Philip K. Dick - the novels

[D_Davis]

Originally Posted by woodsman

Thanks a lot. Will look into those.

At least (IMHO) Le Guin has a sub-forum, although it's under-populated. in fact I became interested in Dick because several people said he was similar to Le Guin who has produced some amazing work.

If you like The Lathe of Heaven, I think you will like Dick.

He and Le Guin were actually pretty close at one time. I believe that Dick confided in her.

I became interested in Le Guin because of Dick! Although, it took A Lathe of Heaven for me to really get into her. That book blew my mind.

[woodsman]

Sounds great. Might also check out those other authors you mentioned; in good time.

I love the short stories Le Guin writes: hits you with a point, you finish reading, spend a couple of days thinking. Not too much of a slog, however, I'm also a bit of a sucker for a long, easier to read/digest fantasy.

[Fried Egg]

Originally Posted by D_Davis

My main problem with fantasy is the length of the books and how they seem to always be part of a series. Just hit me with a solid, smart, and thought provoking, single volume narrative.

I know exactly where you're comming from. The modern trend for bloated, never ending series/franchises is the very side of fantasy that I don't like (anymore). That's why I tend to read most older stuff, but then again, I also read predominately older SF too.

[D_Davis]

Originally Posted by Fried Egg

I know exactly where you're comming from. The modern trend for bloated, never ending series/franchises is the very side of fantasy that I don't like (anymore). That's why I tend to read most older stuff, but then again, I also read predominately older SF too.

We're on the same page here.

I'll take Elric, Conan, and The Gray Mouser any old day.

Sagas made up of short concise stories - no filler. These are reductions of fantasy convention, stories told with brevity.

[Connavar]

Originally Posted by woodsman

Thanks a lot. Will look into those.

At least (IMHO) Le Guin has a sub-forum, although it's under-populated. in fact I became interested in Dick because several people said he was similar to Le Guin who has produced some amazing work.

If you want some thought provoking and broaden horizons several of his better works are perfect for that.

Why i enjoy him so much is that even in his weaker books he will make you think things you dont usually think about.
About Le Guin, she seems to have a been a fan of his. Her high praise of him is on several blurbs of my PKD books.

I would recommend the ones that impressed most so far. I havent read many of his so far.

Now Wait For Last Year
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ?


If you are interested in short stories or find a collection of his cheap somewhere. Minority Report is a very good story.

[woodsman]

Originally Posted by Connavar

If you want some thought provoking and broaden horizons several of his better works are perfect for that.

If you are interested in short stories or find a collection of his cheap somewhere. Minority Report is a very good story.

Firstly: did they make a film of that?

Secondly: thanks Conn I know you've praised PKD a lot, something which has tipped me in the direction of giving him a go! I think you might also like Le Guin if you like short stories that deal with different subjects or the 'old' subjects from different angles. I just finished The Birthday Of The World which is a great collection - if you can get hold of it, give it a whirl!

Have set aside some £'s for a couple of PKD books, as of today!

[Connavar]

Originally Posted by woodsman

Firstly: did they make a film of that?

Secondly: thanks Conn I know you've praised PKD a lot, something which has tipped me in the direction of giving him a go! I think you might also like Le Guin if you like short stories that deal with different subjects or the 'old' subjects from different angles. I just finished The Birthday Of The World which is a great collection - if you can get hold of it, give it a whirl!

Have set aside some £'s for a couple of PKD books, as of today!

Nice to i had something to with it. Despite his rep you can never get enough PKD readers

Yes they made that Tom Cruise movie. Which was good but of course not dark,smart enough for a PKD story. It had some of the elements from the short story but not very similar to it.

Thanks for Le Guin short story tip. Im currently in short story mode and i have wanted to try her mostly cause like PKD she seems to be about social side of SF.

[D_Davis]

The Birthday of the World was the first Le Guin book I read.

I picked it for a women's lit class I had.

The professor was not impressed with my decision to read SF, but I totally won her over with my paper.

The academic world is a silly place, especially when lit is concerned. Forever slaves to tradition and the status quo.

[woodsman]

Too true I'm afraid and many academics seem to be somewhat ego-driven as well in my experiences.

If I tell someone I'm reading a SF novel their immediate reaction tends to be: "what, like Starwars/Startrek and stuff?" - infering somekind of childish slur - missing the fact that many of the most though provoking novels have been written in this genre. Yeah the lit world can be very snobbish, we just have to live with it I fear.

[D_Davis]

PKD's Now Wait for Last Year is pretty good so far. It would make a fantastic double-feature with Our Friends From Frolix 8. Where that book was more of an action-orientated political thriller, Last Year is more of a behind the scenes political thriller. And while Dick never really worked within the boundaries of a "megaverse", Last Year contains shout outs to other books and characters, including a dude with the last name of Ild, who I am wondering if he is somehow related to Amos Ild in Friends.

I think this is my 30th PKD book, and I am still not quite prepared for his treatment of women. This seems to be especially true in his books published between 1966 and 1969. This book contains two of the most selfish, conniving, and manipulative female characters I've ever encountered. And knowing about Dick's personal life, it is easy to see the correlations between these characters and women he actually knew. There is, of course, the small, young-looking dark-haired girl, and there is also a woman who threatens to destroy the main character's collection of rare recordings.

However, beyond the deeply-rooted misogynistic character depictions, the book is teeming with hard-hitting political satire that is both absurdly comical and hauntingly frightening because of how close it hits to home.

So far, about 1/2 through, I can safely shelf this as top-tier Dick.

[Connavar]

Originally Posted by D_Davis

PKD's Now Wait for Last Year is pretty good so far. It would make a fantastic double-feature with Our Friends From Frolix 8. Where that book was more of an action-orientated political thriller, Last Year is more of a behind the scenes political thriller. And while Dick never really worked within the boundaries of a "megaverse", Last Year contains shout outs to other books and characters, including a dude with the last name of Ild, who I am wondering if he is somehow related to Amos Ild in Friends.

I think this is my 30th PKD book, and I am still not quite prepared for his treatment of women. This seems to be especially true in his books published between 1966 and 1969. This book contains two of the most selfish, conniving, and manipulative female characters I've ever encountered. And knowing about Dick's personal life, it is easy to see the correlations between these characters and women he actually knew. There is, of course, the small, young-looking dark-haired girl, and there is also a woman who threatens to destroy the main character's collection of rare recordings.

However, beyond the deeply-rooted misogynistic character depictions, the book is teeming with hard-hitting political satire that is both absurdly comical and hauntingly frightening because of how close it hits to home.

So far, about 1/2 through, I can safely shelf this as top-tier Dick.

That books is the one of his i love most.

His females are special, the one married to the main character is the nastiest i have seen in SF.

I felt sad for the guy. How she controlled him. How selfish she is.....

It was my first political book of PKD. I like how he wrote that world.

I thought the second half of the book was much better. More hard hitting.

Enjoy it !

[D_Davis]

Yeah, it is fantastic. Really densely textured. There are a lot of things going on in this novel, and Dick handles it all with the subtlety of a master.