence in the creativity of PKD.

PKD will put new thoughts in your head, show you things you couldn't show yourself -- that's what fiction should do. Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Dick
Review: Some of Dick's best stories are in this volume. We'll Remember it for your Wholesale and Minority Report are simply great stories. I would give each of those stories five stars, and many others are excellent as well, although perhaps not as consistent.

I feel that Dick shined as a teller of short-stories, and these exceed his longer works.

One of the pleasures of reading Dick's short stories is that they seem to turn into a feature film every couple of years. It's fun to see a movie preview, and within a few seconds say, "That's a Dick story!" even though the ultimate film doesn't always measure up.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible collection
Review: The PKD reader is an excellent introduction to this seminal SF author's short fiction. Most all of his major pieces are here, as well as some enjoyable underrated works. Mr. Dick's greatness is shown here by the stories in this volume. Also, there are four (at least) movies or potential movies made from the stories here. It's not uncommon for an SF novel to be made into a movie, but a short story is something else again. And yet, from the wonderful "We Can Remember It For You, Wholesale" (a classic Dick story) the classic SF film Total Recall was made; likewise for Screamers from "Second Variety. Steven Spielberg is currently filming "The Minority Report" with Tom Cruise. "Paycheck" has been optioned. All four of these stories are excellent, top-notch science fiction. "Minority", in particular, is awesome, and stands as one of my all-time favorite pieces of short SF. One can also see, during the course of reading this book, just how much Philip K. Dick grew as a writer during his career. Early stories featured here such as "Fair Game" and "The Hanging Stranger" while certainly good, have a VERY pulp-ish feel. This is offset by wonderful later stories such as the one mentioned, and other such as "The Father-Thing", "The Last of The Masters", and "War Veteran." Dick's writing style is compelling, fast-paced, readable, and thought-provoking, and you can see why he is held in such high regard by fans and critics alike. These are some of the best SF shorts written since the likes of Heinlein and Clarke ruled the roost. It's sad that he only started receiving real recognition after his untimely death in 1982 (just before Blade Runner was released. Pick up this book, and see why it has been said that "100 years from now, Philip K. Dick may be looked back upon as the greatest writer of the second half of the 20th century."

Rating:
Summary: A Pocketful of Miracles
Review: There's a great line in the short story "Paycheck" that goes: "Rethrick was here all right. And apparently the trinkets were going to see him through. One for every crisis. A pocketful of miracles, from someone who knew the future!" The same could be said of Philip K. Dick's short stories as a whole. For none of the stories in this collection did Philip K. Dick earn more than 250 dollars. "Paycheck" the movie (as of writing this review) has grossed over $53,000,000 worldwide. A pocketful of miracles, indeed.

Philip K. Dick may have been the best _idea_ fiction writer who ever lived. His ideas for plots are at once pulpish, deeply metaphysical, and as original as any 20th century writer, and the stories in The Philip K. Dick Reader are as good an introduction to Dick as any other collection I've been able to find. Here you'll find the original stories that inspired Total Recall, Screamers, Paycheck, The Minority Report, and part of the fun in reading this collection comes with seeing the differences between what Philip K. Dick originally wrote and what was realized on film. But there are many quality stories here, too, that haven't been filmed. A few of them include:

"Strange Eden" -- a wonderfully imagined, eerie story of a space pilot who finds an alluring woman on a peaceful, Eden-like planet where nothing is as it seems.

"Sales Pitch" -- a hilarious story about an automatic sales robot that drives a man over the edge. I couldn't help but think about the 20+ emails I receive each day trying to sell me stuff, on-line pop-up windows, and, to me, the story seems prophetic.

"Exhibit Piece" -- the quintessential Philip K. Dick story; a futuristic museum curator stumbles into a 20th century exhibit only to find that it is utterly real to him. The emotion that Dick employs when the George Miller's co-workers at the museum don't believe his story was heartrending to read.

"Foster, You're Dead" -- turns a satirical eye to the nuclear paranoia of the 50s and 60s, a time when people actually bought bomb shelters for their homes the way you might buy a TV or new washer machine.

The highlight of this collection, though, are the stories "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," "Second Variety," "Paycheck,", and "The Minority Report," which have each been made into highly successful movies. These stories are flat-out as good as any science fiction stories out there. Dick wrote of hugely metaphysical ideas in a language that was prosaic and fun, and he placed his ideas in plots that combined mystery and intrigue as well as any science fiction writer before or since. I highly recommend "The Philip K. Dick Reader" to any short story fan as well as to anyone looking for a solid introduction to the fiction of Philip K. Dick. It is a great collection, one of those rare few you'll come to time and time again. It truly is a pocketful of miracles!

Stacey