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Mr. Spaceship
A human brain-controlled spacecraft would mean mechanical perfection. This was accomplished, and something unforeseen: a strange entity called . . . Mr. Spaceship
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published January 1953)
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This is one of those stories that is written in such a way that, although it seems simple, it captures your imagination right away. Not a lot of detail or description is necessary, because you fill them in yourself as you read; a sign that the storyteller is a true master.
The setting is an undetermined point in the future. Earth has made contact with aliens on a planet orbiting the nearby Proxima Centauri. However, these aliens are not friendly, and mankind is soon at war. We find we are at a di...more
The setting is an undetermined point in the future. Earth has made contact with aliens on a planet orbiting the nearby Proxima Centauri. However, these aliens are not friendly, and mankind is soon at war. We find we are at a di...more
I've recently read a bunch of Philip K. Dick's short stories and love how, although they are all dealing with similar situations (cold war turned into hot war, terra uninhabitable due to radiation, underground factories, robot wars, humans forced to live underground; OR interstellar wars (Terra-Centauri)/other interstellar situations), they still can't be compared to each other, they still differ enough to be enjoyed one after another (without getting bored by repetition).
Sparks ideas about war...more
Sparks ideas about war...more
Classic sci-fi pulp fiction with a social commentary, hallmark of Philip K. Dick.
It is a short tale that really has aged well, simple/broad technology terms/ideas which just don't get dated very easily. This is much more in the lines of HG Wells and than say Heilein.
Takes a bit to get to the main point of the story, but you see main story twist pretty quickly but you just don't know.
Always a joy to read something like this. Just proof you don't need a huge epic 3 book story with 500 pages each.
It is a short tale that really has aged well, simple/broad technology terms/ideas which just don't get dated very easily. This is much more in the lines of HG Wells and than say Heilein.
Takes a bit to get to the main point of the story, but you see main story twist pretty quickly but you just don't know.
Always a joy to read something like this. Just proof you don't need a huge epic 3 book story with 500 pages each.
Earth is at the losing end of a war with an alien race, called Yuks, who are able traverse the universe without spaceships. To turn tides, Earth's military engineer Kramer devices a method of installing a human brain into a man made mechanical spaceship.
Professor Thomas, who is in the declining years of his life, volunteers to transplant his brain into the spaceship and to strike at the emeny. However, after brain transplant, Professor Thomas kidnaps Kramer and Kramer's ex-wife Dolores.
Instead o...more
Professor Thomas, who is in the declining years of his life, volunteers to transplant his brain into the spaceship and to strike at the emeny. However, after brain transplant, Professor Thomas kidnaps Kramer and Kramer's ex-wife Dolores.
Instead o...more
Solid and classic Dick. It is a story that captures the imagination and is ride with social commentary about the world we live in. It has some interesting points about where we went wrong, and an extreme way of fixing it through starting completely from scratch on a new world.
I found the ending to be creepy, as the spaceship takes on a interesting role, and the cowish nature of the main characters. Regardless, if you like P. Dick, this will not disappoint.
I found the ending to be creepy, as the spaceship takes on a interesting role, and the cowish nature of the main characters. Regardless, if you like P. Dick, this will not disappoint.
Putting a human brain in a spaceship that has a grand idea to restart humanity a la Adam and Eve. I was very much into this story and the thoughts it provided of having a rogue starship that could out maneuver the enemy...but the overall goal of the brain really did not quite do it for me, and as i was reading the last few paragraphs i suddenly lost interest. Perhaps if i had read it when it came out all those years ago i would have changed my mind. oh well...
One of Dick's short stories, Mr. Spaceship is a fitting account of the idea of merging man and machine, which has subsequently reoccurred in various science fiction pieces. In this case, it is an observation about the extension of the human lifespan and the god-like status accorded to one in charge of significant technology. Lots of interesting themes but the ending is a little underdeveloped
...We're in the future, there's war going on with an alien race called Yuks, to fight these alien some researchers led by a guy called Kramer develop a spaceship powered by a human brain, now the brain donor candidate happens to be Kramer's former professor. So the ship is built, lots of adventurous stuff occurs, and then it (the ship), reveals its prospects for a whole new mankind...
Altogether an interesting sci-fi read...
Altogether an interesting sci-fi read...
"Open the pod bay door, Hal."
"I can't do that Dave."
Kinda like that, but kinda not. OK, not very much at all, just one scene reminded me of 2001.
Interesting, but (probably due space limitations; ha, get it? I made a pun), a bit of a weak ending. Readable, with a modicum of the PKD wit to boot.
"I can't do that Dave."
Kinda like that, but kinda not. OK, not very much at all, just one scene reminded me of 2001.
Interesting, but (probably due space limitations; ha, get it? I made a pun), a bit of a weak ending. Readable, with a modicum of the PKD wit to boot.
This was an interesting read from Philip K. Dick - a short story about embedding a human brain into an inanimate object. In the usual Philip K. Dick way, the story was well-written. A little bit of a corny ending, but still an interesting premise.
I narrated this as an audiobook now available on audible.com. Interesting things happen when they replaced the Johnson steering system on a spaceship with a man's brain. Interestingly enough they chose an old man.
A fun story and brief read. A meeting of the minds, technology and man. The man has a mind all his own. Story is enjoyable to read and even all the way through, and there is a payoff at the end.
Feels like something written very early on for Dick - nowhere near the top of his craft, but a somewhat interesting read nonetheless.
Worth the read for as fast as one can finish it.
Worth the read for as fast as one can finish it.
Seemed it was written by a teenager. Thin plot, poor conversations. Important decisions of war are made in spur of the moment.
It was simple and enjoyable. I really liked what he did with the ending, the little "nudge nudge" he gives the reader.
It's a good story, but the ending is weak. I get the metaphorical context, but I just didn't find it satisfying.
Decent shory story. The ending feels rushed but the premise is interesting and I appreciate the anti-war philosophy.
I think what I can't get past with Phillip Dick sometimes is that the ideas that he puts out were not overused when he wrote them. From my standpoint, the premises are a little tired, but he was one of the pioneers who birthed these images and concepts into the popular consciousness.
stalemate, checkmate...
Genesis revisited, with a twist.
Genesis revisited, with a twist.
At war against an alien race, Earth needs an answer to the biological weapons they face. Enter a spaceship with a human brain. And then the unexpected happens.
The ending seemed samey, then you remember: he wrote that before Star Trek was invented.
nothing special
Good then cheesy
Nov 21, 2012
James
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sci-fi-speculative-fiction-dystopia
Mind-bending short story by PKD.
May 11, 2013
Ivonne Lumiére
marked it as to-read
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Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928 and lived most of his life in California. He briefly attended the University of California, but dropped out before completing any classes. In 1952, he began writing professionally and proceeded to write numerous novels and short-story collections. He won the Hugo Award for the best novel in 1962 for The Man in the High Castle and the John W. Campbell Memo...more
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Jan 01, 2012 07:12pm