The Eye of The Sibyl and Other Classic Stories (The Collected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick, Vol. 5) [Paperback]

Philip K. Dick (Author)

Book Description

Series: Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick | Publication Date: December 1, 2000

A collection of stories by the celebrated science fiction writer includes never-before-published selections as well as the author's standards--``The Little Black Box'' and ``The Pre-Person'' among them. By the author of The Man in the High Castle. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback: 396 pages
• Publisher: Citadel (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806513284
• ISBN-13: 978-0806513287
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #554,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If I could only recommend 2 Phil Dick books --, June 8, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Eye of The Sibyl and Other Classic Stories (The Collected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick, Vol. 5) (Paperback)

This volume has many of the stories from the out-of-print Ballantine "Best of Phil Dick." While his earlier work is more literate, his later style in stories/novels became much looser, but just as enjoyable. The themes here, like his novel "Do androids dream," are more mind-blowing and less reliant on finding a new twist on an old sci-fi theme. "Faith of our fathers," and "I hope I shall arrive soon"(probably the inspiration for movies "Open your eyes/Vanilla sky") are the most powerful, thoughtful and fun stories (how the heck does he do it?!) but may not resonate with gadget-oriented, non-psychological readers. Nevertheless, this is an indispensible book, and like "Do androids dream," my choice when giving a Phil Dick book to friends.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Later but not necessarily better, March 21, 2003

By 

mrliteral - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Eye of The Sibyl and Other Classic Stories (The Collected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick, Vol. 5) (Paperback)

In this final volume of the Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick, we get a chance to read the short stories he wrote from the late 1960s to his death. For those who were accustomed to the imaginative and off-beat work of the first four volumes, this last book may be a bit jarring: as Dick's life got stranger, so did his stories. Even in the genre of the strange that is science fiction, stranger is not automatically better.

Some of the stories in this collection are every bit as good as the ones in the other books. Tales such as "The Pre-Persons," "Your Appointment Will Be Yesterday" and "The Electric Ant" are among his better stories. There are also stories that would eventually become novels like Counter-Clock World, Dr. Bloodmoney and The Divine Invasion. Then there are the previously unpublished works...which are strictly for PKD completists; there is good reason these were not published.

His later short stories, like his later novels (Valis, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer) are often permeated with the theological and hallucinogenic qualities that also dominated Dick's life. These later stories are dominated more by ideas than by good writing; compare the title story to the similarly themed Waterspider in Volume 4 and you'll see the earlier story is far better.

Overall this book rates a weak four stars, although the whole set rates a full five stars. Even if a bit disappointing compared with the previous books, this still has enough quality to be well worth reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not PKD at his best, August 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Eye of The Sibyl and Other Classic Stories (The Collected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick, Vol. 5) (Paperback)

I concur with the review already posted. This is not Dick's best work. Having read the collected works out of order, I was shocked to go from #1 to #5 and see the difference. #1 blinded me with it's brilliance, #5 stunned me with it's contrived, inane stores. There is a reason many of them had remained unpublished.

As a hard core fan, I am glad I read this volume, and enjoyed a few stories, such as "The Little Black Box", "Precious Artifact" and "The Alien Mind".