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tits_mcgee's review
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Science fiction at its finest, this collection takes you on a paranoia filled journey covering topics such as control, reality, war, identity, empathy, prejudice, authenticity, religion, all of the classic Dick themes tied up nicely in what amounts to one big philosophy fueled cynically prescient portrait of humanity.
Among my favourite stories in this collection is The Little Black Box, a story about the popular new religion "Mercerism", an empathy focussed religion looking to replace Zen Buddhism, the major components of this short story were later included in Dick's highly acclaimed 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?'. Its fun to see the seeds of this idea through the more focussed lens of a short story, where themes of religion suppression and the human desire to connect are centre stage.
In Retreat Syndrome, Dick uses one of my favourite of his literary devices: the unreliable narrator, and because it is a Dick story it is further enhanced with a reality warped, borderline fit of psychosis. Dick is the master of creating paranoid fiction, and he uses his protagonist John Cupertino's memory of killing his wife to play with our brains and turn them into mush.
One that caused a lot of controversy is The Pre Persons, a story highlighting Dick's views on abortion; while I don't agree with the statement made by this short story, it was written with a hauntingly dystopian charisma that I absolutely loved. This is one of those stories that needn't have been adapted into a full novel, brevity works well with such a hard hitting statement, and Dick always manages to create broader worlds without the need to describe them.
I could go on about this short story collection for ages, but I'll just leave it with this:
Read this book; Dick's mind is one of the most unique minds ever to have existed, and I'm thankful he used it for writing, you're seriously missing out if you've never read his work.
Among my favourite stories in this collection is The Little Black Box, a story about the popular new religion "Mercerism", an empathy focussed religion looking to replace Zen Buddhism, the major components of this short story were later included in Dick's highly acclaimed 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?'. Its fun to see the seeds of this idea through the more focussed lens of a short story, where themes of religion suppression and the human desire to connect are centre stage.
In Retreat Syndrome, Dick uses one of my favourite of his literary devices: the unreliable narrator, and because it is a Dick story it is further enhanced with a reality warped, borderline fit of psychosis. Dick is the master of creating paranoid fiction, and he uses his protagonist John Cupertino's memory of killing his wife to play with our brains and turn them into mush.
One that caused a lot of controversy is The Pre Persons, a story highlighting Dick's views on abortion; while I don't agree with the statement made by this short story, it was written with a hauntingly dystopian charisma that I absolutely loved. This is one of those stories that needn't have been adapted into a full novel, brevity works well with such a hard hitting statement, and Dick always manages to create broader worlds without the need to describe them.
I could go on about this short story collection for ages, but I'll just leave it with this:
Read this book; Dick's mind is one of the most unique minds ever to have existed, and I'm thankful he used it for writing, you're seriously missing out if you've never read his work.
kseckc's review
4.0
Even though this book was full of short stories (which I don't typically like), I still think that these stories were well-written and moreish (for want of a better word). Dick explores a lot of common themes in sci-fi, and does them so well. My only criticism, and the reason for only 4 stars, is that at the end of most of the stories, I was left wondering where the rest of the book was.
porsane's review
4.0
Grand collection of Dick's later stories. Esoteric and mystical as expected. One of the stories treatment of its subject matter struck me as bizzarely phallocentric.
lawrenwithaw's review
I haven't seen this film, but Dick is another author that I've long been meaning to dive into. The premise for this short story is funny, smart, and explored to its logical conclusion. It has some less than flattering portrayals of women, but the cast is so small that its difficult to tell if this is due to sexism or not. It's hard to elaborate on such a short story without spoiling anything, but I very much enjoyed it and I feel that it will stick me for a very long time.
megbrod's review
4.0
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale is really good. It's creepy, in the perfect Twilight Zone way that I can't really explain. It's short, so you don't get a whole lot, but the ending was SO GREAT! I did not see it coming at all. I think that's the strength of short stories: there's not enough time to give away the twist, and all the good ones have a twist, one that changes the context/meaning of what you'd just read. Dick nailed it in this one.
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