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This collection presents some outstanding examples of his shorter works and includes "Colony," "Upon the Dull Earth," "The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford," "Faith of Our Fathers," "The Days of Perky Pat," "The Variable Man," and "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon." Investigating spiritual questions through science-fiction imagery, these stories explore the boundaries of human consciousness as they present such themes as multiple realities, creating life, and man's relationship to God.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
238 of 241 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Contents of book,
By Doug (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick (Hardcover)
Austin, here are the stories in this book:1. Beyond Lies the Wub 2. Roog 3. Paycheck 4. Second Variety 5. Imposter 6. The King of the Elves 7. Adjustment Team 8. Foster, You're Dead 9. Upon the Dull Earth 10. Autofac 11. The Minority Report 12. The Days of Perky Pat 13. Precious Artifact 14. A Game of Unchance 15. We Can Remember It For You Wholesale 16. Faith of Our Fathers 17. The Electric Ant 18. A Little Something For Us Tempunauts 19. The Exit Door Leads In 20. Rautavaara's Case 21. I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon A great collection.
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A saucerful of secrets,
By K. Kaczmarek "The things you own, end up owni... (Allen Park, Mi United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick (Hardcover)
This collection of PKD's work is a great introduction into the vast depth with which PDK writes. Each story is told within 20 pages and gives great character, plot and emotional development that each story takes you down a different perspective. I found myself throughout the collection saying there was nothing new he could write about, yet each story brought forward a sci-fi concept that I had not thought of. I do question one of the lead-in stories "Roog" which is short and at times pretty pointless. If you are new to sci-fi, a story such as that, could lead you to stop reading further, as "Beyond lies the Wub" is not one of the best stories in this collection as well. After you make it beyond these two, the stories, plot twists and characters are more refined and much more enjoyable. Paycheck was my favorite in this collection, and has me anxious to see the movie, even though John Woo will twist this masterpiece around. Interesting note, four of the stories inspired films, Second Variety - "Screamers"; Paycheck - "Paycheck"; We can remember it for you wholesale - "Total Recall"; and The Minority Report - "Minority Report"
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A very good selection of Dick's essential stories although some classics are missing...,
By WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)
This review is from: Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick (Hardcover)
Philip K. Dick has become the most filmed author in science fiction. That's a mixed blessing. The films made from his novels vary from flawed but great ("Blade Runner", "Minority Report") to fun dreck that wastes the potential of the story ("Paycheck"). First time fans will discover some great, unusual stories with a unique wit, touch of irony and fierce intelligence that rivals the late Kurt Vonnegut (a fellow traveler with his use of disjointed narratives and the use of irony in science fiction).
As with a couple of other reviewers here, I'd suggest skipping "Roog". Many of the stories included here were later made into films but skip those first. Go for the gothic science fiction story "Upon the Dull Earth" a gem that even I hadn't seen and I've been a fan of Dick's since 1969. Then dig into some of his less familiar but no less trippy (and powerful) stories such as "I Hope I Will Arrive Soon" and "The Days of Perky Pat". This is a very good collection for first time readers of Dick and, quite honestly, despite his talent he was churning out stories at a furious pace to make ends meet so not all of his novels and short stories are great but those that are continue to be outstanding. Dick was a novelist and writer first and foremost. The fact that he was consigned to the literary ghetto of "science fiction" is a shame because it suggested that he was writing just pulp fiction that others wouldn't appreciate. That's just not the case. At his best he could be dazzling, at his worst he could be merely entertaining but always interesting. We get the following stories classic stories: "The Days of Perky Pat", "Autofac", "Upon the Dull Earth", "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale", "The Electric Ant", "A Little Something for Us Tempunauts", "The Exit Door Leads In", "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon""The Minority Report", "Second Variety" (adapted into the film "Screamers"), "Imposter" (adapted into the film of the same name)and "Precious Artifact". The other stories in the collection vary from quite good to OK ("Roog" an early story that hints at his possibilities as a writer). I'd suggest the following novels as well--Ubik, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (a non-sf novel), Confessions of a Crap Artist (another non-sf novel), Flow My Tears the Policeman Said, A Scanner Darkly, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich and The Unteleported Man as a good place to start with Dick outside of his short stories. This is a solid collection of classic Dick stories with just a few duds. 3 1/2 stars.
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