Another month, another author! For June we are doing 'Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep' by Philip K Dick.
II: What should we know about him?
He was a master of what is often called 'paranoid fiction'. This book, 'Androids', fits that bill perfectly. The main character is quickly thrown into a situation where he comes to doubt everyone around him. He doesn't know who to believe. He may not even be able to believe his own memories. It's very much a head trip.
This book is also interesting because it is one of a small number of books that are less famous than the movies that they inspired. 'Bladerunner' came out in 1982 and quickly became a legend in sci-fi circles. 'Androids' had come out 14 years earlier. It received a Hugo nomination but didn't really become part of the larger social consciousnesses.
II: Have you read much of his other works?
Prior to this, my only experience was reading 'The Man in the High Castle', which won the Hugo award in 1962. It's an alternate history of the world where the Nazis and Japan have won World War II. The book is interesting in part because Dick used the I Ching to guide the plot of the book.
II: That was also adapted, right?
Yes. Amazon had a series of that a few years back. I didn't watch it but I gather it was popular. Dick is also responsible for the stories that inspired the movies 'Total Recall' and 'Minority Report'. These movies (and 'Bladerunner') all have a similar element of distrust in reality and authority.
II: Anything else?
This is my first reading of 'Androids' and it's really good! The story has a lot of heat to it. We can see that Deckard is in a crazy difficult situation and it's hard not to empathize with him. I'd only known the movie before this and I can tell you, knowing how the movie goes is no help in figuring out where the book will go. Highly recommended.
