Total Recall

by Piers Anthony

Implanted with a synthetic memory, a man begins to recall long-submerged thoughts and actions, finds that he has been living a sham, and becomes the target of the evil being who rules Mars

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Classics, Dystopia, Thriller

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right this book I guess has stirred up some heated conversations in the past- yes its taken from the film which in turn has been taken from the Philip K Dick story, which at each step has changed how the story went and altered it from the story before. I guess looking at the Anthony book compared to the PK Dick story (which in fairness was a short story we can remember it wholesale) does show its changes but - and I guess this where I stand up, I enjoyed the film.
So the book - which I should state now is from the first version of the film and not the recent one with Colin Farrell - really follows the events in the films but for me - and this is why I enjoyed the book - it explains more about what is going, about the stars going supernova and the reason why the machine is so critically important not for those directly involved but for everyone. I will not give the book away even though I think in science fiction circles the film storyline is pretty well know - simply because I hope those who go on to read it will enjoy it as much as I do.

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scribd text and audiobook.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read like it was written by a teenage boy with a boobs and exclamation mark fetish 🙄

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that the book was so close to the movie. I could almost visualize parts of the movie as I read. However, the book also went greater details so it wasn't exactly the same. The ending was slightly different from the movie and that was noticeable to me because I watched the original movie so many times. Overall, a nice pleasant read even if I already saw the movie and knew what was gonna happen.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Total Recall by Piers Anthony is the novelization of the classic sci-fi movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's a good read and it was a bit different than I was expecting. It's almost like the author was working with an earlier version of the script. Either way, I think I'm going to have to rewatch the movie because it's been way too long.

[TQM Doctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The movie was extremely close to this book.

[Michelle]

Adding another hardcopy to Goodreads. I liked it at the time, but it's been so long that I don't think I can rate it accurately.

[Quintin Zimmermann · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are always going to be low expectations for the novelisation of a movie, even when written by the prolific Piers Anthony.

The novel slavishly followed the movie plot and the characters were as thin as the script paper from whence they sprung.

[Ernie Ballard · Rating 2 out of 5]

For about 80% of the novelization, the story aligns right along with the film. Then there are a couple chapters that dig way deeper into the alien lore on Mars. Those were interesting and added to the story. My lower rating comes more so with the writing style here and how the author characterized Quaid. You definately like him less from reading this. All you get is a musculure man who wants to bed every women he encounters.

[Kyle Rickert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somehow this book makes the NES game bearable

[Emiliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Най-вероятно разказът на Филип Дик със същото заглавие е послужил за основа на романа. Писателят е доразвил сюжетната линия, от което читателят само печели.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY NAME IS NOT QUAID!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. You think this is the real Quaid? Well, it is!

Your mind is the center of your life. It is everything you hear, everything you see, everything you feel... It is everything you ARE. You wouldn't know if you lost your mind... Would you know if someone STOLE it? What if you discovered someone stole your mind... and there was only one way to get it back? How would you even know if someone literally stole your mind? Could you write or type everything? Save it to a floppy disk or a compact disk or something? Loosely based on the classic 1960s Philip K. Dick short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" and directed by Paul Verhoeven, the original 1990 Total Recall kicks ass. It's actually a very faithful adaptation of this novelette. In the year 2084 A.D., Douglas Quaid tries to find the reason behind his recurring dream about Mars. He soon learns that a false memory has been planted into his brain and the people responsible for this want him dead. Total Recall is a fast-paced rush of violence, gore, and...humor?...that never slacks. I really love how well-written it truly was--and still is--by the Alien screenplay writers from Buzz Feitshans and Ronald Shusett. Piers Anthony has a great writing talent. His mind works just like that. The concept about a construction worker dude who suddenly finds himself embroiled in espionage on Mars and unable to determine if the experiences are real or the result of memory implants is very creative and extremely interesting. Also, the idea of survival in a Mars wasteland without oxygen, resulting in you getting your body grown to explode is incredibly creepy and dark. Rekall, Inc. is an interesting place to work, where they literally sell you implanted memories. There is also a fantastic ending, whereas Carl Hauser finally managed to press the button to release tons of air, turning Mars into a nice looking safe planet and they shared a kiss.

