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The Preserving Machine
THE WEIRD & WONDERFUL WORLDS OF PHILIP K. DICK
Robot psychiatrists activated by $20 coins
A war veteran who keeps changing into a blob of organic jelly
Business advice from the souls of the departed
A machine that turns musical scores into small, furry animals
A dog story that recalls Kafka's 'Investigations of a Dog'
These are some of the treasures of imagination in this collection of Philip K. Dick's short fiction. They display all the uncanny inventiveness & sad, quirky humanism of his wonderful novels as well as being a testing ground for many of their later themes.
Comprising:
The Preserving Machine (1953);
War Game (1959);
Upon the Dull Earth (1954);
Roog (1952);
War Veteran (1955);
Top Stand-By Job (1963);
Beyond Lies the Wub (1952);
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (1966);
Captive Market (1955);
If There Were No Benny Cemoli (1953);
Retreat Syndrome (1964);
The Crawlers (1954);
Oh, to Be a Blobel! (1964);
What the Dead Men Say (1964);
Pay for the Printer (1956).
Robot psychiatrists activated by $20 coins
A war veteran who keeps changing into a blob of organic jelly
Business advice from the souls of the departed
A machine that turns musical scores into small, furry animals
A dog story that recalls Kafka's 'Investigations of a Dog'
These are some of the treasures of imagination in this collection of Philip K. Dick's short fiction. They display all the uncanny inventiveness & sad, quirky humanism of his wonderful novels as well as being a testing ground for many of their later themes.
Comprising:
The Preserving Machine (1953);
War Game (1959);
Upon the Dull Earth (1954);
Roog (1952);
War Veteran (1955);
Top Stand-By Job (1963);
Beyond Lies the Wub (1952);
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (1966);
Captive Market (1955);
If There Were No Benny Cemoli (1953);
Retreat Syndrome (1964);
The Crawlers (1954);
Oh, to Be a Blobel! (1964);
What the Dead Men Say (1964);
Pay for the Printer (1956).
413 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
18 people are currently reading
983 people want to read
About the author
Philip K. Dick
2,006 books22.5k followersPhilip Kindred Dick was a prolific American science fiction author whose work has had a lasting impact on literature, cinema, and popular culture. Known for his imaginative narratives and profound philosophical themes, Dick explored the nature of reality, the boundaries of human identity, and the impact of technology and authoritarianism on society. His stories often blurred the line between the real and the artificial, challenging readers to question their perceptions and beliefs.
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick’s most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick’s legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His work continues to challenge and inspire, offering timeless insights into the human condition a
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick’s most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick’s legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His work continues to challenge and inspire, offering timeless insights into the human condition a
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
September 4, 2019
First published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1953), this short tale is an early Dick masterpiece, and the simple—almost childlike—idea at its core is profoundly disturbing, unsettling in a way that looks forward to much of the writers even more disturbing works to come.
Doctor Labyrinth—also the hero of “The Short, Happy Life of the Brown Oxford”--loves music, but he fears its individual masterpieces may be too frail to survive in the changing world to come, and so he devises a “preserving machine” which will transform the scores of classical masterpieces into living creatures, thus giving the music a chance to preserve itself. But “Doc Maze” doesn’t take account of the nature of evolution: the law of the jungle, and the mutations that may come.
I love this story, the way it begins in boisterous creativity (it is charming to see the works of Bach, Mozart, Wagner and others and the different kinds of creatures the “preserving machine” turns them into) and ends with a subtle hint of the apocalypse. It as if one of the playful tales from Calvino’s “Cosmi-Comics” shifted tone (a shift carefully prepared for) and turned into something resembling McCarthy’s The Road.
Even more haunting, however, is the way this story has changed my way of looking at my favorite classics, musical and literary. Are they are Apollonian, as constant as a statue? Or are they Dionysian, as unpredictable as an orgy, with a hint of violence and madness lurking under the surface?
September 16, 2014
It seems that this is my first experience of PKD outside of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which came as quite a surprise to me, having proclaimed the genius of the man to many of my customers over the past year.
I chose this one due to the inclusion of the short story that the Arnie movie Total Recall was based on as opposed to The Variable Man and Other Stories which included Minority Report.
