Blade Runner (Movie-Tie-In Edition): Dick, Philip K.: 9780345350473: Amazon.com: Books

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Blade Runner (Movie-Tie-In Edition) Mass Market Paperback – July 12, 1987

by Philip K. Dick (Author)

115 ratings

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The classic sci-fi novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which inspired two major motion pictures: Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049

By 2021, the World War has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remain covet any living creature, and for people who can’t afford one, companies build incredibly realistic simulacra: horses, birds, cats, sheep. They’ve even built humans. Immigrants to Mars receive androids so sophisticated they are indistinguishable from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans can wreak, the government bans them from Earth. Driven into hiding, unauthorized androids live among human beings, undetected. Rick Deckard, an officially sanctioned bounty hunter, is commissioned to find rogue androids and “retire” them. But when cornered, androids fight back—with lethal force.

Praise for Philip K. Dick

“[Philip K. Dick] sees all the sparkling—and terrifying—possibilities . . . that other authors shy away from.”—Rolling Stone

“A kind of pulp-fiction Kafka, a prophet.”—The New York Times

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Del Rey
Publication date

July 12, 1987
Dimensions

4.2 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
ISBN-10

0345350472
ISBN-13

978-0345350473
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Customer reviews

5 star		68%
4 star		8%
3 star		12%
2 star		8%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2022

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The book is very good but I prefer the movie version.

Nicholas J. Whitehead

This is not the film, but is just as good.

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2000

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Whenever a really good book is adapted into a really good film, the combined package is more than the sum of the parts. That is the case with this book and subsequent film. Other examples of excellent duets are "Solaris" and "Angel Heart/Falling Angel". (Board games being made into films rarely make it in my book, as exemplified by Clue.)

What I like about these couples is that the book and the film both take a different spin on the core matter resulting a more interesting, multi-layered story content.

In this particular case, the two are quite different, but the book delivers some nice background and some meaty details which would have been difficult for the film to digest and present. The Deckard of the book is decidedly not the Harrison Ford of the film, and he is [unhappily] married ! He also comes off more as a working stiff rather than the self confident, independent and assertive movie Deckard. Realism can be so dicey in film, but it is the very heart and soul of literature of this type. Consider Ian Flemming's own James Bond, who in the book Goldfinger, worries about about money, repairs to his car and consumes Benzadrine before going to the Casino with his boss to give him confidence, and later questions if he perhaps took too much. In a nutshell, this illustrates the difference between the two Deckards.
I now berate myself for not reviewing the book as a book, but as a companion to the film. The story involves a man living in a future Los Angeles, several years after a murkily described world war. The successful types have all left earth and went on to colonize other planets, while leaving the "losers", riff-raff, poor and an infrastructure (like law enforcement) behind on Earth. To our way of thinking, it does not seem so bad. Even the lowliest dirtbag gets to ride around in a hover [car/van?] and housing is plentiful. However, amongst the peculiar futuristic twists in logic and shifts in standards, the population has fallen so drastically that it now vogue to live in very crowded areas, in close proximity to one's neighbours. The cultural outcasts on the other hand, may live alone in a huge completely empty appartment building, or block, or neighbourhood. In another twist (considering the new Japanese electronic pets) The afformentioned war killed off much of the animal life on the planet, and one of the most coveted posessions is a real live animal pet such as a rabbit or a horse. For the lower class, electronic substitutes provide an acceptable facade, the way a bicycle can substitute for a BMW.
One of the tasks for the law enforcement division is the elimination of human electronic substitutes who are patently not acceptable, as their presence on Earth is indicative of massacaring their human former owners and escaping. The reason these androids escape to Earth differs in the book and the film, but the basically attempt to hide and merge. However, their inability to demonstrate any sort of empathy (an exclusively human reaction) eventually reveals them to be artificial. Deckard's job is to track down these articial humans, apply an empathy test and destroy them when he determines them to be androids. (He has never, apparently, killed a human by mistake).
A new type of android is developed that has memories implanted from real people. This new type may or may not be detectable by current testing methods and Deckard lands up in the middle of attempting to earn large bonuses tracking several of these new androids down and killing them.
Inevitably, there is some confusion, with some telltale signs prompting one to think that some humans are androids, and some androids are human. This raises the philosophical question about the substantive difference between the androids and humans, the ethics of terminating an otherwise completely convincing human.
If I had read this book before seeing the film, I would have described it as being a little quirky and eccentric. However, taken in the complete package, as I have described, is is both an extremely rich foundation *and* extension of the film.

3 people found this helpful

Just as fun reading as it is to watch the movie

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2007

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When I saw Blade Runner for the first time I realized that I had just seen something that was original, smart and that related to me in many, many ways.

I found out that it was loosely based on the book, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and decided that if the movie is as good as it is and it's a condensed version of the story in the book, than the book should be just as good, if not better.

I ordered it from Amazon and started reading. I was only a few pages in when I realized just how "loosely" the movie was based on the book. The book was an entirely different experience.

This book is filled with compelling drama, deception, sci-fi, and 1940's crime-noir style storytelling (complete with the classic femme-fatal) and it does not dissapoint.