As for the film, though, despite the heavy production costs at the time, the cinematography is amazing and bright to look at. Jerry Goldsmith, the composer of five Star Trek films, produced and performed this film's amazing soundtrack. The acting is amazing, especially from Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of my icons, who portrays Douglas Quaid / Carl Hauser. And once again, this is one of several times that Paul Verhoeven still has great directing skills. This is the ultimate Carolco Film at its very best. However, keep in mind that the scenes were Cohaagen's eyes literally burst can be a bit disturbing, and Vilos Cohaagen shoots a rat and kicks a goldfish bowl; there is even a close-up of a slowly dying goldfish begging to breath. This is animal cruelty. But still, this film is incredible and it rocks.

In conclusion, then: in this world, they can steal your mind, erase your memory, and give you another identity. But the most dangerous thing that can happen to you is... TOTAL RECALL.

[Andrew Shapter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see how much more emphasis there originally was on the reasons behind the alien technology that Quaid finds on Mars that is not apparent in the film version we all know.
Lots of repetitive insights into Quaid's inner thoughts and analyses, many of which are unnecessary, but overall this is another of the better movie novelizations of the era.

[Duncan (Backawayfromthedonkey) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Total Recall – Piers Anthony (1990)

I’m a bit of a fan of Novelisations, at their best they can add a layer to a film or Tv series that enhances both media. I believe sometimes they are discounted by people as not serious fiction. The best Authors in this field are people like Alan Dean Foster who can weave extra information and characterisation within the limitations put upon him buy the nature of a novelisation, and keep some individuality within the writing style.

As Novelisations go Total recall is a bit of an outlier, the film and original script are based on the Philip K Dick short story ‘We can Remember it for you Wholesale’. As far as I know this is the only ‘extra’ novelisation of a film based on his works. In the production of Blade Runner when PKD was still alive the studio asked him to write a screen Novelisation version of his book, unsurprisingly he refused.

Onto Total Recall, written by Piers Anthony I believe this to be the only Novelisation that he has done. The book is based on the script by Dan O’ Bannon, Ronald Shusett and Steven Pressfield, going by the book I believe it’s a slightly earlier script than was filmed. For those that don’t know the basic synopsis of Total Recall it that Douglas Quaid is a construction worker obsessed with dreams of Mars he goes to Rekall limited, a company that can implant memories of a Holiday without actually going but the procedure doesn’t exactly go to plan.

I’ve read quite a bit of Piers Anthony over the years as much as he isn’t the most flamboyant of writers, he knows how to keep a plot moving, whilst assuring there is enough characterisation. The story is a fun ride and there are several elements that differ from the film. Piers Anthony solid writing keeps the narrative on track, I will say that there is not much in the way of Piers Anthony’s normal signature style/themes and worldbuilding, which is down to the restraints of the Novelisation, and I’m guessing because he is not as experienced in writing under those constraints as other writers.

It’s an enjoyable read with a lot of Philip K Dicks elements watered down which means the musings of reality and what it is are not prominent, the film was going more for an action Science Fiction story, not Piers Anthony’s fault. If you’re a fan of the film and you can find a copy (it’s out of Print) it’s worth looking out. I would also say as a separate piece of literature if you want a fun easy to read Science Fiction story it is worth picking up.

[Nazim · Rating 3 out of 5]

tie-ins or novelizations are not my cup of tea but if the idea in a movie is decent i'll read the related book.

Quaid is a construction worker. He has a curvaceous, sex appeal wife Lori. Quaid is haulted by nightmares about the planet Mars. Every night, He sees strange appalling things and a woman. Lori shows jealousy extremely. He wants to find out more. He wants to go Mars. Besides, he never has been to Mars before. Lori for some reason is against it.

