Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick [Hardcover]

Philip K. Dick (Author), Jonathan Lethem (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 2002

Philip K. Dick was a master of science fiction, but he was also a writer whose work transcended genre to examine the nature of reality and what it means to be human. A writer of great complexity and subtle humor, his work belongs on the shelf of great twentieth-century literature, next to Kafka and Vonnegut. Collected here are twenty-one of Dick's most dazzling and resonant stories, which span his entire career and show a world-class writer working at the peak of his powers.

In "The Days of Perky Pat," people spend their time playing with dolls who manage to live an idyllic life no longer available to the Earth's real inhabitants. "Adjustment Team" looks at the fate of a man who by mistake has stepped out of his own time. In "Autofac," one community must battle benign machines to take back control of their lives. And in "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon," we follow the story of one man whose very reality may be nothing more than a nightmare. The collection also includes such classic stories as "The Minority Report," the basis for the Steven Spielberg movie, and "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," the basis for the film Total Recall. Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick is a magnificent distillation of one of American literature's most searching imaginations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick, with an introduction by Jonathan Lethem, should help persuade mainstream readers that the late SF author was no "mere" genre writer. Fans of the Spielberg film Minority Report will find Dick's original, "The Minority Report," along with 20 other masterful tales.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This volume is another consequence of the respectability Dick won posthumously with the classy movie Blade Runner, based on a novel of his. Besides the source of the new movie Minority Report, two more of his stories that were filmed--"Second Variety," lensed as Screamers, and "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," which became Total Recall --appear here. Also on hand are the very early "Beyond Lies the Wub" and "Roog"; "The King of the Elves," a rare excursion into fantasy, more Borges than Tolkien; "The Days of Perky Pat" and "Faith of Our Fathers," which explore themes later developed in novels; and 13 others. The stories show him reaching out to the dark sides of American society--and of himself. When he was alive, his work fell between the stools of mainstream disdain for any science fiction and the sf subculture's disdain for anybody who tried to "write mainstream." Justice done a dead man is better than no justice at all, especially when it involves giving such distinctive short fiction renewed currency. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon Books; 1st edition (November 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375421513
• ISBN-13: 978-0375421518
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

238 of 241 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contents of book, April 25, 2005

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, April 26, 2004

By 

K. Kaczmarek "The things you own, end up owni... (Allen Park, Mi United States) - See all my reviews
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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..., April 17, 2007

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
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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.