Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

I kept waiting for this book to have a point. Maybe it did. I didn't get it. I have no idea why this book is so highly rated.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a strange book indeed, but in a good way. The humor and strangeness of it were addictive. I always find it quite interesting that sci-fi books written somewhat in the middle of the XX century have some kind of greater meaning that allows it to fit almost perfectly in present days.

The writing style was very interesting and direct. The characters are unusual, but it is easy to feel empathy towards them (reader's private joke).

Well, I can't really give a greater review or say anything that hasn't already been said about this book.

I've become a fan of Philip K. Dick. Minority Report, Man in the High Castle, here I come.

espectacular

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Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a story about bounty hunter Rick Deckard as he works to eliminate several illegal androids who have escaped to Earth. Throughout the story one of Deckard's main motivations is gaining the bounty so he can afford to buy a real animal, which are rare and expensive status symbols after the radioactive fallout has destroyed or mutated much of the life remaining on Earth. Throughout the story there Deckard questions the distinction between androids and humans, with much of the emphasis placed on empathy as a singularly human emotion.

This novel served as the inspiration for the 80s classic Blade Runner. While the premise and many of the characters are similar, there are quite a few distinctions between the film and the novel. The movie is a bit more action packed, and sets Deckard up as more of a traditional hero. In the novel, his morals are a bit more ambiguous. The novel also explores more themes, such as faith, hope, and depression, in greater depth. The film provides more closure at its conclusion, whereas the novel leaves things more open for the reader's interpretation. Although similar, I think the differences make each version well adapted to its format - the film left out details that would have been confusing to the viewer and slowed down the story, whereas they provide cultural context and interest in the book.

Overall I liked this book quite a bit. I very much enjoyed the character of Isidore - a “chickenhead” who is too affected by the radiation to leave Earth. Supposedly mentally damaged, he often provides the most clear and reasonable perspective of anyone in the story. Although some of the details were a bit odd to read at times (especially some of the details of Mercerism - Earth's new dominant religion), overall the details gave a very reasonable picture of what a possible post-apocalyptic Earth could be like. The idea of Empathy Boxes is quite fascinating, and something that I could easily picture happening in the very near future, even without nuclear fallout. Social media for emotions... really isn't that far fetched. The story was interesting and fast-paced, and contained some cool ideas about how futuristic societies will share human experiences. The ending was perhaps a bit less straightforward than I had hoped it would be, and it certainly isn't a very uplifting book, but the writing is quite good and the ideas are interesting to consider. Although it would probably be appreciated more by a fan of the science fiction genre, it isn't overly complex, technical, or lengthy. An interesting and enjoyable read, and one that I would recommend to almost anyone looking for something interesting in the sci-fi genre.

Okay, confession time. I've actually never read any Philip K. Dick before this... I know. Bad nerd. They've always been on my list, but the book club seems to the be only thing that gets me to bump the classics up to the top. Another confession, I've never watched Blade Runner start to finish (I always walked in when my dad was in the middle, so I feel like I've seen it a dozen times, but never in the correct order). I'm glad about this, because it let me appreciate the book without trying to predict the movie.

So onto the book: Naturally, I enjoyed it. I've never heard anything but good things about it, and it was everything I expected while still managing to surprise. The whole idea of empathy as the idea that makes us human while the story tugs at our own empathy throughout the story is incredibly well-constructed. I love the idea that animals are the way we demonstrate humanity, and that the most disturbing scene in the entire book operated on my empathy for a spider. Brilliant.

The android vs. human theme has obviously drawn a great deal from this book since the time of its publishing, and that alone makes it worth a read. The way our empathy shifts between them, Decker's preference of knowing the artificiality of his toad at the end of the day, but that not stopping his wife from declaring his attachment to it, it resonates through the science fiction of the seventies and onward. While the book wasn't an emotional revelation for me, I still feel I am a better person for having read it, and I hope many other people who have put off reading the classics as newer and shinier books arrive (I still need Ancillary Sword and I need it badly!) will take the time to explore where these new and shinier books came from.

Also, it's only 123 pages. I wish more modern authors could capture that amount of depth in that few words. Just brilliant. It's becoming a lost art.

Había visto Blade Runner (la película) anteriormente, y decidí que era hora de leer el libro en que se había inspirado. Sin dudas son historias un tanto diferentes, pero muy complementarias. Aporta detalles invaluables respecto a Rick Deckard y la forma en que se relaciona con el mundo. Los animales juegan un rol importantísimo en el desarrollo de la historia, algo que a priori en la película carece de importancia. Posteriormente a leer el libro, volví a ver la película iluminado por los nuevos conceptos, y concluyo que hacer un sandwich de película + libro + película es una experiencia de lo mas gratificante.

6:45'in çevirisi imla ve yazım hatalarıyla dolu. Kaptırmış okurken böyle hataların tökezletmesi nahoş.

I really enjoyed reading this book although I think the whole concept and world building was better than the writing/execution. I don't really understand the philosophical underpinnings meant by the author either, but I was completely immersed in the world that it hardly mattered while I was reading it. I deem it a mark of a good writer when I'm able to empathize with characters without fully understanding the motivations for their actions (I don't get their fascination with animals, but I still root for them anyhow)

I did not really expect to like this book because of the mixed reviews I read so I was happily surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. I'll definitely be checking out more of this author's works in the future.

Classic sci-fi is not a great genre for me. Always need to preface my reviews with that :)

I think I must have listened to an abridged audiobook of this because it didn't really take very long. This might explain why it felt rushed or undeveloped. Rick seemed to develop feelings for Rachel Rosen during only his second meeting with her; this annoyed me. I don't like it when people develop relationships ridiculously quickly particularly when it's not plot-driven (ie quickly developing trust when you're forced to depend on one another).

