A Scanner Darkly

Best book on drugs ever written

I love all the stuff William Burroughs wrote about drugs, but this book takes the cake for showing you what it's like to be hooked on drugs that are gradually causing you to go insane. I won't reveal too much about myself, but let's just say, been there, done that... PKD obviously knew what he was writing about. Notice in the back, where he lists the damage done to his friends by drugs, there is a "Phil" who has suffered brain damage. Yup. Honesty is always the best medicine, especially when it comes to self-medication. Even if you have no interest in drugs, or, especially, if you still wave the 'just say no' flag and think there's nothing wrong with putting drug addicts into the same places as rapists, and murderers, this is definitely your book!

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Many wonderous things

Spill out at me constantly....a great piece to loose yourself in.

Page turner!

This made an amazing movie, but it's an extraordinary novel -I would suggest both to anyone!

Test

Classical reading

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Above, and Below, the Influence

Every day, we enter a world full of decisions. Some can be as simple as what to have for lunch, others can be as serious as purchasing a car or home. For undercover agent "Fred," aka Bob Arctor, the decisions he makes every day can determine life or death.
The story takes place in Orange County, California in 1994, shortly after the new and highly addictive drug "Substance D" hits the streets. Substance D, or "Death" as it's known among users, is so addictive that, as said in the novel, "You're either on it...Or you haven't tried it."
Arctor, along with other agents, work to infiltrate the lives of Substance D users, becoming friends with them and learning to be like them. Ultimately, the agents wish to find the dealers of Substance D, and find who is supplying them.
Throughout the novel, Arctor deals with the conflicts between being a police officer and a user, always on edge of being exposed, but as Arctor abuses Substance D to further his undercover work, the walls of reality begin to crumble for him. He begins to forget who he is, and the boundaries between an officer and addict fade away, causing Arctor to question which he really is.
For those searching for a novel about truth, fear, love, and a harsh dose of reality, A Scanner Darkly will be a novel you won't be able to set down.

Buy Dick Books, they'll stand the test of time.

Phil has been an inspiration. Salad in a bag, his idea. Well maybe not salad in a bag but the man revolutionized the way we view our own addictions and the multiple lives we lead. He teaches us how on persons trust can be another persons weapon. Arcter, donna, even Freck are characters that stick with you like a trusty blade waiting to be unsheathed and dug deep into the folds of our delicate psyche. Thank you Mister Dick for your elaborate interpretation of our future as users.

T

A Scanner Darkly

The universe of A Scanner Darkly is teeming with brilliant imagery, hilarious dialogue, and unforgettable characters that capture drug culture to a tee. Although Philip K. Dick¿s story was written in memory of friends who have fallen victim to drug addiction, and is meant to serve as a warning to others, the novel is about much more than the negative sides of drug use. As we follow the life of Bob Arctor, an undercover narcotics agent who must assimilate into drug culture in order to find the source of the powerfully addictive Substance D, we are taken on a ride through one man¿s inner struggle, attempting to cope with his multiple identities, while simultaneously dealing with the brain-damage caused by his addiction to the drug. Dicks¿ inspired look at a future filled with government spying and out of control drug use is definitely one of the most creative and entertaining science fiction novels written to date.

This is Your Brain on Drugs....

Fred is an undercover agent assigned to observe Bob Arctor, a drug user and possible dealer. Unbeknownst to his superiors, Fred is actually Arctor, so he ends up observing himself. Substance D, the narcotic Arctor ingests, causes the brain to literally split into two, so Fred and Bob each become their own separate personality and Fred becomes less and less aware that he is actually observing himself. Confused yet? It gets even more twisted as author PKD delves deeper into his usual theme of the nature of existence. A Scanner Darkly is more of an anti-drug novel dressed up in the trappings of the sci-fi genre. PKD dedicates the book to himself and many of his friends who either died or suffered permanent injury due to drug abuse. A Scanner Darkly could be Dick's finest effort, but it certainly earns him a place among the most important authors of the 20th century, science-fiction or no.

Waiting for the Movie!!

A Scanner Darkly is an awesome book about the affects of drugs on the human mind. Though it doesn't have much of a linear plot, the dialogue is almost comedic. Just listening to the ramblins and logic of crackheads and Substance D users is hilarious. If the movie is as good as the book, then I will definitely be the first one in line to buy a ticket.

a scanner darkly

I've read many books by PKD, and up until i read this one, Valis was my favorite, and my standard for all of his work. BUt after reading this one, i was blown away. PKD takes you through the maze of identity that lies in the mind. Arctor is a confused individual, with very human cares and fears, which makes it easy to get into the book.

My favourite Dick book (hmmm...)

Some people would prefer Ubik, some might go for Flow My Tears..., and I have a friend whose ultimate Dick novel is The Transmigration of Timothy Archer. But this is my favourite PKD book. It's hardly science fiction at all, and not just because it's set in the early nineties, or thenabouts; it's an elegy for Sixties/early Seventies drug culture, focusing on the damage and the loss. The book is ridiculously funny, at times, such as the hapless attempt of one character to commit suicide by pill ingestion; he unwittingly swallows dozens of hallucinogens instead, and is forced to listen as a bug-eyed monster recites his sins to him for all eternity. The eerie Dickian paranoia is in full flow here, as Fred the narc carries out surveillance on himself (and as his own drug use gradually erases his identity to the point where he doesn't even realise that he's doing it). Sad, bitter, angry, outstanding.

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