He chooses another way, while being in earth his memory may be changed as if he was in Mars. He goes to a specialized firm, dealing with such legal “mind tapping”. There during performing the procedure something goes wrong. It turned out that he WAS in Mars. That’s why actually why he kind of runs amuck. It rises more suspicion and questions about his past.

Someone wants to kill him because Quaid has got a secret in his mind the existence of which he doesn’t know. What’s more, add to it that the killer is no one else but his beloved voluptuous wife, Lori. So he is at complete lost. He can’t shake the feeling that he saw his wife with a knife trying to assassinate him.)))

All this is more than he can take. He wants to fly to Mars, immediately.
He takes the first shuttle to the red planet. In Mars, he finds a woman in his dreams, Milena and learns that a mean dictator Cohaagen rules the planet. He sells even the air to the people. There is a rebellion movement, Mars Liberation there. They are fighting against him and his agents. Cohaagen with his men is trying to kill Quaid and Milena.

Now, back to the secret Quaid possesses in his mind. The rebellion leader, a mutant by hypnosis opens it up. The truth was unbelievable. Aliens planted the huge pyramid like nuclear reactors in the depth of Mars. The purpose of these reactors is to terraform Mars by the cleavage of the chemical constituents of ice using the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms. The secret is simple. Quaid knows how to commence the terraforming.

Of course, Cohaagen can’t tolerate this. Because the breathable free air in atmosphere, which the terraforming brings, will end his business and monopoly in Mars. He’ll be bankrupt. His chief agent Richter is furious to kill Quaid because Quaid nailed the bitch Lori who was Richter’s girl.
Many times, Quaid and Milena were nearly to death.

But in the end they succeeded to liberate Mars from the paw of Cohaagen. Now the inhabitants can breathe free of charge.

[Brandor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knowing the movie was based on a Phillip K. Dick story, it still took time to figure out whether this novel came first or the movie. They carry the exact storyline, down to the gritty character descriptions in the Martian bar, The Last Resort. Having seen the movie first, reading the book almost seemed a redundant exercise in exploring Total Recall. However, Anthony, as always, adds brilliant depth to this classic sci-fi movie with his mastery of the genre. In particular, I enjoyed this book for the background on the relation between the alien artifacts, Mars, and the future (or demise) of mankind. Well worth the read.

[Portia Costa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great 'companion piece' to the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, but it also enlarged upon the plot, filling in some gaps that the non stop action sort of brushed over. Piers Anthony has enriched the film storyline and added his own touches of wry humour and stronger characterisation. It still romps along at a tearing pace, but there's more depth and even moments of poignancy here and there, amongst the mayhem.

It's a fun read, and although some people would probably be horrified, I must admit it's probably more to my taste than the original Philip K Dick short story that 'seeded' it.

[Thom Mckiernan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this sci-fi guy-lit.
I didn't realise but this was actually a film before it was a novel. I only had vague memories of the movie, like people's heads exploding and the futuristic video-window, so I was approaching this with a fresh mind.
It is, at times, ultra-violent and sex-crazed but the plot is quite gripping.
They did a good job of creating a future that seems credible. Apparently the ending in the book is different to the film so I guess I'll have to watch that sometime.
(p.s. Thanks for the loan James, I'll give it back eventually!)

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this book in October of 1989, and thinking, "Man, this would make a really good Arnold Schwarzenegger movie." Cue next March, and I am watching the Barbara Walters pre-Academy Awards special where she interviews him and notes his next movie..."Total Recall". I was totally stoked!

In retrospect, it's a fairly standard novelization of a movie script. Since the screenplay is so great and the source material is classic, that's not a bad thing. And it was a really good Arnold Schwarzenegger movie!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Description
Douglas Quail is haunted by nightmares of Mars, covert missions and a life more glamorous than his earthbound 2089 AD reality. So he turns to "Recall", manufacturers of synthetic memories. They implant a memory into him but he soon finds that his nightmares are true memories.

my review:
Very quick paced with twists and turns that kept me entertained until the end. Action packed science fiction.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually purchased years ago an original edition of Total Recall by Piers Anthony before the movie came out. After finally reading it, and it does differ from the movie a bit, I can't imagine anyone else being cast as Quaid than Arnie! The book goes into quite a bit more detail about the aliens and the alien artifact than the movie ever did. All in all still an enjoyable read, now I'll have to try and get a copy of Philip Dick's story to see how it compares.

