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The Best of Philip K. Dick

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This is a good anthology of Philip K. Dick's early short fiction. A number of stories ("The Defenders," "The Gun," "Mr. Spaceship") begin to explore the theme of machines replacing-- or becoming indistiguishable from-- humans, which Dick later used in his great novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (later made into the brilliant film "Bladerunner"). The excellent novelette "Second Variety" was also made into a movie, albeit not a very good one, "Screamers." "Second Variety" continues to explore the machines as humans theme, and also adds in the difficulty of distinguishing reality from illusion, which became a major recurrent theme in Dick's later novels. This collection also includes the brilliant short story "The Skull," one of the best science fiction stories to grapple with the theme of religious truth.

Halcyon does their usual good job here-- the Kindle book has a linked table of contents and few to no typos.

If you've never read Philip K Dick, this collection of short stories is a great place to start. The first two stories in the collection (his first 2 published stories) aren't the greatest, but from the third story on it's one brilliant gem after the other. I read this book 3 months ago and it's still with me. "Electric Ant" is perhaps the best SF short story I've ever read. I've read several of Dick's novels but these short stories are better!

If you already like PKD, you will like this collection of short stories. For a sci-fi newbie, this may not be a good place to start since his stories may feel dated. It' s a good collection and a great value on kindle.

**** General Overview ****

Philip K. Dick is one of the best-known and most influential sci-fi writers of all time. He was renown for his idiosyncratic narratives that challenged our perception of reality. Many of his short stories and novels have been adapted to major Hollywood movies, such as "Blade Runner", "Total Recall", and "The Adjustment Bureau".

This is a very neat little collection of the early Philip K. Dick stories. The stories vary in quality and reflect PKD's evolution as a writer and storyteller. Nonetheless all of the stories bear the unmistakable imprint of this sci-fi master's unique vision and perspective.

**** The Stories ****

** Beyond Lies the Wub **

This is an extremely short and interesting PKD story. It is written in the inimitable style of this sci-fi legend. The main theme has been explored many times by other authors, but PKD manages to leave his own imprint on it. Due to the story's brevity there is virtually no character development, and a few transitions are a bit rough. In particular the ending, although quite interesting and thought-provoking, leaves too much to suggestion and implication. Nonetheless, this is a very entertaining short sci-fi story.

** Beyond the Door **

Larry Thomas came home one evening with an unusual gift for his wife Doris: an antique cuckoo clock. Doris was really excited about it, but she has a secret that she is hiding from Larry. When her secret is accidentally revealed later on, the plot takes a quirky and bizarre turn.

The story has a feel of an episode of "The Twilight Zone." It is very short, and its themes are barely worked out to make a coherent plot. The theme and symbolism of a cuckoo is exploited in a very transparent and in-your-face fashion. Like many of Philip K. Dick's early works, the story relies more on the curiosities than plot-development for its impact.

** The Crystal Crypt **

"Crystal Crypt" is a short story that takes place in unspecified future where Mars and Earth (or "Terra" as it is called) are two antagonistic civilizations that are precipitously headed for a war. The last spaceship of Terrans has departed Mars, but before it reaches its interplanetary course it is intercepted by Martian military. The Martians believe that on board of the spaceship are three saboteurs that destroyed one of their major cities. Whether this is in fact the case and how this may influence the Terran journey home is the principle plotline of this story.

The story is very well crafted, and it has all the elements of classic sci-fi genre: interplanetary travel, clash of civilizations, and fantastic advanced technology that is at the crux of the plot development. The story can also be viewed through the prism of the Cold War, as two radically different civilizations are vying for supremacy and are willing to use underhanded tactics to gain an upper hand in future negotiations. The plotline holds well together, and provides enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested. This is a good, solid sci-fi story that will be appreciated by all fans of this genre.

** The Defenders **

This is a short Philip K. Dick story that takes place in a not too distant future where the world has been devastated by the almost total destruction wreaked on by the World War III. The war between the Soviet Union on one hand and the United states on the other has been going on for years, and most of the Earth's surface has been totally destroyed. Humans have been forced to live in artificial cities that are buried deep underground, far away from the lethal radiation that has engulfed all of the surface. Far from wanting to end the war, however, the warring parties have developed armies of humanoid robots that can withstand the conditions on the surface and have been waging the war as proxies.

This story has many of the quintessential Philip K. Dick themes: preoccupation with nuclear war, obtuse functioning of the military, and humanoid robots that develop conscience that is not just a mare extension of the conscience of their creators. On the other hand, unlike many of his other stories, this one has a hopeful and a positive outlook. Also, the writing is well-crafted and the narrative relatively straightforward, which make this one of the more accessible of Philip K. Dick's stories.

** The Gun **

A spaceship approaches an alien plant. The planet seems to have been completely destroyed in a nuclear holocaust, with no visible signs of life. Unexpectedly, an enormous gun shells the spaceship with nuclear warheads, damaging it and forcing it to descend on the planet for the repairs. There they discover the secret behind the gun and the treasure that it was designed to protect.

This short story is quintessential Philip K. Dick, with very matter-of-fact sentences, abrupt changes of action, and themes of nuclear war, robots, and military. The ambiguity of not knowing the identity of the people on the spaceship and the name of the planet adds to the poignancy of the underlying message. This is certainly an interesting and thought-provoking story that is easy to read. All sci-fi fans will surely enjoy it.