It didn't start too well, the title story just didn't appeal to me in any way. I've read reviews that talk about how typically strange and wonderful it is and perhaps as an example of the drug fuelled science fiction of the period it might be great. For me not so much.
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale was quite the departure from the movie, which was no real surprise and the direction Dick took it in was massively entertaining. No guns, no explosions, no political espionage, just a really great idea.
There were a few real stand out stories from the remaining 12, War Game and War Veteran both use war in the title but are different types of story looking at different aspects of human weakness. Captive Market and Benny Cemoli were both enjoyable from a writing perspective, Captive Market an interesting time travel story whilst Benny Cemoli plays with readers expectations and has a real kick in it's tail. These two stories would've made for great novels too I think.
They weren't all great though, a few left me feeling a bit meh about them but on average this thoroughly deserves it's 4 star rating.
I chose this one due to the inclusion of the short story that the Arnie movie Total Recall was based on as opposed to The Variable Man and Other Stories which included Minority Report.
It didn't start too well, the title story just didn't appeal to me in any way. I've read reviews that talk about how typically strange and wonderful it is and perhaps as an example of the drug fuelled science fiction of the period it might be great. For me not so much.
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale was quite the departure from the movie, which was no real surprise and the direction Dick took it in was massively entertaining. No guns, no explosions, no political espionage, just a really great idea.
There were a few real stand out stories from the remaining 12, War Game and War Veteran both use war in the title but are different types of story looking at different aspects of human weakness. Captive Market and Benny Cemoli were both enjoyable from a writing perspective, Captive Market an interesting time travel story whilst Benny Cemoli plays with readers expectations and has a real kick in it's tail. These two stories would've made for great novels too I think.
They weren't all great though, a few left me feeling a bit meh about them but on average this thoroughly deserves it's 4 star rating.
December 24, 2015
-Un buen vistazo panorámico y general de lo que puede ofrecer el autor.-
Género. Relatos.
Lo que nos cuenta. Recopilación de algunos trabajos cortos del autor escritos entre 1953 y 1966, que en la edición española se dividió en dos volúmenes de forma que, este que nos ocupa, contiene ocho de los quince que contenía la edición original, y que nos muestran la actitud de un perro ante seres sospechosos, el intento de Ganímedes para influir en la Tierra y ganar ventaja en su enfrentamiento, una máquina que convierte la música en insectos y el descubrimiento de un veterano de guerra de un conflicto que todavía no ha tenido lugar.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....
Género. Relatos.
Lo que nos cuenta. Recopilación de algunos trabajos cortos del autor escritos entre 1953 y 1966, que en la edición española se dividió en dos volúmenes de forma que, este que nos ocupa, contiene ocho de los quince que contenía la edición original, y que nos muestran la actitud de un perro ante seres sospechosos, el intento de Ganímedes para influir en la Tierra y ganar ventaja en su enfrentamiento, una máquina que convierte la música en insectos y el descubrimiento de un veterano de guerra de un conflicto que todavía no ha tenido lugar.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....
December 5, 2008
The eponymous story that begins this collection is an absolute gem: a totally whack concept worthy of PKD. Music is turned into animals-- pretty appropriate kinds of animals derived from, e.g., Bach and Wagner-- who then evolve in a garden and get turned back into very different music. I love this weird and touching tale. Dick was a purveyor of classical recordings for some years and when he utilizes his thorough knowledge of the subject in his writing, it's usually to good and unusual effect. Oh yeah... the rest of the stories are pretty derned good too.
July 6, 2017
Life in the Woods
The Preserving Machine, which was published in 1953 in the “Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction”, is a very quirky little tale indeed. It deals with Doctor Labyrinth, who ”like most people who read a great deal and who have too much time on their hands” is worried about the future of European civilization, foreseeing that there will be some sort of Armageddon at the end of its path. That is why he wants to preserve its cultural treasures, above all classical music, which he loves the most. In order to do so, he commissions the construction of a machine with the help of which musical scores can be turned into – a rather unusual method of archiving – animals that would have it in them to fend for themselves, and he soon turns out various animals: the Mozart bird (of course), a very dignified Beethoven beetle, a playful Schubert lamb and an ugly Wagner animal, to name but a few. Doctor Labyrinth lets these animals run free in a nearby forest, but to his dismay he finds them to undergo certain changes when they adapt to life in the wild. For instance, they start growing claws, stings and other weapons, and they start preying on each other. When the Doctor re-introduces one of the Bach beetles into the machine and plays the score it turns out, the previously harmonious music ”was distorted, diabolical, without any sense or meaning, except, perhaps, an alien, disconcerting meaning that should never have been there.”
