Book Review No. 2

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Rating: 7 out of 10.

I’ve heard about Philip K. Dick’s genius for years. The man who wrote the stories that inspired Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report has always been named as one of science fiction’s greatest authors. I’ve come close to picking up one of his books a few times, but due to my ADD when it comes to fiction I repeatedly stalled - until recently, when on a whim I decided to hunker down and knock out Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

The result was a fast, entertaining read. Sheep tells the story of Rick Deckard, who hunts androids that have escaped to Earth [yes, “to” not “from”] illegally. As he begins his hunt for a group of robotic fugitives that are secretly staked out in the ruins of a nearly-destroyed San Fransisco, Deckard begins to question what it means to be human. The androids, it turns out, possess no ability to empathize, the lone characteristic which identifies them as artificial. Along the way, as Deckard “retires” the fugitives one by one, he begins to question the ethical nature of his job.

Dick does a good job of explaining his post-apocalyptic world, populating it with colorful characters and interesting speculations. What sometimes becomes muddled is the plot - we’re not sure where Deckard is going or why he is going. The end, particularly, was strange and meandering — lasting 30 pages longer than necessary in my humble opinion. However, the end result was a fascinating look at a world that may not be so different from our own, in which humans and technology freely mingle - and destroy each other.