Do androids dream of electric sheep

[Anonymous No.13324192]

Really overrated compared to a lot of other pkd books. Felt like something he wrote in two hours to pay for a grocery bill instead of two months to pay rent like Ubik. I say this as a big fan of pkd. It’s pretty much objectively worse than Ubik, the three stigmata of palmer eldritch, the valis trilogy, time out of joint, and a ton of his short stories. And those are just out of the handful of pkd books I have read.

[Anonymous No.13324204]

>>13324192
Also what pkd should I read next? I’ve read everything mentioned in OP as well as Dr. Bloodmoney and Maze of Death. I own a physical copy of the Exegesis but am not sure if it’s the time to read it or not.

[Anonymous No.13324237]

>>13324204
I hope you didnt expect anyone to discuss literature on this literature board.

[Anonymous No.13324316]

>>13324192
>It’s pretty much objectively worse than
It sounds to me like you must have missed the importance of a lot of stuff. Androids was one of his better works. Do those that know you consider you to be a chickenhead?

[Anonymous No.13324382]

>1992
>he doesn't own a living animal
Yikes

[Anonymous No.13324612]

>>13324316
Yeah I’m a chickenhead. I didn’t think DADOES was bad, just that his other stuff is a notch better. I liked the religious elements of palmer eldritch better, and the android elements of electric ant better, for example. Post apocalyptic society is better captured in Dr. Bloodmoney.
>>13324382
My electric toad suits me just fine

[Anonymous No.13324637]

>>13324192
I just finished it and with no other experience of PKD thought it was bad. Ending seemed rushed and there wasn't really much of a resolution.

[Anonymous No.13324773]

>>13324192
I just finished listening to the audiobook for this and I thought it was really good. Interesting world and story without ever delving too much into details. Really added to the mystery of it all.
The end didn't seem to resolve much but I don't think the story ever intended to
The obsession with animals was funny to me

How are the movies?

[Anonymous No.13325755]

>>13324637
>I just finished it and with no other experience of PKD thought it was bad.
As a wordsmith, PKD is actually quite poor. If you want style and a well fitted array of advanced vocabulary then look elsewhere. Read PKD for his ideas or skip him altogether. That having been said, he is one of my favorite writers.
>Ending seemed rushed
This was a bit of his stylistics with which I will agree. The ending was rushed, not because of a failing on PKD's part but because he wanted to convey the rushed nature to the reader. This segment of Deckard's life was collapsing rapidly and PKD let the book slam shut with it.
>and there wasn't really much of a resolution.
This is a common complaint, but a misdirected one. If you believe this then you missed the important parts. You cannot let your own personal favorite parts of the story getting abandoned in the resolution dictate your perception of the quality of the closing. If read properly, it closed well. In all fairness, I held the same opinion as you do regarding both Androids and High Castle until I gave the closings some consideration. I have since reconsidered.

[Anonymous No.13325816]

>>13324773
>Really added to the mystery of it all.
I will have to take this as consolation because I felt as if I were left flat in this regard.
>The end didn't seem to resolve much but I don't think the story ever intended to
The ending is just as abrupt and abandoning to the reader as it was for Deckard.
>The obsession with animals was funny to me
But also absolutely necessary for building Deckard's character.
>How are the movies?
As cinematography, actually quite good - the two films conveying absolutely different senses from each other. As renditions of PKD's work, they are abysmal failures. Watch them for their own sake if you will watch them at all. They do not build on PKD's foundation, so do not carry that expectation.

[Anonymous No.13326733]

>lead up to big fight
>"and then they fought"
wow thrilling

[Anonymous No.13326995]

>>13326733
You appear to be conflating the movie with the book. They are very different stories with different themes and different plots.

[Anonymous No.13327052]

>>13324204
>Dr. Bloodmoney
this is his best work in my opinion

[Anonymous No.13327094]

>>13324637
pkd is bad at endings but Androids ended perfectly. If you want to read a shitty ending read VALIS (might be his best work)

[Anonymous No.13328465]

>>13327052
It’s one of those books that goes inbetween being good and great imo but it definitely possesses some of pkds best characters

[Anonymous No.13328470]

>>13328465
Black man
Spaceship man
Fancy wheelbarrow cripple psychic man
Whore woman
Young twins
Post nuke cigar man

All memorable and interesting in their own ways

[Anonymous No.13328568]

>>13324192
PKD is overrated. Only thing of his worth reading is second variety.
Man in the high castle was extremely disappointing, as are many of his stories and I do not understand the love he gets from this board.

[Anonymous No.13328612]

>>13328568
How could someone like second variety and not faith of our fathers or adjustment team or some shit

[Anonymous No.13328623]

>>13328612
I enjoyed faith of our fathers. That's one of the few others I liked.
Things like the electric ant and what dead men say though are not very good

[Anonymous No.13328797]

a scanner darkly is my favorite of his
i think my own heavy drug use makes me biased

[Anonymous No.13328944]

>>13328568
>Man in the high castle was extremely disappointing
It is, unironically, supposed to be.

[Anonymous No.13329668]

>>13324204
You might consider Voices From the Streets.

[Anonymous No.13329689]

>>13329668
Not him, but I’ve never read pkd. Where should I start? I loved blade runner if that makes a difference

[Anonymous No.13329762]

>>13329689
>Where should I start?
I like Voices from the Streets for a starter. It will get you used to his style. These are maybe some of his scarier works because the stories are all plausible. The writing is actually pretty good on these, whereas many of his better works (concept wise), are actually poorly written. I got this for $20 off of ebay:
>https://www.loa.org/books/252-four-novels-of-the-1960s
This would get you primed with some classic scifi and some very plausible violence.
>I loved blade runner
The book is almost nothing like the movie. Give this one some care when you read it. It is very compact. Every detail is important. If you miss the themes then you will think that Androids is crap. If you find the ending incoherent then reread it until you get it. The ending is solid if you do your part. The writing for this one, in technical consideration, is actually quite poor. Do not let that dissuade you. The story is quite good.

[Anonymous No.13329783]

>>13324192
It was my favorite book as a teenager, but the Aeneid supplanted it by my 19th winter

[Anonymous No.13329790]

>>13329762
Thanks anon

[Anonymous No.13330114]

Just finished this. Having not read any PKD before I was really impressed. I thought the final scene with the 3 androids wasn't very well done but other than that it was gripping. It's made me think differently about animal ethics and the importance of a shared moral compass.