The Doctor and his friend have learned a very painful and unsettling lesson:
May it be true that not only high culture but also what we consider the basic rules of civilization rest on a minimum of prosperity and public peace and that where this minimum is endangered or lost, also the human achievements that show the best in us will deform and disappear? If so, our society would be well-advised not to endanger the roots of its civilization.
The Preserving Machine, which was published in 1953 in the “Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction”, is a very quirky little tale indeed. It deals with Doctor Labyrinth, who ”like most people who read a great deal and who have too much time on their hands” is worried about the future of European civilization, foreseeing that there will be some sort of Armageddon at the end of its path. That is why he wants to preserve its cultural treasures, above all classical music, which he loves the most. In order to do so, he commissions the construction of a machine with the help of which musical scores can be turned into – a rather unusual method of archiving – animals that would have it in them to fend for themselves, and he soon turns out various animals: the Mozart bird (of course), a very dignified Beethoven beetle, a playful Schubert lamb and an ugly Wagner animal, to name but a few. Doctor Labyrinth lets these animals run free in a nearby forest, but to his dismay he finds them to undergo certain changes when they adapt to life in the wild. For instance, they start growing claws, stings and other weapons, and they start preying on each other. When the Doctor re-introduces one of the Bach beetles into the machine and plays the score it turns out, the previously harmonious music ”was distorted, diabolical, without any sense or meaning, except, perhaps, an alien, disconcerting meaning that should never have been there.”
The Doctor and his friend have learned a very painful and unsettling lesson:
”As we made our way down the path to my car I said, ‘I guess the struggle for survival is a force bigger than any human ethos. It makes our precious morals and manners look a little thin.’
Labyrinth agreed. ‘Perhaps nothing can be done, then, to save those manners and morals.’”
May it be true that not only high culture but also what we consider the basic rules of civilization rest on a minimum of prosperity and public peace and that where this minimum is endangered or lost, also the human achievements that show the best in us will deform and disappear? If so, our society would be well-advised not to endanger the roots of its civilization.
November 4, 2014
The Preserving Machine is a pretty good collection of short stories by Philip K Dick from the early 1950s through the mid-1960s. Some of his best work is here. I had already read several of these in other collections, but there were many new ones and I definitely enjoyed this book. Among the stories that stood out for me were "War Veteran," about an old man who is a war veteran from a future war yet to be fought by Earth -- and lost. The authorities move quickly to try and change the future and it's really interesting to see how things work out. Another is the famous "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," which of course was the basis for the movie Total Recall. For the life of me, I don't see where they got that movie from this story, but it's a good story about a man who yearns to go to Mars and his only way is through a VR-type experience where he goes as a secret agent. However, while the men performing this service for him are engaged, they discovered he actually has done this and just doesn't remember. It turns into a real mind f*ck. Great story. Yet another story I enjoyed was "Oh To Be a Blobel!". A war has been fought between humans and blobels, great amoeba-like beings, and on both sides, spies were used who had to undergo changing into the form of the other. When we read this story, our hero changes from being human to being a blobel throughout the day and is miserable. A coin operated psychiatrist introduces him to a female blobel who changes to human at certain times of day, thinking they would have something in common. And they get married and have kids. Hybrids. Then divorced. Then the unthinkable. At the end of the story, Vivian resorts to blobelian world class science to be converted into a 100% human so she can get back together with George -- who has converted into a blobel, so he can start a business on their planet. Wacky and sad. I do have a complaint, however. PKD wasn't always kind to his female characters, probably cause he had constant problems with his five wives and women in general. In "Retreat Syndrome," John states, "So you doomed our cause, out of petty, domestic spite. Out of mere female bitterness, because you were angry at your husband; you doomed an entire moon to three years of losing, hateful war." Later, in "What the Dead Men Say," Johnny thinks "He did not like the idea of working for a woman...." So, PKD misogyny is present in full force. Take it or leave it -- it's up to you. Even with the flaws, this is still a good book with some really good stories, so I definitely recommend it, not only to Dick fans, but to anyone who wants to become acquainted with his writing.
