Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner)

The inspiration for Blade Runner, but different

It's easy to see how this book inspired the movie, Blade Runner, but it's plot runs differently.

I found it quite enjoyable to read. It was thought-provoking on it's issues and I was very impressed with the way that the writer created a dark, empty and claustrophobic atmosphere. The human characters in the book were more complex and interesting than in the movie.

On the other hand, this is not the book to read in order to figure out the movie. The movie's plot was simpler and more cohesive. The book's story line is as murky and inconsistent as the future world that the book describes.

Basically, the book raised lots of new issues to think about and didn't add much to my understanding of the movie. It's a great book and I recommend it highly, if that's what you're hoping for.

5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Cylons before Battlestar Galactica did it

Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter on the now sparsely populated planet Earth. His job is to hunt "andys," slang for androids, that have escaped from the human colonies on Mars and Earth's Moon. The latest model of cylon, er android, the Nexus-6, is particularly wily; they resemble humans more closely than ever before. Most importantly, the Nexus-6 can almost pass a Voigt-Kampff examination, which tests an intelligent being for empathy, a quality androids don't possess. As Deckard pursues the six andys that eluded his predecessor, he finds that the line between human and android isn't as defined as he previously believed and starts to question the morality of his undertaking.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is the second Philip K. Dick work I've read (the other being A Scanner Darkly) and there is a theme that the author explores in both novels: an understanding of the quality that makes us human. In A Scanner Darkly, Dick was able to create a sympathetic character out of a double-crossing, drug-addicted undercover informant. Similarly, Dick makes sympathetic characters of his androids, showing their humanity even though they are not human. The bounty hunter Deckard starts to notice this too.

Deckard begins to question his preconceptions when he is pursuing the opera singer Luba Luft. She cunningly accuses Deckard of being an android because of the ease with which he "retires" androids without feeling any empathy toward them. Deckard, of course, denies this, but a change in his attitude is revealed shortly, after Luft has been retired by Phil Resch, another bounty hunter. Deckard was touched by Luft's musical skill and starts to think that robbing the world of her talent, android or human, is insane. This is the first time Deckard feels empathy toward the "things" he hunts.

Luft's death makes Deckard aware of the difference between himself and Resch. He is convinced that Resch is an android because of Resch's quick trigger finger (and his indifference to art, perhaps, as well). Deckard tells Resch, "You like to kill. All you need is a pretext. If you had a pretext you'd kill me." Despite his conviction, however, Deckard's test reveals that Resch is human. The result of the test is significant enough for both bounty hunters to try to make sense of it, with Deckard reasoning that Resch has a defect that makes him unsympathetic toward androids. Resch points out, though, that this isn't a defect; if he felt any empathy toward androids, he wouldn't be able to kill them.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Is filled with conundrums of this sort, in which the qualities that make humans human and androids android are flipped, mixed, rearranged and contemplated. Deckard, a bounty hunter, mourns a dead android and finds he has too much of the quality that androids don't possess. Those humans that can afford it use a machine to program moods for themselves; Iran, Deckard's wife, even programs depression for herself twice a month so that she feels bad about being left on Earth. John Isidore, a human whose intelligence was affected by the nuclear fallout on Earth, is considered sub-human, below the level of animals even, which are now highly sought-after because most of them died from radiation poisoning. The only friends he has are the escaped...

[Due to BN.com's character limit, the rest of this review can be found at FingerFlow.com]

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

If you are hoping for Blade Runner, you might be disappointing.

I was warned before I read this book that it was not Blade Runner, even though the movie was loosely based on the book. It was interesting that there were direct quotes from the book used in the movie though.