Sure, you already paid to see the movie, and you might be thinking, "Why would I pay to read the same story?" You aren't. You will be pleased with this book emensely - it's a completely different story.

One person found this helpful

I loved the movie and never have gotten around to reading ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2017

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I was really excited to read this book. I loved the movie and never have gotten around to reading the source material. With baited breath I ordered the book and awaited it's arrival. It showed up just before I had to go to work, so I hopped in the shower just after unboxing it. All I can say for sure about this book is that my dog LOVED it. He liked it so much in fact that he enthusiastically spread it out all over my floor while I was showering. 5 stars. German shepherds approve

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2020

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Love 💕

Stands well beside the Film.

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2011

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A great read, something I believe that stands well beside one of the best Sci-Fi films of all time. This paperback reprint bears the name of the film-version, BLADE RUNNER, along with the original publishing title, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". Reads quickly and paces well with noir/detective elements of dialogue and action alongside transcendental periods of reflection and exploration. Like PKD? Then you'll dig this book. Like the film? Well, it differs from the novel quite a lot and I think says something just as poignant, albeit with a different trajectory and emphasis.

Amazon Customer

A classic science fiction novel that inspired a great movie. I would recommend it to any sci-fi ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2017

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A classic science fiction novel that inspired a great movie. I would recommend it to any sci-fi fan, as long as they are willing to jump into some philosophical thinking (the book probably won't be enjoyed as simple beach reading; it requires a bit of abstract thought to truly see how good its story is).

2 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2020

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I ordered for grandson. He was perfectly happy. Thank you.

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Lorenz

Must have

Reviewed in Italy on September 10, 2016

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Il film, peraltro splendido in versione director's cut, ha nel tempo forse oscurato il libro originario da cui è stato ispirato.

Prendendo in mano il libro bisogna cercare di dimenticare il film, poichè Ridley Scott ne prese solo atmosfera (in parte) ed alcuni concetti; la lettura scorre fluida, ma alcuni temi rimangono purtroppo solo sullo sfondo.
Libro comunque consigliatissimo.

SPOILER:

il dubbio sul fatto che Deckard sia un androide risale probabilmente al film versione "non director's cut", in cui il regista venne costretto ad editare il finale; nella trama originale (sempre del film), si capisce chiaramente come Deckard sia un androide.

Nel libro tutto ciò viene chiarito, poichè Deckard e Resch si somministrano reciprocamente il test, risultando entrambi umani con particolare e diversa empatia.

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Cliente de Amazon

¿Quién puede ser más humano: un androide o una persona?

Reviewed in Mexico on August 26, 2017

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Este libro cuenta como el cazarrecompensas Rick Deckard tiene que terminar el trabajo eliminar a seis androides después de que uno de ellos lesionara a su compañero con dicha tarea. También narra la forma en qué vive John Isidore, un humano a quién le es difícil desempeñar óptimamente sus funciones mentales. En un punto ambas historias se cruzan.

El contexto del libro es un mundo post-apocalíptico en el que después de una guerra nuclear el planeta Tierra queda desolado. Los humanos que habitan en él lo hacen porque no tenían suficientes recursos para emigrar a Marte, o tenían algún defecto genético o porque alguien tenía que quedarse. Se expone también la religión conocida como mercerismo (que Rick y John practican), que se basa en la empatía que existe entre los humanos, pero que no pueden experimentar los androides.

En la primera mitad del libro, la parte de la historia relacionada a Deckard me pareció más atractiva que la relacionada a Isidore. Los androides que ambos se encuentran en su camino los ponen en situaciones particulares hasta para un ser humano. Poco antes que ambos personajes se crucen, la narrativa se hace mucho más interesante. Las últimas páginas son algo confusas, sin embargo, creo que ahí radica una de las cosas que hacen sorprendente al género de ciencia ficción: en finales que sólo son finales (ni felices ni tristes) y que hacen que el lector haga sus propias preguntas e interpretaciones. Al final, una de las preguntas que yo me hago es la que viene en el título de esta opinión.

Le pongo cinco estrellas, porque aunque sí es algo confuso en algunas partes (sobre todo las relacionadas al mercerismo), creo que es un muy buen libro que hace una crítica sobre diversos temas importantes y en el que el autor se adelantó a su tiempo. Si te gusta la ciencia ficción, y en particular aquella relacionada a temas de intelgencia artificial y/o robótica, no dejes pasar la oportunidad de leer este libro.

5 people found this helpful

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Ania

Se non è un capolavoro, poco ci manca

Reviewed in Italy on February 6, 2017

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Assolutamente da leggere. Forse verso il finale c'è qualche passaggio un po' meno chiaro, ma resta nel complesso un libro scritto benissimo. Sia per la trama sia per lo stile di PKD.

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Cliente Amazon

Blade Runner

Reviewed in Brazil on September 6, 2017

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A história é muito intrigante, embora tinha uma ideia bem diferente.
Porém, a edição em si é complicada, pois embora venha com material extra o que oferece um novo olhar sobre a história toda, a fonte é cansativa por ser muito pequena.

One person found this helpful

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Torontonian

A must

Reviewed in Canada on August 8, 2016

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Philip K.Dick needs no introduction and Blade Runner is one of his best creations. This is a must in the the library of any respectable SF fan.

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