January 3, 2021
Often I approach story collections differently. Sometimes I'll read them straight through; others I'll read a few stories here, a few there, in between reading other things. That's what I did here and that's why it sat on my currently reading list so long, reading it between novel of the Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy (Three-Body Problem, etc.). Like most story collections, it's a bit uneven. I should really give it 3 & 1/2 stars out of 5. But there are some great Dick chestnuts in here. In addition to the famous "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," which was the basis for the movie Total Recall (which is nothing like the story except for the basic concept), other stories I enjoyed a lot include "War Veteran," about an old man who is a war veteran from a future war yet to be fought by Earth, and the very funny "Roog" and "Beyond Lies the Wub." One sour note, if you don't know this already, Dick was rather misogynistic and it shows in a couple of these stories. If you can bring yourself to look past that, there is much to enjoy here.
April 8, 2018
Again....PKD takes a million dollar idea and shoots it out in 20 pages. An entire TV series could be based of a scientist preserving musical art through biological animals. Genius-level story.
July 11, 2010
I didn't realize this was yet another collection of PDK's short stories when I checked it out, and I think I'd previously read every story here except for "Retreat Syndrome". On a positive note, they're all pretty good stories, and this collection features some of PDK's most humorous and whimsical work. On a negative note, the author's misogyny is in full swing during "Retreat Syndrome", which features lines like, "She did it for petty, spiteful motives, for hated of me; nothing to do with the actual issues involved. Like all women she was motivated by personal vanity and wounded pride". When the main character confronts his ex-wife and she offers him coffee, she serves it with the narrative, "Cream for me, cream and sugar for you. You're more infantile". At another point in the story, the man's ex-wife's "breasts pulsed with resentment". Is that even possible, for breasts to exhibit emotions? I guess it might be when that's the only body part you ever look at. I have to quote one last bit from "Retreat Syndrome', where a woman is held responsible for causing a war because she can't control her female emotions: "Carol, so you doomed our cause, out of petty, domestic spite. Out of mere female bitterness, because you were angry at your husband; you doomed an entire moon to three years of losing, hateful war". Yes, one single female on an entire planet causes a war because she can't control her inate "female bitterness". That's believable, PDK. I sure wish you were still alive for a number of reasons, not least of which is that I'm sure you still had great stories in your, but I also sure wish you'd lived in time when someone had finally called you on your hateful attitudes towards women. Perhaps if you'd figured out a way to change them, you wouldn't have needed be be married 5 times.
December 31, 2008
This is a collection of early to mid period Philip K Dick, and it really is from one of the golden ages of Science-Fiction, from the kitsch fifties until the late sixties - when sci-fi writers like Dick were doing drugs and really taking SF to weird and unsettling places. Dick progresses from straight 'what if' of 50s pulp into really odd and paranoid SF. In that sense, it's akin to the Beatles 'Revolver', where the conventional and routine begins to be stretched into new and more psychological areas. In the stories in this volume from the 60s, he's really thinking about how futuristic technology like clones and reading people's thoughts and listening to brainwaves of dead people might affect people - it's not just straight science fiction, but SF with a psychological component, which makes it that much better. This is an overlooked volume and would be a good introduction to the author for new folks, and would also be good for everyone who's perhaps a bit eager for some extra Dick in their lives.
August 13, 2018
Philip K. Dick was a fascinating and creative writer, but let's face it, stylistically he is mediocre at best. This story collection is not his most shining moment. It includes a few well-known stories (e.g. the well-known but actually rather absurd "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale"), along with several others I don't recall encountering before. Dick's characteristic concerns, notably a deep suspicion of the existence of objective reality, are consistently in evidence here, but not generally in the most compelling of his explorations of them. The stories range from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s, and the older ones, especially, suffer from various degrees of datedness. Probably essential only for Dick enthusiasts; most of the good stories here are available in other collections, as well.
April 30, 2022
A stunning collection that could serve as a fine introduction for anyone new to PKD. True, much of the stuff is pretty bleak but the sheer logic and coherence of the ideas puts him up there with Borghes and with the Kafka of 'Metamorphosis'. Absolutely essential.