** The Skull **

This is one of my favorite PKD stories. Its narrative is very tight, without any loose ends or underdeveloped plot advances. The characters are minimalistic, but fully three dimensional and authentic. This is particularly true of the main protagonist. This story has many similarities with "Twelve Monkeys", "Back to the Future" and the "Terminator" series, but it is still a very unique take on time travel.

Another one of the recurring PKD themes that features in this short story is that of a police state and the ways it crushes individuals. This suppressive force turns out to be an indispensible part of the plotline, and without it this story would make little sense.

Whether you are a PKD fan or just enjoy short sci-fi works you will enjoy this unique story.

** The Eyes Have It **

This whimsical short story is the shortest one in the collection and could not easily stand on its own. PKD takes a certain feature of the language and develops it into a full-blown conspiracy theory. He still manages to do this with considerable skill and narrative ingenuity, so this ultra-short story is definitely worth reading.

** Second Variety **

This is a short Philip K. Dick story that takes place in a not too distant future where the world has been devastated by the almost total destruction wreaked on by the World War III. The war between the Soviet Union on one hand and the United states on the other has been going on for years, and Soviets have managed to gain control of much of the Earth's surface, while Americans had been forced into an exile on the Moon. Americans have resorted to guerrilla warfare, with small contingents operating deep within the enemy-occupied territory. As a desperate measure, they have also constructed extremely efficient killer robots that can operate on their own and are capable of repairing themselves and improving on their own design. It is this last feature that will eventually come to haunt them, and will take the whole course of the war into an unexpected and sinister direction.

This is a sinister and thought-provoking story. The writing is well crafted and the narrative is extremely well constructed, virtually without any gaps or loose ends. In terms of the seamlessness of style and substance, as well as the sheer narrative technique, this is one of the best of Philip K. Dick's stories. If you are new to this genius of sci-fi then this would be one of the best ways of getting introduced to his writing. The story has been used as a basis for the movie "Screamers", and it is also possible to discern certain themes that have parallels with the latest "Battlestar Galactica."

** The Variable Man **

In the middle of the twenty-second century Terra (a.k.a. Earth) has expanded its influence throughout the Solar System, but a vast, yet weak, empire rules the rest of the Galaxy. Terrans have been at war with this empire for generations, and have never been in a position to prevail over their adversaries. However, the invention of a new weapon - a faster-than-light bomb - may finally shift the balance of power in their favor. Unfortunately, due to an accident with time-travel, a man form the twentieth century ends up in their midst, and his very existence seems to be the cause of uncertainty for the sophisticated prediction computers on which the Terran military establishment relies in planning of their attack. The visitor from the past is thus the variable man - a man whose very existence undermines brings a lot of indeterminism to the military plans.

This longish story or a short novella is one of the finest examples of PKD's sci-fi writing skills.

** Mr. Sapceship **

The story is steeped in the mid-twentieth century mindset that perceived the rise of the industrial-military complex as the greatest threat to the civilization, the state of war seemed like an inescapable human destiny, and the backdrop of the cold war was constantly on peoples minds. PKD uses all of these themes skillfully to weave an original and entertaining story. Towards the end of the story he also employs some pseudo-religious musings, which are also very familiar to his readers. Overall, this is a well-crafted story, but it's nothing spectacular. Modern sci-fi fans are already inured to the idea of combining biological and mechanical, as the viewers of the recent Battlestar Galactica TV series can attest.

** Piper in the Woods **

This is one of the finer PKD stories, with well-developed characters, smoothly flowing plot, and imaginative and unique developments. PKD's stories can sometimes feature rough transitions and endings, but this is not the case with this story. The themes that are explored are very interesting and are amongst some of PKD's most enduring fascination: personal identity and what it means to be human. This story also has a deeper allegorical message, which intertwines smoothly with the plotline.

In my opinion this is what a solid sci-fi story should look like. I would strongly recommend it.

**** Conclusion ****

This collection of short story is the finest examples of PKD's early sci-fi writing skills. Most stories are well developed; although from the vantage point of today's sci-fi there are many loose ends and naïve plot developments. The stories have the charm of vintage sci-fi, all with almost laughably simpleminded view of the future technology (vidphones are poor man's versions of iPhones) and *very* inaccurate presentation of science. This stories have many of the quintessential Philip K. Dick themes: preoccupation with nuclear war, obtuse functioning of the military, humanoid robots that develop conscience that is not just a mare extension of the conscience of their creators, people who are not quite human, and, of course, space travel, although this is just a minor narrative-setting device. I am also fascinated with PKD's ideas about religion. This is usually a very hard subject to do right, especially in science fiction. PKD manages at the same time to present his own unique views and take religion seriously.

If you are looking for a polished and technologically sophisticated stories than you will be very disappointed. On the other hand, if you are tired of all the predictable and mechanistic stories that you can read today, and enjoy raw, rough, ideas that aim for immediate impact, then you will definitely enjoy this collection.

The short stories are nice, well written, and if you replace the word Soviet with Chinese/Arab or any other "acceptable to you" villain the book will feel more familiar to you.

The collection is a bit repeated with some stories' end predictable after reading the previous one, but that is because it appears that the theme collected in this set is all the same.

A great reminder of why PKD is one of my favorite SF authors. These stories are some of his (now out of copyright) earlier works which demonstrate that he had found his style and demonstrated his skill from the very start.

This is hardly "The Best of Philip K. Dick"- this is just a collection of those of his stories available in the public domain. They are still good stories, and worth a couple bucks- but you can get them free, individually, elsewhere.