I liked the premise; I would have liked more of the history of the world and why the androids need to be retired (I'm assuming it's because they are property).

These are the themes which popped into my brain when reading the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. I'm not going to summarise the plot in this review so some of the references and characters I mention below won't make a great deal of sense unless you're familiar with the story and the main characters (note: don't think you can watch Bladerunner instead of reading the book as the story isn't exactly like the movie).

In general the story concerns two contrasting character types: androids and humans both of whom want to live and would kill to do so. At its most fundamental level the book asks what is life and what is reality, without giving any clear answers. The themes I identified are as follows:

Hopes and Dreams
As the title of the book suggests, do androids dream and if they do then what do they dream about? Dreams are not only the sort which occur when you fall asleep but also encompass the big dreams that we as humans have concerning our lives. If they do “dream” then what, apart from their physical forms, separates them from humanity? Indeed, Roy Baty (Rick's literary double) appears to have just as many dreams as Rick; he wants an improved life and he wants to have some spiritual fulfilment too. But Rick executes him and is then conflicted over what value should be placed on life: Rick kills to make a living whereas Baty kills to try to stay alive, which is more moral?

As the narrative progresses Rick Deckard discovers that his initial feelings and perceptions about androids become challenged and blurred. Are they actually alive? Can empathy exist in all “living” things as they try to realise their dreams and survive. The use of a false religion, Mercerism (see below) is used to bind these questions together and explore whether individualism is worse than a sense of collective humanity (again see below).

Empathy

...ultimately, the empathic gift blurred the boundaries between hunter and victim, between the successful and the defeated.

Religion

Decay

The Collective

Humanity

Very weird, but in a good way. It's nothing like Blade Runner and that's OK. It's one of those books I'm glad I've read, but probably won't re-read.

I really liked this book at the beginning. It got a great setting and a scary future vision. It also got a great writing style that pulls you right in. But somwhere around the middle it got pretty dull for me.

A very short story, nonetheless bringing up some interesting concepts and issues. The device where people can connect to alter they're mood and share experiences with everybody that is connected to it. The android hunters and the morality of “retiring” machines that might be able to have human emotions.

A bit weird at some points, somewhat poetic in concept, such as the Mercer entity.

It started off a bit wordy and I was afraid it would be very descriptive and not much on story, but by the 2nd or 3rd chapter I was pretty hooked.

The image that comes to mind upon completion is that of a flat-lined EKG. Not because of the death connotation, but because this book just maintained from start to finish: no real high points and no real low points.

From simply a language standpoint, I was constantly jarred by the transitions from one scene to another. Large segments of time would pass from paragraph to paragraph without a section or chapter break to alert the reader as to what was happening. Scenes would shift without the reader knowing that a character had gone to an empathy box and had gotten back in a car. Certain facts would be built towards for pages, only to be revealed with as non-chalant a sentence as Dick could write.

From a theme perspective, there were several. To empathize is human. Humans can love anything - animate or inanimate. Loneliness is scary. The list could go on and on. There were other themes that Dick touched on that I felt were unnecessary. Including the “sex with androids” theme was predictable. The death of the goat was too obvious an image for Rick losing a part of himself. The whole thing about Rick fusing permanently with Mercer was too close to a Christ complex for me to find it believable.

Perhaps I'm being a little hard on this book because I expected it to be something it was not. For one that you hear being a sci-fi classic - one that was converted into a popular and timeless sci-fi movie classic - you would expect it to be a little more profound. But it's just a book: one that was written with adequate skill.

The view of Earth in a post-nuclear war state was, for me, the highlight of the text. Describing the dust as penetrating, heavy, etc. was as cutting a metaphor as Dick produced. Think of how we all feel toward the end of winter, when everything is wet and muddy, when trees and grass all still look dead, when the air can't decide whether to be warm or cold. We all, at one point or another, have felt that depression. Fortunately, we know it will change. With a radioactive dust on everything, the scene could never change. I could easily see how everything - buildings even - would appear to decay under the weight of the dust.

As I write this, 20 minutes after finishing the book, I can't decide whether to recommend it or not. As with many other reviews, I can only conclude with a word of caution - it's just a book...an entertaining read, but certainly not a classic.

Remarkably dense content, introducing a host of fiction technologies. However, the prose itself it dry and factual. Overall worth reading.

I surprised myself by picking up this book this weekend. Not my usual fare.

But I loved it. I did. I wouldn't even just say it was okay. I thought it was excellent. A strong story with good characters and an intriguing plot.

Don't read it because you loved Blade Runner, however. I'm not really sure what the movie Blade Runner and the book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep, have in common. Two completely different stories, except for the job of seeking to put down androids.

Rick Deckard is ein Bountyhunter auf der mit giftigen Staub ueberzogenen Erde, auf der Jagd nach Androiden die ihren Besitzern entflohen sind und auf die Erde kommen, in der Hoffnung ein eigenes Leben zu finden. Deckard's besitzt ein elektrisches Schaf, sein Traum ist es jedoch ein echtes Tier zu besitzen. Die Menschen finden Trost mit den Gefuehls-orgeln, die ihre Empfindungen programmieren, und mit der Mitgefuehl-Box des Mercer-Kults, die alle Menschen zugleich eins sein lässt. Auf der Jagd nach den neuen Nexus-6 Androiden, trifft er Rachael Rosen, eine Androidin, die ihre Reize gegenueber Bountyhuntern einsätzt um Mitgefuehl zu bewirken. Deckard, der schon seit längeren die Aufgaben seines Jobs hinterfragt, lässt sich mit ihr ein, nachdem er aber ihre absicht herausfindet, geht er auf einen letzten Androiden-hunt und killt die letzten entflohenen Modelle.