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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Dystopian tale of humans leaving earth, Android’s coming back. Very edgy, very innovative. Must read for die-hard sci-fi fans. Do Androids dream of electric sheep??
I listened to this in audiobook and I’m rarely critical of books unless they’re classics so… I didn’t feel that the story itself was very strong. They never really explain why androids can’t be on Earth and must be killed, so the conflict felt very weak. And there was this strange pseudo-religion called Mercerism that was also cut from the …
I usually like the books better than the movies on which they are based…not so here. Didn’t really feel the love for this book. Some of it was a bit lame…other times a bit incoherent. Having seen Blade Runner a gazillion times, I really appreciated and liked the story, and especially the characters. Not so with this book. BTW: this is the …
A scary trip to a future none of us want to visit!
Captivating
Not as good as the movie
One of the few books where the movie is better than the book.
Certainly ahead of his time, but with such an interesting concept, it’s too bad it wasn’t a longer book. I think a lot of ideas could have been explored further and seemingly the most important, his experience with Mercerism at the end of the book could have been better explained. I just finished this book and don’t know how to explain the …
What can I say? It’s THE book for sci-fi nuts like me!
Thought provoking book and a masterful combination of science fiction and the hard boiled detective genre. Was made into the film Bladerunner.
I am a huge sci-fi fan and Blade Runner is my favourite film. Whilst I knew the book differed from the film, I was still interested to see the original story of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
I find PKD to be an acquired taste, is writing style is certainly dated however his mind is still fresher than pretty much any writer today. Some of …
Saw the movie, read the book. Enjoyed both and recommend both.
I thought the movie was better
Atmospheric, not much plot or story
If you have only seen the movie it is not at all like the original Blade Runner
I have read a lot of science fiction since discovering it in the mid-seventies, but had not read this book. I can’t recall seeing the movie. So when this popped up as a special for my reader, I grabbed it, and moved it to the head of the line. I have now finished it, and it was . . . okay. Based on the raves accompanying the offer, I was expecting …
It was ok. I’ve read better. It was somewhat entertaining but generally felt a little under-developed.
All the other reviews were right on target. I agree with the other readers
kind of weird
Related to the movie Blade Runner only in very broad strokes. Much prefer the characters and the story in the movie.