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vk_fox15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Didn't finish the book.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Infidelity, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content and Abortion
yennn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Update 22 April 2024: I’ve lowered my rating to 2, because it took me way too long to get through and put me in a reading slump somehow!!!
This book felt way ahead of its time and surprisingly much deeper than I thought it would be. I was sort of expecting more…robot bounty killing and action?
Anyways, almost immediately, I’m struggling to not associate this with franchises like Cyberpunk – I’ve never actually seen Blade Runner, so no issues there. There’s an almost comical contrast between the old and new technologies that was really interesting to read about. After a spout of info dumping about androids, I felt jump scared by the appearance of Kleenex. Truthfully, I had questions about the state of the Earth, but…you know when the answer is just ‘because sci-fi?’ The worldbuilding wasn’t too bad, but I wanted to know a little more about the off-world and android situation.
I greatly enjoyed the interactions with the androids and was having fun second guessing who was or wasn’t an android. But about half way through, where the other MC J. R. Isodore and ‘Mercisicm,’ (a religion? Cult?) intersected with bounty hunter Rick Deckard…. I started to lose interest. It ended up feeling like an ‘ersatz’ grand ending, but I felt so small reading this, whether because of the language barriers, or because of the pacing in the latter half I have no idea.
My very lukewarm review…. I neither disliked nor liked this. It was okay.
This book felt way ahead of its time and surprisingly much deeper than I thought it would be. I was sort of expecting more…robot bounty killing and action?
Anyways, almost immediately, I’m struggling to not associate this with franchises like Cyberpunk – I’ve never actually seen Blade Runner, so no issues there. There’s an almost comical contrast between the old and new technologies that was really interesting to read about. After a spout of info dumping about androids, I felt jump scared by the appearance of Kleenex. Truthfully, I had questions about the state of the Earth, but…you know when the answer is just ‘because sci-fi?’ The worldbuilding wasn’t too bad, but I wanted to know a little more about the off-world and android situation.
I greatly enjoyed the interactions with the androids and was having fun second guessing who was or wasn’t an android. But about half way through, where the other MC J. R. Isodore and ‘Mercisicm,’ (a religion? Cult?) intersected with bounty hunter Rick Deckard…. I started to lose interest. It ended up feeling like an ‘ersatz’ grand ending, but I felt so small reading this, whether because of the language barriers, or because of the pacing in the latter half I have no idea.
My very lukewarm review…. I neither disliked nor liked this. It was okay.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Animal death, Death, and Infidelity
andrewkroninger's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Grief, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death
sputnik2's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I'm not a big fan of the ending, as it doesn't match any themes of the prior chapters, however, it was very Vonnegut-esk, which I enjoyed. In a span of 224 pages, Phillip K. Dick has brought the existentialism of humanity to us through only a few characters. It carries many messages and themes and is great to annotate and analyze.
But fr tho, one of my favorites.
But fr tho, one of my favorites.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder, Death, Sexual content, Abortion, Violence, and Infidelity
seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Sexual content, Abortion, and Cursing
hauntthetale's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Murder, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Death, Animal death, and Violence
athornedrose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse, Ableism, Gun violence, Death, and Deportation
miles's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
meaghanelizabook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Murder