Do androids dream of electric sheep?

[AA Institute]

Has anyone read that book (by Philip K. Dick)? I was going to order this for a sci-fi reading group. I'm not sure how good/bad ...

 

[polymorphikos]

Depends upon your tolerance of such things. It's very quick-moving, the plot-twists and revelations are oblique, and the best catch-all description would be "confusing", but it's definitely worth reading.

 

[Jimmy]

I've read only chapter or two (in some magazine), but I found it less interesting than other Dick's novels (like "Ubik", like 'Man from the Hight Castle', like "Eye on the Sky" etc.) and even the movie...

 

[ravenus]

I loved this book and thought it was quite emotionally moving. The book also has a lot of concepts that do not translate well to movie form and so were either omitted or terribly half-baked in the movie (Blade Runner).
I would definitely recommend it as an interesting read.

 

[Jason_Taverner]

great read and a lot better than bladerunner

 

[Balfa]

great read and a lot better than bladerunner

I agree. I mean, I like the movie very much. But, the book is much darker, and some might say, more depressing. The plot is sometimes confusing and you shouldn't try to connect it with Bladerunner but read it as a separate story. I specially like that it is rude to ask some person if his animal is real.

 

[Scytale]

Hi, AA!

I guess this is late for your purposes but the best novels I think by Philip K. Dick are THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (which won him the Hugo) and A SCANNER DARKLY, which I think is due for release as an animated film this Christmas or New year. THE ZAP GUN and his collections of short stories as well like BEYOND LIES THE WUB. Dick is one of the few really intelligent, visionary sci-fi writers and all of his works contain something interesting and unusual. Hope you enjoy him!

 

[angrybuddhist]

great read and a lot better than bladerunner

Also, a lot more depressing than the movie.

 

[jemhadar]

The book is great, I believe even non-Dick fans like it. The movie isn't bad, though, I like both.

 

[Shoegaze99]

Has anyone read that book (by Philip K. Dick)? I was going to order this for a sci-fi reading group. I'm not sure how good/bad ...

If you're still around and still interested in trying out some work by PKD, we've been having a strong Philip K. Dick discussion right on over here that you may want to read; I think you'll get a good feel for whether his style will suit you or not. As far as I'm concerned, the man was a genius, but his books aren't for everyone. If you're seeking straightforward sci-fi, don't bother. Otherwise, I'd urge you to dive in and try a book or two out.

And obviously, anyone from the CN is welcome to join in on the discussion there, too.

 

[gamecat]

hi Everyone new to the forums,
anyhow I actually didnt like DADOES. I have read copius amounts of standard and more alternative scifi/hor/f but I still feel the messages were rather vague in the book and as with many PKD books it sometime loses focus/pace. You can't compare Bladerunner to DADOES as they are completely different stories. I love BR I think it is by far one of the greatest scifi films ever wheras I don't feel DADOES is one of the greates SciFi books. The ideas are superb its just PKD execution I dont like.

 

[flynx]

"Electric Sheep" like a lot of Dick's work isn't exactly classic sci-fi, more 'thinking sci-fi" and I've always thought of "Sheep" as a story of ordinary middle age crisis set in the future. Still, an excellent work, well worth the read.

 

[Cyril]

DADOES is one of the Dick books I prefer. It has indeed many imperfections but the ambiguity about human nature of the characters which is the main quality of this book justify its place as a classic masterpiece of science-fiction; a good sample of Dick work I think.

Concerning the movie, I can't say which is the best (the movie or the book) because they are so different despite their common plot that they have IMHO complementary qualities.

 

[Fay Re Nuff]

i kept waiting for the hardy boys to solve the mystery. enjoyable but juvenile and naieve.

 

[Carolyn Hill]

i kept waiting for the hardy boys to solve the mystery. enjoyable but juvenile and naieve.

The mystery isn't really the point. The payoff in reading DADOES is the philosophical rumination on the nature of humanity, inhumanity, and empathy for other creatures.

Insofar as much of fiction depends upon the reader empathizing with unreal characters, I'm intrigued by DADOES's exploration of the limits of empathy. Rick Deckard changes over the course of the novel, expanding the number of creatures / objects with whom he can empathize, and readers who take the journey with him likewise come to empathize more broadly.

The book also condemns the effect society can have on an individual. One passage I very much appreciate describes Isidore, who believes that he's stupid because society tells him he is, thinking "If I hadn't failed that IQ test I wouldn't be reduced to this ignominious task with its attendant emotional byproducts" (64). It's obvious that someone whose vocabulary includes words like "ignominious" isn't stupid. Here, P.K. Dick doesn't tell us that society has done Isidore wrong; he shows us.

That might be naive. But, surely, it's not juvenile.

 

[Fay Re Nuff]

in using such a cliche of the hardy boys i'm not talking of a plot mystery, but rather trying to illustrate the point that this is very predictable pulp fiction.
i have to disagree with you, pkd doesn't show anything, he tells it as he sees it, and just in case you missed the point, he holds a big hammer and hits you with it. yes his points are very sweet, and with all due respect, imho, juvenile.

 

[Hiro Protagonist]

I enjored DADOES because it was thought provoking. It wasn't straight forward, but it also wasn't grind to read it. It is definitely worth reading if this is your first PKD book, and hopefully you will like it also

 

[Farinspire]

It is a decent introduction to PKD, but not his best. Let us not fall into comparing it with Blade Runner however - they are two different pieces of art. Personally, I feel the movie is a much more polished product, but given how many people were involved in each project, that is no surprise. Do Androids Dream is alive with flashy concepts, trite observations, hints of deeper meaning, and all sorts of ideas which are merely outlined before moving on... such is PKD. Brilliant and flawed, but always entertaining and thought-provoking.

 

[Leandra]

Blade Runner actually got me started on PKD. I saw the book in the subtitles of the movie and went out on a hunt, stumbling over quite a few other novels as well.

It's a really moving story - completely different from the film, though. I like the part about Isidore too. Maybe I was more struck by the part in which one of the androids maimed the spider...

 

[Milk]

.

The book also condemns the effect society can have on an individual. One passage I very much appreciate describes Isidore, who believes that he's stupid because society tells him he is, thinking "If I hadn't failed that IQ test I wouldn't be reduced to this ignominious task with its attendant emotional byproducts" (64). It's obvious that someone whose vocabulary includes words like "ignominious" isn't stupid. Here, P.K. Dick doesn't tell us that society has done Isidore wrong; he shows us.

That might be naive. But, surely, it's not juvenile.

I love that perspective on society.


My favorite PKD book is Clans of The Alphane Moon. It was hilarious. Im not sure why or how, but Kurt Vonnegut (who I also like) and PKD remind me of eachother a bit.