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Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick [Hardcover]

Philip K. Dick , Jonathan Lethem
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)


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Book Description

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

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
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #492,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
282 of 286 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Contents of book April 25, 2005
By Doug
Format: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.

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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A saucerful of secrets April 26, 2004
Format: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"

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44 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
... Read more ›
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars forget about the movies January 9, 2005
Format:Hardcover
The short stories of Philip Dick perhaps do not reach the levels that the best of his novels do. However they are just as inventive, just as challenging, just as stimulating. For those readers who claim his characterisation is poor, and his descriptions are insufficiently well formed I suggest you let your own mind fill in the details - it is not necessary to have every detail spelled out by the author. In fact, I find it a far graver insult to go the other way and describe, describe, describe - as Henry James sometimes does.

As an example of writing that approaches genius there is a description of the aftermath of a nuclear explosion - 'The World Jones Made'? - in which he doesn't say of the character who climbs out of the basement that has protected him 'he could hear in the far distance a car horn blaring continuously in the uncanny stillness'. What he does say is that everything is quiet and suddenly a car horn sounds (there are other living people?), far in the distance (are they reachable?), continuously (and we see in our mind someone slumped dead over the steering wheel). Of course the bracketed comments are mine - but what a journey we are so quickly taken on - hope, doubt, despair. All without the author 'explaining' anything. Compare that to the bland alternative description and you can see that this man is using writing in a very evocative way.

When you sit down with these stories, please forget the movies - even the good ones - let your mind go on its own adventure!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great author, fantastic stories
A+++. His work has influenced so many, and served as the basis for several great movies. A very talented man.
Published 1 day ago by Elizabeth A. Nicol
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Collection of Stories
This is an amazing short story collection for anyone, let alone the great Philip K. Dick. I've long enjoyed Mr. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Scott C. Holstad
5.0 out of 5 stars It's phillip K. Dick
Anyting less than a five and you're simply not a sci-fi fan. PKD was a pioneer to sci-fi. I've gone through and read most of these short stories again and their simply wonderful.
Published 5 months ago by Ash Ronin
5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing chronological collection
These stories are fantastic. They are presented in chronological order, which is perfect for two reasons. Read more
Published 7 months ago by ghtx
5.0 out of 5 stars Phillip K. Dick book review
Top of the line story telling. Having no knowledge that so many movies in the last 10 yrs. were based on his short stories, it was most fun reading the original stories as he had... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Gary
4.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Number of Movies from These Short Stories
I have long been a fan of Philip K. Dick even though I didn't know it; movies made from his short stories have often been among my favorites. Read more
Published 14 months ago by David Bower
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome sci-fi selection!
Here you have all the great classic Philip K Dick short stories with none of the duds =) I didn't want to put it down.
Published 15 months ago by Deletia
4.0 out of 5 stars A quite underappreciated short story writer.
Widely known and praised by his long string of novels, Philip K. Dick was also a prolific (if underappreciated) writer of short fiction. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Stranger
5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Author
As a lover if all things sci-fi, I had heard Philip K. Dick's name many times but I never got around to reading any of his material until this book. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Joshua V. Grant
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
Read the book, short stories fast. Is very good. The short called "Adjustment Team" is way different than the movie, day and night. Read more
Published on April 19, 2011 by Tucker
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