[Ferdinand · Rating 1 out of 5]

It bothers me so much that this was such a far cry from the Philip K Dick book. Don't bother. Read the original short.

[Ande Bewley · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the rare instances where the movie may actually be better than the book.

[Thedustyzebra · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book based on a movie that was already based on a book--what a bad idea! Phillip K. Dick did not need improving upon.

[Rob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your time, read the original story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick.

[Demercel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Почти еднакво с филма, по-развита история с извънземните, създали реактора. Много ми хареса идеята с трите условия за присъединяване, но беше много тъпо това със свръхновата от едикаква си киселина.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Besides a little extra background on the aliens, this is just a descriptive version of the movie script.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting to read, considering it is the novelization of a movie based on a short story written by Philip K. Dick. The movie itself is loosely based on the short story; the movie takes a couple essential elements [implanting false memories and the "hero" have a 'secret past' that is inadvertently revealed] from the short story and is used for the movie. This novelization is not quite a word-for-word, shot-by-shot repeat of the movie, itself. Instead, it actually adds some 'depth' to the movie by describing what occurs 'off-screen', between the events in the movie. There are some changes made, as the book would have been printed before the movie was finished being edited before being released, and no novelization would be able to change fast enough with the changes in the movie to be a 'perfect match.'

I did like how the book filled in the gaps within the movie. Whereas in the movie, it moves from shot-to-shot, from one moment to the next, the book lets the reader know what was going on in between the 'shots' to explain how the heroes [or villains] made it from one point to the next. It also does a bit of a better job of explaining how Hauser knows what he knows about the alien technology than the movie does. In the movie, it seems as if he 'just knows' what the device will do. In the book, it explains how and why he knows what he knows. It also explains that Hauser really did fall in love with Melina and he came up with a 'cover plan' to hide both his knowledge of the alien technology AND his new-found love for Melina. Finally, it 'explains' how it was that Hauser/Quale was able to break free from the chair in which he had been bound on Mars. I felt the explanations added to the overall story of the movie and helped the movie make a bit better sense, myself. The movie makes some pretty bad leaps of logic as it progresses from when Doug ends up on Mars to the end of the story.

Whereas the director indicated he left the ending of the movie "open-ended" [i.e - did Hauser die after the white-out as Edgemar said would happen? or was it all really 'not a dream' and he saved Mars, got the girl, and got everything he wanted?], the novelization's author wrote it to imply the ending was not a dream and that Doug really did save humanity, both on Mars and on Earth. I think he tried to write it in such a way that implied it still could have been a dream on Hauser's part [in that Melina used the exact same words by Doctor Edgemar before Doug 'killed' him with a shot to the head; her words were also similar to the words used in the sales pitch to get Doug to by the false memory implants from Rekall]. The problem is that the very last line of the book undoes any of the author's attempts to imply that maybe Doug truly is dreaming after all as the author essentially confirms that what has happened is 'reality' and 'not a dream.' So it was an interesting divergence between the novelization and the movie, as the book implies that Doug really did save the humanity from extinction whereas the movie [heavily] implies everything from the moment Doug goes under at Rekall to the end of the movie is all a dream [especially the way the movie whites out at the end, implying the lobotomy has just occurred and Doug has ceased to exist as a 'normal' person].