This was a good read though. Hopefully our world won't turn out quite so bleak.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A quick, interesting read

This book by Philip K. Dick was a very quick read. The beginning of the book doesn't move so quickly, but once you get into the book, things start moving fairly fast. The book is primarily about one man's encounter with androids that have escaped and turned to killing humans. He is a bounty hunter for the San Francisco Police Dept. and gets paid to 'retire' these rogue androids. When he receives a larger assignment than usual, some unexpected things happen when he is forced to fight the most advanced androids in existence, the Nexus-6 series of android. The way in which the author portrays the world adds a lot to the story and helps make a lot of the other things in the story that most people would normally take for granted make sense. However, at the same time, it can be seen as a sort of a dystopian view of the world (most everything is destroyed, people are grouped into 'regulars' and 'specials' based on how much brain damage they have received from nuclear fallout, etc), so if you don't enjoy that sort of book, this is probably not the book for you. If you're looking for a sci-fi thriller, this is also not the book. There are not very many action scenes in this book, instead philosophical ideas fill in this gap. I personally enjoyed the book. I believe most people would as well, if they can find the story engaging (easier after reading the first few chapters). It is definitely worth reading.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Must read

This is classic Philip K Dick. Different from Blade Runner but still a good read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Greatly recommended!

It's a shorter book but still dives deep enough to completely develop the main characters and the plot. It truly makes you wonder what things are actually alive

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Read

While hard to follow at times (as is normal with PKD), it's a great book! Hard to put down!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Really amazing.

Books like this don't come around all the time for me. I basically like every book I read, but I don't love all of them. But this book I can honestly say is amazing. I first tried to read it in 8th grade, and got about 80 pages in before I quit. And I just now picked it up again 3 years later. Now a sophmore in highschool I can appreciate it more. It has a good message and a very comfortable style of writing. I will definitely read more Phillip K. Dick.

Fresh+and+engaging%2C+even+now

Very+different+from+Blade+Runner%2C+one+of+my+favorite+movies.++But+that%27s+a+fine+thing+in+this+case%2C+as+it+means+you+get+two+different%2C+wonderful+experiences.++This+book+is+thought-provoking%2C+funny%2C+and+entertaining.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

INSPIRED Bladerunner..

While a great book AND a great movie.. do not read this thinking its Bladerunner. The screenplay can at best be described as "inspired" by the book. That said its definately worth the read, but be sure to prepare yourself for a quirky add ride down 1960s style pulp fiction.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A True Sci-Fi Classic

I can't understand why I haven't explored Philip K. Dick earlier. As a science fiction enthusiast, I've read literature from most of the greats-- Issac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter, to name but a few. But somehow, I have only recently begun to read and appreciate this master's work. A friend of mine suggested The Philip K. Dick Reader as a good place to start, and I devoured it. Wanting more, I decided to try what is perhaps Mr. Dick's best-known novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I was not disappointed. In fact, this novel completely overshadows even the Reader's collection of truly cutting-edge short stories.
As to comparisons to the film Blade Runner, it's best to consider the two as separate works with a similar theme. They have some likenesses, but approach the message of how people are becoming dehumanized and less empathic from different angles and the plot lines are greatly varied.
As with any of Mr. Dick's fiction that I have read thus far, new readers will find this novel more in pace with the biting satire and dark future-shock themes of Vonnegut than with the generally optimistic ambiance of hard sci-fi authors like Asimov and Clarke. I particularly like the subtle development of the various characters-- how with minimal description Mr. Dick clearly gets through to his readers exactly what makes these personalities tick and what their motivations are. He also does well in drawing you straight into the story without an over-abundance of description or synopsis. Through his deft skill, you find yourself seeing his imaginary future world as clearly as your own, gleaning much detail from the very natural dialogue and inner-thoughts of the characters.
The ending, while not having the jaw-dropping twist Blade Runner has, still leaves the reader in a stupor, meditating a long time afterward about the meaning of it all. In fact, I found myself obsessing over it days after, talking about it with anyone who even remotely had the same taste in literature as I. And that theme is indeed meaningful, perhaps even more timely now than in the late-sixties when it was first written; now, in today's technology-drenched society where persons are growing more insular and less sympathetic to those around them.
I haven't researched this to say for sure, but I would not be surprised if this book is required reading in some high-schools or has entire theses written about it. It certainly is worthy of it and anyone's consideration, whether they are science-fiction fans or simply lovers of great fiction. Truly, if you haven't read this one yet, it's time you got around to it. Personally, I plan to read more of what Philip K. Dick has to offer.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Original and Entertaining

This is a great book for escapism. If you've seen the movie Blade Runner and expect the same sense of intellectual challenge and ambiguity, you'd be disappointed. Not because the book is less interesting, it is just a lot more different that you'd expect. Nevertheless, it is a great sci-fi story and its short content makes it an easy read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE human?