February 1, 2019
This book was my first experience reading PKD, and overall I found his stories delightfully odd and even goofy at times. Definitely some mild mysogyny--he describes many of the female characters in terms of their breasts, and they tend to be more one-dimensional (either vapid or vindictive) when compared to the male characters. But, as a white male writer of the 50s/60s, I suppose that's to be expected.
My favorite stories were:
The other stories were all interesting/disturbing to various degrees.
I plan to try one of his novels in the future to get a fuller taste of his work and ability to weave strange narratives.
My favorite stories were:
The other stories were all interesting/disturbing to various degrees.
I plan to try one of his novels in the future to get a fuller taste of his work and ability to weave strange narratives.
June 13, 2021
This was my introduction to PKD's work. A few years ago, when I first got back into reading, I checked out a copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep from the library but I never finished it. I found this collection of short stories at a used bookstore for $1. In continuing with my trend of reading short story collections this year I thought I'd add this one to the list.
The Preserving Machine is a collection of short stories, published in 1969, focusing on PKD's earlier work from the 50's and 60's. Most of these stories were published in Sci Fi magazines back in the day, which was an interesting context to keep in mind while reading.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed these stories, I'm much more a fan of 70's Sci Fi but it really goes to show how great a writer and futurist PKD was. Many of these stories still hold up in a modern context and I can only imagine how mind blowing it would have been to read them in the 50's/60's. It's amazing just how much PKD has influenced our modern outlook on Sci Fi film and storytelling.
While I enjoyed this collection a lot I think it suffers from the same issue that most short story collections suffer from. While there are a lot of great stories, not all of them bring that same mind blowing energy. There were definitely a few stories that were lacking but overall I really enjoyed them.
I also think it is hard to write Sci Fi short stories. So much of Sci Fi is world building and with a limited word count this doesn't always happen to the greatest extent. Many stories share similar elements, even though they clearly don't take place in the same universe. It gets a bit repetitive and can make the stories blur together.
Overall, I'm excited to read more PKD; especially his 70's work. I already have copies of Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said and Radio Free Albemuth and I will be getting to the other big ones soon.
The Preserving Machine is a collection of short stories, published in 1969, focusing on PKD's earlier work from the 50's and 60's. Most of these stories were published in Sci Fi magazines back in the day, which was an interesting context to keep in mind while reading.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed these stories, I'm much more a fan of 70's Sci Fi but it really goes to show how great a writer and futurist PKD was. Many of these stories still hold up in a modern context and I can only imagine how mind blowing it would have been to read them in the 50's/60's. It's amazing just how much PKD has influenced our modern outlook on Sci Fi film and storytelling.
While I enjoyed this collection a lot I think it suffers from the same issue that most short story collections suffer from. While there are a lot of great stories, not all of them bring that same mind blowing energy. There were definitely a few stories that were lacking but overall I really enjoyed them.
I also think it is hard to write Sci Fi short stories. So much of Sci Fi is world building and with a limited word count this doesn't always happen to the greatest extent. Many stories share similar elements, even though they clearly don't take place in the same universe. It gets a bit repetitive and can make the stories blur together.
Overall, I'm excited to read more PKD; especially his 70's work. I already have copies of Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said and Radio Free Albemuth and I will be getting to the other big ones soon.
April 11, 2025
Really enjoyed this collection of eary-mid period Dick stories. Stories themselves ranged from pretty trivial sketches and thought experiments to some real heavyweight novellas. The title story is very cool. Values or art preserved through a dark age by converting them to self-preserving beings. It's a kind of metaphor somewhere brilliantly between bonehead dumb and complexly genius, which is probably where Dick's finest moments come. Not just for invoking classical music, reminded me of the kind of thought experiment Douglas Hoffstadter might have cooked up in one of GEB's cheeky philosophical dialogues. "Roog" was the best of these thought experiments, exploring a dog's POV of garbage men and the family he 'protects' from them. "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" was a really great read and famously the basis for Verhoeven's own masterpiece film Total Recall. (Really enjoyed finally reading it! Why I picked this book up.) "What The Dead Men Say" is like a first draft of Ubik but you can also see it as a precursor to Dr. Bloodmoney, Gibson's Neuromancer, and Don DeLillo's Zero K. (Also the forgotten Scarjo movie Lucy) And "Retreat Syndrome" was really the surprise hit, an early dose of late Phil K Dick, really felt like one of his later 70s novels, a truly strange intersection of drug assisted madness induced hallucination, underground political intrigue, and end of the 50s psychiatric and social engineering paranoia. Loved it. Also the eerie echoes of William S Burroughs and Joan Vollmann's story here/Cronenberg's dramatization of it. Overall a great collection, and basically my first time really engaging Dick's short works after more than a decade of devouring and admiring his novels.
