Philip K. Dick (1928–1982)

After a world war has left destruction and a toxic dust on the planet, most of Earth's citizens have left for colonies in outer space where they have increasingly more sophisticated robots do their bidding. But whenever any of those robots forget their place and try to walk among the humans left on Earth, bounty hunters like Rick Deckard are there to find them out and "retire" them (aka, kill them).

This seminal work on science fiction was interesting, to say the least. The first two chapters were a little slow, but after that I got invested in it pretty quickly. There are several twists and turns that are unexpected and make the reader question what is going on, which I think helps to mimic what the characters are feeling as well. It certainly keeps things engaging with the reader wanting to continue on to see what happens next.

Sometimes I find older sci-fi titles to be a little underwhelming because the topics explored have been re-explored so many times since, and often by more adept authors. I didn't really find that to be the case here. I did chuckle several times at how Philip K. Dick could envision this world where there are colonies throughout the galaxy, hover cars, robots that are nearly indistinguishable from humans, and so forth and so on, but he still saw women primarily only as homemakers or secretaries. He could correctly foresee a world where there's a video component to phone calls, but still thought we'd need a central switchboard apparently. So, there are certainly signs of datedness.

But overall, I found the topics and themes being explored to continue being entirely timely and applicable today, even as we've passed the future date these events were set in (i.e., while written in 1968, this book takes place in 2021). The ethics around artificial intelligence are obviously key, but the subplots around cult-like religiosity and brain-numbing obsessions with celebrity/24-hour entertainment are also intriguing and thought-provoking. The author doesn't really provide any answers but leaves readers to keep mulling over these ideas long after they've closed the book.… (more)

What happens when the illegal drug you’re taking splits your personality? That’s exactly what happens to Bob Arctor, a drug dealer addicted to Substance D, street name “Death.”

Fred is a narcotics officer assigned to monitor’s Bob’s activities. Only one problem. Bob and Fred are the same guy. Arctor’s situation becomes even more complex when the police set up holographic surveillance equipment in his house where he lives with two other junkies, Barris and Luckman.

Meanwhile, Arctor continues to buy Substance D from a young woman named Donna Hawthorne in hopes of getting to her dealer, but instead, falls in love with her. Eventually, Arctor’s addiction destroys his brain and lands him in a rehab center engaging its own nefarious activities.

While not my favorite Philip K. Dick novel (that's a tie between Ubik and Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said), he does a phenomenal job of portraying the brutal reality of drug addiction and its devastating effects on the mind and body. Dick’s invention of the “scramble suit” is a clever plot device that allows Fred to go unrecognized among this fellow officers and eventually, to Barris who attempts to betray Arctor to the police in Fred’s presence. Buckle up for a wild ride.… (more)