The Philip K. Dick Reader

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

Customer Reviews:

PKD Reader and Selected Stories

By Robert Schell - July 25, 2003

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... read more

Philip K. Dick Can Dream It For You Wholesale

By phimseto - May 29, 2002

A number of Philip K. Dick's works have been made into motion pictures, most notably "Blade Runner", "Total Recall", and "Minority Report". However, the greatest PKD moment exists in a film called "The Matrix", not written by the author but a movie which most certainly derives inspiration from his works. In it, the character Morpheous offers a choice to the protagonist Neo - a return to blissful ignorance or revelation of the Matrix, seen by Neo and other restless computer acolytes as a digital enigma that requires uncovering. Neo chooses to learn about the Matrix, for such knowledge represents a tangible victory of his many pursuits. Before taking that step, Morpheous ominously forewarns "Remember, I am only offering you the truth". Neo gets his victory, but in a way and with a result he never could have imagined. This sequence is pure Philip K. Dick.No other author has ever made victory seem quite so inconsequential. Although not as well-publicized and recognized a name in... read more

Incredible collection

By Bill R. Moore - August 11, 2001

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... read more