December 29, 2025
This book is a great anthology by Philip K. Dick including fifteen short stories written between 1952 and 1966. Some of the stories are awesome, others are just plain good. One in particular was of special interest to me: "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (1966)", as it is the story that became "Total Recall" movie. Several other books/stories by Philip K. Dick have become major movies, including "Blade Runner" (not included here).
It is amazing to get a clear view of the fears and thoughts of the epoch. In those decades, the fear of a nuclear war between the USA and the Soviet Union was real. A couple stories here deal with this topic from different perspectives. To me this book is a keeper.
It is amazing to get a clear view of the fears and thoughts of the epoch. In those decades, the fear of a nuclear war between the USA and the Soviet Union was real. A couple stories here deal with this topic from different perspectives. To me this book is a keeper.
December 31, 2017
Como la mayoría de los cuentos de Dick, carece de presentación y desenlace. El planteamiento filosófico resulta interesante: como evolucionarían las obras artísticas a través del tiempo si fueran seres vivos. Por desgracia como en la mayoría de los casos, Dick plantea conceptos interesantes para luego desarrollarlos de forma demasiado limitada y juvenil.
November 1, 2025
Listen, the stories are good and I enjoyed them, especially the final story (Pay the Printer I think?). No one makes you feel sorry for an amorphous mass of alien flesh like Philip K. Dick. But man, he is one of the main culprits in the "male authors writing women breasting boobily down the stairs" trope. It got a little embarrassing after a while.
April 30, 2019
Consistent quality. I was fascinated by him mentioning Nixon's miracle comeback of 1968 in a story written in 1964, and also by his use of 3D printers in another story. Granted they were aliens, but still.
December 23, 2023
La máquina preservadora
La invención de los cd's pero con muchisimas drogas, quiero de lo que se metía Dick
Dick fliparia con la evolución de la musica actual
Me agrado que aqui ya se presentan un poco más de reflexiones sociales y no solo la guerra, aunque si ka menciona en un renglón.
La invención de los cd's pero con muchisimas drogas, quiero de lo que se metía Dick
Dick fliparia con la evolución de la musica actual
Me agrado que aqui ya se presentan un poco más de reflexiones sociales y no solo la guerra, aunque si ka menciona en un renglón.
August 27, 2025
A fantastic, interesting little short story about a machine that turns music into life as a means to preserve them. It the life forms evolve and change and when turned back to music it’s gone all wonky and wrong. The Wagner Badger is particularly fun.
February 7, 2019
2/10. Media de los 14 libros que he leído de este autor : 3/10 (Y mira que me gustan las pelis que han hecho basadas en libros de este tío, conste)
August 11, 2019
Relatos cortos de ciencia ficción. Imaginativos. Está el que luego se convertiría en la clásica película de Schwarzenegger: "El vengador del futuro."
July 16, 2020
A collection of 15 Dick short stories. A Science Fiction Book Club selection.
January 3, 2021
Simple idea put into a over-the-top short story that makes you think about the little time we've spent here. Beautiful.
June 5, 2021
La idea es genial. Luego se queda en algo anecdótico. Hago referencia sólo al cuento, no la colección
December 29, 2023
Strange to me that this short-story and novella collection takes it name from one of Dick's WORST short stories.
July 21, 2024
Some great short stories in that book.
October 1, 2024
The Preserving Machine- I reckon this (written in 1953) is one of the stories PKD reflected on during his 2-3-74 epiphany experience and felt that it was a true premonition.
June 22, 2025
When you are done reading it ask yourself if you actually understood it. Because the best point is written but still it is far more philosophical than just regular story.
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