Scan barcode
vk_fox15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Dick is a fine author, I have nothing against him or his writing style. I was required to read this book for a class and have nothing against him personally. I initially went in with high expectations and for that reason I was unable to read through this book as I normally do with other books. To me it just felt dry.
I appreciated the world building and liked just how desperate the people of earth were. I praise Dick for his efforts in writing this novel, and can see why it has become such a highly praised literary classic amongst Western audiences, yet I just couldn't get through it.
The more I read the book the less I could picture myself within it, and for me, being able to immerse myself within the story is something I need to get through a book. Stories like 'Harry Potter' are heavily immersive, despite how unprofessional JK Rowling may be as a person, I could very well see myself within the dorm rooms of the Ravenclaw house (not to complement her).
'Do Androids...' isn't necessarily a "bad" book by any means, it just isn't immersive for me. There's something missing from it that I just can't put my finger on, and that's why I had to put the book down. To end this review, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to get into the science-fiction genre, especially people who are into stories adjacent to 'The Hunger Games' concerning themes of government corruption.
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal death, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, and Xenophobia
mousecat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Infidelity, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content and Abortion
juanrubin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: War, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Mental illness, Drug use, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Colonisation, Sexism, Slavery, Sexual content, Ableism, and Physical abuse
literatureleaf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Ableism, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content, Cursing, Mental illness, and Infidelity
jetix's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
"I like her; I could watch her the rest of my life. She has breasts that smile." is an actual quote from this book. this, along with "her breasts bobbing with agitation" from a different story by him, leads me to a conclusion that dick (what a fitting last name) was one of the original men writing women. so he's got that going for him, i guess.
p.s. marking this as funny because it's hilariously bad.
Graphic: Misogyny, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Sexism
zombiezami's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Classism, Sexism, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Misogyny
Minor: Racism
bookshelfmonkey's review against another edition
2.75
Moderate: Ableism
twig_cat's review against another edition
But those concepts have been explored better since, and so between the dated style of the book, and some very dated attitudes in places, it just became a chore to keep going.
Graphic: Sexism and Ableism
baccoamon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Philip K. Dick in this book seems to stumble upon larger questions around collective identity vs individuality, worship culture, mental health, and empathy that tend to lead to more open answers rather than a definite perspective. I did come away wondering if this book was written to be more of a introspection for the reader to dissect for themselves or if simply the language he was afforded was not able to directly correlate some of these ideas in a more precise way due to the time period and this very much being a speculative future where a writer from 1968 is looking into a world overcome by class elitism and techno-ethic dilemmas. For fans of speculative fiction and brooding scifi you will find yourself at home as Decker reflects on what self fulfillment, empathy, and identity means to the human experience.
My largest negative to the story is the inability to truly humanize the Androids as it creates a strange conflict of interest when it comes to the ethos that I believed Philip to be leaning towards and the outdated understanding of Schizophrenia, as a reminder that this book is from 50 years ago, is a bit annoying to overlook while reading.
Contemplative and interesting this book is worth your time but do not expect a literary Blade Runner.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, and Mental illness
itsnicholaslashay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Misogyny and Ableism
Minor: Infidelity