Solid collection of some of Dick's more popular stories including some made into films

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	• The Philip K. Dick Reader Philip K. Dick Citadel, 2001 - 422 pages average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Nicely complements Library of America volumes

The esteemed late 20th century Sci-Fi writer Philip K. Dick recently has been the object of much renewed attention. The Library of America released two volumes of his novels, with helpful notes and a chronology of his life. Michael Dirda in his book "Classics for Pleasure" also draws attention to the work of Dick. This collection of his earliest short and medium-length stories (23 in all) nicely complements the LOA volumes. I had never read any Dick prior to the first LOA volume and found him incredibily fascinating in his spinning of yarns. As inventive a mind as can be imagined, every story and novel sparkles with fantastic plotting, effective dramatic devices, and almost always a surprise ("Twilight Zone" like) ending. One just marvels at his inventive capabilities, and I have not read a bad Dick novel or story yet. Considering that a number of his novels and stories were made into movies (including "Total Recall" and "Scanners" based upon stories in this volume, as well as "Blade Runner" from one of his novels), Dick had wide appeal. Unfortunately his early death in 1982 stilled the pen of this most creative and prolific writer. But we have plenty of Dick left to enjoy in this and other collections.

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Good enough

Perhaps I had too high expectations from this collection and I was bound to be disappointed. Don't get me wrong: there is plenty of good story telling here, which is pretty rare in the sci-fi literary world. Some of these stories are by now classics, and several movies have been inspired by some of the entries in this collection (usually the movies do not hold up to the writing, but that's not surprising). Dick had a clearly dark vision of humanity, and in particular of both government and corporations -- often pitted against each other in his stories, all the while crushing the average human being through their machinations. Then again, there is some comic (or at least, satyrical) relief here and there, and overall this is certainly a collection worth having, punctuated by the occasional true gem.

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Solid collection of some of Dick's more popular stories including some made into films

The advertisement touts "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" and "The Minority Report" short stories both of which became the basis for popular films. Second Variety ("Screamers") and "Paycheck" both became films with mixed success as well.There are an additional assortment of Dick delights in a variety of flavors from paranoid to alternate realities. Other stories include some terrific ones as well and some so-so stories but all are pretty much from Dick's golden age-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.

This is a pretty good short story collection that allows those who have only experienced Dick through the movies to try him out and see if he appeals to them. Keep in mind, however, that Dick's stories were written anywhere from the early 60's to the late 70's (he died just before "Blade Runner" premiered which was based on his novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"). It's a pity that he passed away before he got the recognition he deserved as a writer. Dick's writing style isn't lyrical like Sturgeon's nor is it in the hard science realm of an Issac Asimov but his themes focus on what makes us human--is it our memories? What if our memories are duplicated? Is the person that has those experiences and memory the same person? Of course one of Dick's favorite themes continued to be the nature of reality.

Dick's work has been raided by other writers for themes in films and for other novels over the years. The TV show "Lost" for example deals with themes that are typical of Dick's work. I'd also suggest the novels UBIK, Flow My Tears The Policeman Said (Winner of the John W. Campbell Award), the first alternate timeline/reality novel The Man in the High Castle, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich, Martian Time Slip and a later mainstream novel The Transmigration of Timothy Archer.

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A superior read

This book should be on everyone's essential SF reading list, along with Cordwainer Smith and Jerome Bixby (to get into the real arcane guts of SF). The Dick Reader has a 1987 copyright, so it only brags on two of the collection's stories as movie adaptations ("We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" --> movie: Total Recall; "Second Variety" --> movie: Screamers), but since then, this collection also includes two other film-adapted versions: "Minority Report" and "The Golden Man" (movie: Next). The film adaptations are (more or less) inventive but stray too far from the innovative imagination of the original stories. All hail, Philip K. Dick! Missing from the anthology is any sort of introduction by the editors, which would have been nice. It's straight forward, no frills, not even citations for when or where the stories first came out, but the essential goods -- the stories -- are all intact and ready to savor. Highly recommended.

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Not Free SF Reader

While there are definitely several other good stories in this collection, the theory here is definitely best at the end, with We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, The Minority Report, Paycheck, and Second Variety all clumped together. 3.67 as a whole, so basically close to excellent.

Philip K Dick Reader : FAIR GAME - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : THE HANGING STRANGER - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : The Eyes Have It - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : THE GOLDEN MAN - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : The Turning Wheel - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : THE LAST OF THE MASTERS - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : THE FATHER-THING - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : Strange EDEN - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : TONY AND THE BEETLES - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : Null-O - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : To SERVE THE MASTER - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : EXHIBIT PIECE - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : THE CRAWLERS - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : SALES PITCH - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : SHELL GAME - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : UPON THE DULL EARTH - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : FOSTER, YOU'RE DEAD - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : PAY FOR THE PRINTER - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : WAR VETERAN - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : THE CHROMIUM FENCE - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : WE CAN REMEMBER IT FOR You WHOLESALE - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : THE MINORITY REPORT - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : PAYCHECK - Philip K. Dick
Philip K Dick Reader : Second VARIETY - Philip K. Dick

Big Eye scare hunt.

3.5 out of 5

Insect men invasion.

4 out of 5

Alien invasion, in pieces.

3 out of 5

Mutant deviant hunt prethink attraction.

4 out of 5

Karma, By Elron!

3.5 out of 5

Can't keep this going forever.

3.5 out of 5

Alien larva copy shot.

4 out of 5

We've been here a long time, kids.

4 out of 5

White grub l0sers.

4 out of 5

It's all sorta one thing to blow up.

3 out of 5

Robot labor war story.

3.5 out of 5

Old fashioned art lover.

3 out of 5

Breeding right.

3.5 out of 5

Not enough space for ads.

3 out of 5

Terran monkeymen alien attack infiltration.

3.5 out of 5

Dead butterfly back.

4 out of 5

Shelter is a drag.

3.5 out of 5

Replication ok as long as you know how to do it the old fashioned way, too.

3.5 out of 5

Same old sory this time webfoot, let's go.

3.5 out of 5

Purists st1nk.

3 out of 5

Brain alteration badness.

4 out of 5

Precrime failure.

5 out of 5

Leaving myself bits and pieces of a future.

4 out of 5

If there's a bear in there, you are rooted. Out there isn't good, either, in the long run.

4.5 out of 5

4.5 out of 5

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

His religions, psychoses, divorces, and drug use aside, Philip K. Dick changed the face of American science fiction with his mind-bending writing. There may be readers who have only heard of him as the mind behind Blade Runner (based on his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?). But even casual PKD fans should take a look at these 24 short stories, among them, "Second Variety," from which the movie Screamers was made, and "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," basis of the Schwarzenegger film Total Recall. Other standouts include "The Turning Wheel," "The Last of the Masters," "Tony and the Beetles," and "The Minority Report." Readers will recognize PKD's trademark themes: capitalism and the American dream run amok, a disquieting loss of ability to distinguish friends from enemies, and humans versus machines.

Since Philip K. Dick's heyday, and thanks in large part to his influence, the contemporary science fiction short story has evolved into a form more self-reflective and psychologically complex. This is a wonderful development, to be sure. But don't regard the older stories in this collection as dated. Instead, enjoy the peppery punch: PKD's stories provide plenty of plot twists and surprise endings. --Bonnie Bouman

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