A masterpiece ahead of its time, a prescient rendering of a dark future, and the inspiration for the blockbuster film Blade Runner By 2021, the World War has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remain covet any living creature, and for people who can’t afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacra: horses, birds, cats, … horses, birds, cats, sheep. They’ve even built humans. Immigrants to Mars receive androids so sophisticated they are indistinguishable from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans can wreak, the government bans them from Earth. Driven into hiding, unauthorized androids live among human beings, undetected. Rick Deckard, an officially sanctioned bounty hunter, is commissioned to find rogue androids and “retire” them. But when cornered, androids fight back—with lethal force.
Praise for Philip K. Dick
“The most consistently brilliant science fiction writer in the world.”—John Brunner
“A kind of pulp-fiction Kafka, a prophet.”—The New York Times
“[Philip K. Dick] sees all the sparkling—and terrifying—possibilities . . . that other authors shy away from.”—Rolling Stone
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The book that inspired the film Blade Runner. Philip K Dick is one of the most original voices in Sci-fi and this is one of his masterpieces.
I was 12 when Bladerunner came out, so it took me some years before I watched it (HBO at 16). It was an amazing sci-fi noir classic.
Afterward, the final director’s cut came out. Riddley did his job well, abd that was wheb I heard it was based off a PKD novel.
Claderunner and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? are similar, but not the same.
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There was a lot to love about this book. The moral issue of replicants. The moral issue of hunting them down. There is a great story here that is bogged down by a lot of confusing aspects. The breakaways to the Buster Friendly and Wilbur side plots really slowed things down.
Twist through reality questioning what’s read and what isn’t, including yourself, and just what real means, on a ride that only Philip K. Dick can take you. And while you’re at it, question what we do to things we think aren’t “real” and how we convince ourselves what is and what isn’t.
The great movie Blade Runner is base on this book. While the movie brings the setting and scenes of the movie vividly alive, the book develops the characters more fully. You understand why they act as they do and the changes the strangely changed world has brought to the human race. If you’ve seen the movie, read the book. It you’ve read the …
Really makes the reader think.
DADOES, as aficionados know this PKD novel, was the basis for BLADE RUNNER, which extracted part of the story to create future noir. The book is much different from the film, focused more on consumerism, extinct species, the vast gap between wealth and poverty, the delivery-on-demand economy imposed by a half-Chinese regime dominating America and …
An epic story written by one of the great authors around – there is so much here to absorb it will have you thinking for years about it.
I enjoy a good SciFi story and this one fits the bill perfectly. There is enough action to keep you on the edge of your seat but not so much you can’t keep up.
Phillip K. Dick is one of the grandpappy’s of science fiction and cyberpunk. This book served as inspiration for the Blade Runner movies and has been a staple of high-tech low life fiction for decades. It’s a little different than the movies, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s a quick read, so pick it up and enjoy it!
Thoughtful
Philip K Dick was a wonderful writer who lived a haunted life & wrote fascinating things.
Not like the movie. Hard on the brain. Struggled with some of the concepts
Read it. it was ok. Better than the movie but still too highbrow for me.
This is the novella that is the source material for the 1982 Blade Runner movie. I read it years ago, but I’d forgotten most of it. It was really interesting to re-visit the story and see how the filmmakers adapted the original. Most of what is in the movie is in the book, except with a different emphasis on behaviors.
In the book, Deckard is …
I’d seen the original movie and have also seen BR 2049. Not sure how comfortable I would be living in such a dystopian world. The original movie was set in 37 years into the future…2019, but of course anyone who has seen it knows we don’t have the cool flying cars, artificial animals to replace very rare or extinct animals, or blade runners, …
Read it decades ago. Need to read it again. Makes one think.
I really liked the ending.
Compelling, thoughtful, and highly re-readable, this creative look at a dystopian future offers fascinating food for thought…what makes us human?
I loved the movie blade runner. This was a rare time where I liked the book less than the movie. I was disappointed in the book.