Book Review
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
Dick was a prolific sci-fi writer; his books were published between 1955 and 1987.
This one is an insight into the genre during this period. It has an interesting and inaccurate view of the future. It is about androids who have escaped the planet where they were made,and where they had a place, a function, and a usefulness, and make their way to planet earth, where they try to escape detection by the bounty hunters who seek to find and destroy them, and begin life as humans. They are excellent androids, and look just like humans. but have to invent a plausible background and history, develop appropriate mannerisms, speech patterns and habits. Some go it alone, some live in groups, relying on each other for support and help.
Many of the sci fi writers of the past have envisioned the future as a bleak place, with cities which have decayed, societies which have destroyed themselves, people who are sad, displaced, malfunctioning, living a nightmare, barren in mind, in place, and in outlook. I wonder what they would say if they had lived long enough to see what 2018 really looks like, and how it contrasts with their view of how it might be.
In reading this book I was reminded of the American black Harlem Writers of the early 20th century. At that time, post-slavery, but not post-prejudice, there were many black people who had so little black ancestry they appeared to be white. The black writers go into detail of physical attributes which indicate black ancestry. Some of the stories are about individuals who left their home, family and town, and began a new life as a white person, often in the north of America in a white environment. The theme of those novels is similar to this one, in that in both the characters are attempting to 'pass off' themselves in a society which seeks to exclude them. In both, the punishment for being discovered is extreme. The Harlem writers are well worth a read.
Since science fiction writers often used their medium to address the wrongs of society, highlight injustices, suggest how problems left unaddressed can develop, I wonder if Dick was aware of the Harlem writers, and using his medium to show injustice.
Dick was a prolific sci-fi writer; his books were published between 1955 and 1987.
This one is an insight into the genre during this period. It has an interesting and inaccurate view of the future. It is about androids who have escaped the planet where they were made,and where they had a place, a function, and a usefulness, and make their way to planet earth, where they try to escape detection by the bounty hunters who seek to find and destroy them, and begin life as humans. They are excellent androids, and look just like humans. but have to invent a plausible background and history, develop appropriate mannerisms, speech patterns and habits. Some go it alone, some live in groups, relying on each other for support and help.
Many of the sci fi writers of the past have envisioned the future as a bleak place, with cities which have decayed, societies which have destroyed themselves, people who are sad, displaced, malfunctioning, living a nightmare, barren in mind, in place, and in outlook. I wonder what they would say if they had lived long enough to see what 2018 really looks like, and how it contrasts with their view of how it might be.
In reading this book I was reminded of the American black Harlem Writers of the early 20th century. At that time, post-slavery, but not post-prejudice, there were many black people who had so little black ancestry they appeared to be white. The black writers go into detail of physical attributes which indicate black ancestry. Some of the stories are about individuals who left their home, family and town, and began a new life as a white person, often in the north of America in a white environment. The theme of those novels is similar to this one, in that in both the characters are attempting to 'pass off' themselves in a society which seeks to exclude them. In both, the punishment for being discovered is extreme. The Harlem writers are well worth a read.
Since science fiction writers often used their medium to address the wrongs of society, highlight injustices, suggest how problems left unaddressed can develop, I wonder if Dick was aware of the Harlem writers, and using his medium to show injustice.
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