Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

(retitled Blade Runner: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in some later printings) is a dystopian science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in 1968. The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, where Earth's life has been greatly damaged by a nuclear global war, leaving most animal species endangered or extinct. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter who is tasked with "retiring" (i.e. killing) six escaped Nexus-6 model androids, while a secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-par IQ who aids the fugitive androids.

The book served as the primary basis for the 1982 film Blade Runner and many elements and themes from it were used in the film's 2017 sequel Blade Runner 2049.

Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter for the San Francisco Police Department, is assigned to "retire" (kill) six androids of the new and highly intelligent Nexus-6 model which have recently escaped from Mars and traveled to Earth.

Anyone thinking about reading this? Have you seen the movies?

I had thought the book was the basis for the film, "Total Recall."

I think it is Blade Runner, since some of the versions of the book use that title for some reason.
It's a strange book.

I am not thinking about reading this, I am actually reading it. I went all the way to the main library for it.

Joseph, Total Recall is based on We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,

Re: It's a strange book .....

Indeed, but I think any book emanating from Dick's brain would be. His biography goes a long way in explaining why this is so.

I found out the book that was the basis for "Total Recall" was "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" by the same author, Philip K. Dick in 1967.

I’m reading this and enjoying it. It is very strange but I’m a fan of the movie so the concept isn’t new to me. I’m intrigued by his autobiography now.

It is strange, but in a good way. I am keen to find out more about Mercer.

I finished this one a few days ago and I’m still so confused, but in a good way. I love a story that keeps you thinking about it afterwards. I think I will definitely need to re-read this in the future to try and make more sense of it all.
It left a very different feeling to the film too, but it was a great read.

I read this book few months ago and it's really great. It can't be compared to the movie, it's much more profound.
"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" is the basis for "Total Recall", but it's a short story, so the movie differs a bit, but it's still great.

What did everyone think?

Cult of Mercerism stroke me as a brilliant idea. The identification of the characters with a Christ-like figure (or more like a Sysyphus), who is condemned for eternal punishment, by doing the same heavy lifting over and over, but at the same time seeking for redemption in his ongoing attempts, was really on point.
Themes like isolation, seeking for social justification and the lack of empathy in our world, which was the main characteristic to discern the androids from humans, had clearly a big impact on me as a reader.

It was a cool but weird book. But I really think I like the movie better on this one.

It was cool that the humble toad was a sacred animal. :)

Book Nerd wrote: "It was a cool but weird book. But I really think I like the movie better on this one.

It was cool that the humble toad was a sacred animal. :)"

I like the book more then the movie. It makes more sense in the philosophical context, and the story was still tense to the very end.
But I agree that it's weird, maybe that's why I like it that much. It is original. The dystrophic context was inspired pretty much by the Cold War to most of the Sci-fi writers throughout the 60's and 70's. So, I understand that some people don't like the melancholic narrative, but I love the coherence of it all: the characters and their psychology, the setting, the storytelling and the religious/philosophical symbolism.