Brings up the question of what it means to be human, as seen through the eyes of a man who "retires" rogue androids for a living. How can he tell an android from a Human? He uses Empathic Testing. A Great read that brings to mind any number of questions...

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Different than the movie

I had seen the movie many times so my reading of the book may have been tainted. I loved the movie but thought the book was not quite as entertaining. It was funny how the electric sheep in the book, which was some key and interesting topics, never made it to the movie. It's a short book but moves along ok.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A Great Primer For Dick

If you have never read any of Philip Dick's other books, I recommend you start here. Chances are, you have seen the film that was based on this novel (Bladerunner) and this is one of the easiest of his books to get into if you are not familiar with his style. Do not expect a lot of action, as this is a small but heady novel full of intriguing philosophical ideas and biting social commentary. if you like this, move on to Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said or A Scanner Darkly. PK Dick is a real treat for the mind.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Dreaming of the perfect novel?

Well, this isn't it. But, it's a good, solid novel. Dystopia, androids, guns. It's fun and somewhat thought-provoking. It's a good read, not for everyone, but recommendable.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved It!

I loved this book. It should become a classic, anyone into science fiction should read this.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Much better than the movie

In reading some reviews by people who had seen the Ridley Scott movie and then read this book, I noticed that many were disappointed. Not only were they disappointed to not have something so visually stunning to look at, but the personal drama in the book is much slower and awkward than in the movie. To my mind, the ideas that Dick 's writing explore requires more subtle and quiet drama than the screen can easily reproduce. Dick's fiction was not space adventure. It was truly science fiction, the creation of another world, that was enough like our own to be believable, but different enough to fascinate and challenge us. The best part about the book, in contrast to the movie, is that Decker can tell the difference between humans and replicants quite easily. The machine he uses to analyze them is not exactly a formality, but it's sort of like modern DNA testing in criminal matters: we it use to make 100% sure we're right. In the movie, the replicants, whose lives are so short, seem to be more full of life than the humans. They live with fear, and as a result they appreciate each moment, each second, every (false) memory much more than those of use with long life spans tend to. The book is really an inversion of this situation. Decker knows what being a replicant is: it's not human, it's devoid of something critical, something essential to human consiousness. However, when he looks back at what it means to be human, he has a hard time finding answers. The outcome isn't that the replicants seem more human than humans (as is the case in the movie), but that being human is dissappointing and dry, it also is lacking, but in some other strange way. Another innovation that helps us think about this point is the characters' use of a device that allows you to select your mood. You want to feel sad because of a friend's death, but you also want to feel slightly relieved that it's not you...so, you dial up 1376 on the machine, place your hands on either side of the box, and zap! the feelings are yours. The notion that feelings, that aspect of consciousness that is "given" to us, can be selected after the fact is a very innovative idea. One need only look at he number of drugs we use today to help stabilize and improve our mood. That's another neat example of how PKD was really a far-seeing man. If you are going to read this book and appreciate some of it's finer points, of which there are many, I would keep these things in mind.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

great, but not all it's cracked up to be

This book has a huge cult following, as does Blade Runner (which was based on the book, in case for some reason you don't know this). But it didn't quite live up to what I expected it to be. Philip K. Dick is a great writer. And DADES is a great book, but I just didn't think that was all it was said to be. Perhaps his other books are the ones that hit you.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

rather disappointing after the buildup

I read the other customer book reviews and thought Blade Runner was interesting, so I read the book. I was expecting something really creative, but if there was something there it passed right by me. But still a decent read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.