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Overview
Many thousands of readers worldwide consider Philip K. Dick to have been the greatest science fiction writer on any planet. Since his untimely death in 1982, interest in Dick's work has continued to mount and his reputation has been enhanced by a growing body of critical attention. The Philip K. Dick Award is now presented annually to a distinguished work of science fiction, and the Philip K. Dick Society is devoted to the study and promulgation of his works. This collection includes all of the writer's earliest short and medium-length fiction (including several previously unpublished stories) covering the years 1954-1964, and featuring such fascinating tales as The Minority Report (the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's film), Service Call, Stand By, The Days of Perky Pat, and many others. Here, readers will find Dick's initial explorations of the themes he so brilliantly brought to life in his later work. Dick won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel of 1963 for The Man in the High Castle and in the last year of his life, the now-classic film Blade Runner was made from his novel Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep? The classic stories of Philip K. Dick offer an intriguing glimpse into the early imagination of one of science fiction's most enduring and respected names.Since his untimely death in 1982, interest in Philip K. Dick's works has continued to grow, and his reputation has been enhanced by an expanding body of critical appreciation. This fifth and final volume of Dick's collected works includes 25 short stories, some previously unpublished.
Editorials
Washington Post
Philip K. Dick is awe-inspiring.Wall Street Journal
More than anyone else in the field, Mr. Dick really puts you inside people's minds.Washington Post
Philip K. Dick is awe-inspiring.Wall Street Journal
More than anyone else in the field, Mr. Dick really puts you inside people's minds.Publishers Weekly
Police Commissioner John Anderton finds himself at the mercy of his own crime-prevention system when the prescient precogs he's hired to stop crime before it starts peg him as a soon-to-be murderer in Philip K. Dick's masterful short story The Minority Report. This slim volume is top-bound like an office account and perfectly timed—the movie version, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, is due out this summer—but whether fans will shell out the dough for a single short story that's available in various collections remains to be seen. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.VOYA
This minor novella, first published as part of a posthumous collection by one of science fiction's greatest writers, has been brought back into print after several decades because Steven Spielberg is making a film of it starring Tom Cruise. The story concerns John Anderton, who runs a police force that uses precognition and computers to identify who is going to commit crimes and stop them before they occur. One day, while explaining how the system works to his new assistant, Anderton discovers that he himself has been listed as someone who will commit a murder within the week if he is not stopped. Certain of his own innocence and convinced that he is being framed by enemies unknown, Anderton attempts to flee but soon finds himself a pawn in a complex military plot to discredit the precog system and overthrow the civilian government. The story features several of Dick's standard preoccupations—antigovernment paranoia, psychic phenomena, and multiple time lines, not to mention dangerous and untrustworthy women. Although the story was effective in its day, its technology is badly dated. The government's advanced computers, for example, spit out punch cards and store information on tape. To make this somewhat superannuated story feel more timely, it is being published in an odd format, bound at the top like the kind of notebook favored by police officers in the field. It is not a bad story by any means, but teen interest in it is likely to be limited to Spielberg fanatics. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P S A/YA (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2002, Pantheon, 112p,— Michael Levy
Library Journal
Encompassing 34 years and over 100 stories, this collection of the short fiction of the late author provides a retrospective of his contribution to sf literature. Arranged chronologically (with publication history and, in some cases, Dick's own commentaries at the end of each volume), the progression from early stories such as ``The Preserving Machine'' (1953) to ``The Little Black Box'' (1964) and ``Frozen Journey'' (1980) traces the development of one of sf's most eccentric and articulate minds. Highly recommended for any library whose budget can afford the price. JCSchool Library Journal
ea. vol: 400p. Underwood-Miller. 1987. set: $125. ISBN 0-88733-053-3. LC number unavailable. YA Dick is not just a good craftsman of short stories, but a successful writer of short science fiction stories. These vignettes will expand readers' points of view and challenge usual cultural assumptions. This collection traces Dick's growth as a writer, and also the application of major sci/fi themes over the 30 years between his first story in 1952 and his last in 1982. Thermonuclear war, xenophobia, and the tension between man and technology are among the recurring motifs. Each volume contains brief notes that date the stories and offer some context from the author's perspective. The price may seem high, but it compares favorably with the investment many libraries have in Heinlein and Asimov. These books lend themselves to ``cover-to-cover'' reading, an unusual feat for a five-volume collection. Dorcas Hand, Episcopal High School, BellaireBook Details
Published
August 28, 2013
Publisher
Subterranean Press
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781596065987