The references to the six or seven novas that were inexplicably detected in the book has made me want to go back and watch the movie to see if there are any references made to them in the movie. The whole 'alien-section' of the book was very interesting; Doug Hauser discovers that an alien race came to Earth "50,000 years ago" and left technology in place that would either allow Mars to be quickly terraformed in such a way it would support terrestrial life and provide secrets to extra-galactic travel if humans passed three important tests or would cause the Earth's sun to go supernova to prevent humanity from imposing itself upon the rest of the galaxy. I thought that was one of the better parts of the book, to be honest, and would have helped the movie make more sense had it been added. Otherwise, as in the movie, you have two guys fighting over what they believe to be true about the alien technology without either guy having the 'foundation' to support or justify their beliefs. It just so happens Arnie wins the fight because he's younger and stronger; he still takes a chance in the movie when he activates the device that he is correct in his belief and not wrong, that he has not consigned humanity to extinction.

I enjoyed reading this novelization. I thought it was pretty good, overall, and that it added depth [and understanding] to the movie's story that the movie was missing. It is pretty clear it is a "product of the late 80s/early 90s", but that is the time when the book was written and the movie produced and released, so it only makes sense. It was a fun read.

[Boggischewsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Total Recall is the book of the film (the first one, not the second one) of the short story by Philip K. Dick. It's bad in the same way that the film is bad; its badness is a virtue. If it was well written, it wouldn't be as much fun.

The badness starts from the off. The opening paragraph:

"Two moons hung in the dark red sky. One was full, the other crescent. One seemed to be four times the diameter of the other, and neither was exactly round."

He could have left it there, but no, we have...

"In fact, both might better have been described as egglike: a chicken egg and a robin egg."

The thing most people know about a robin egg is that it's blue and neither one of Mars' moons is blue, but the salient fact here is (I imagine) that it is smaller than a chicken egg. However, a typical robin egg is half the length of a chicken egg, which would explain the use of "seemed" in the first sentence. However, before we can read too much into that, he goes on...

"Perhaps even potatolike, large and small."

The same effect could have been had more succinctly: "Two moons hung in the dark red sky like different-sized potatoes".

But perhaps I am being unfair. The story is being told from the point of view of Douglas Quaid, played in the film by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The only way to describe a character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger is to say that he looks and sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I suppose there is some unwritten rule of film novelizations that stops you from doing that. Only Clive James ever came close to describing Arnold Schwarzenegger accurately ("a brown condom full of walnuts") and Piers Anthony falls somewhat short.

"Quaid hardly needed low gravity to help him walk" he starts falteringly with a description that could apply to almost anyone, but gets better from there: "He was a massive man, so muscular that even a space suit could not hide his physique. He seemed to exude raw power."

Quaid though, despite "chiseled features... reflecting his indomitable will" isn't the brightest of characters. He spends much of the book daydreaming about the women he meets. One can easily imagine him clenching a jaw like a JCB shovel scoop while he mentally wrestles with the question of whether Mars' moons were more like eggs or different sized potatoes. Unfortunately, in the book, as in the film, he has a lot of thinking to do and he has to do much of it while being shot at or kicked in the balls.

Quaid's job involves using a large jackhammer to demolish old buildings. His wife, Lori, comes as close to being Sharon Stone as Piers Anthony's literary powers can bring her; she has "splendid anatomy" and "impressive architecture". However, Quaid is discontent, and he dreams of Mars and a mysterious woman ("well formed for her sex"). While he can't afford to go to Mars, he can afford to have the memories of a Mars trip implanted directly into his brain by a company called Rekall. Despite warnings from his coworker about the obvious dangers involved with that, he goes ahead and does it anyway.

As soon as he is strapped into the doctor's chair, the adventure really begins. Although, Piers Anthony's prose is bashed together from random odds and ends, he proves adept at keeping the story straight while maintaining the perfect level of ambiguity. We never quite know whether what's happening to Quaid is real, or an implanted memory. As the plot sprouts further tangles (did the implanted memory reveal a hidden memory?), it could have got wildly confusing but Piers Anthony keeps it tight. And it works. A theme even emerges from what could have been a mess: as Quaid loses grip on reality and what he thinks he knows or knew, he clings more strongly to what he believes is fundamentally right, and love - ultimately - shows him the way.

It's corny, but it holds it all together. Something has to. There are plot holes aplenty and the characterisation is scanty, but it works. I'll not be racing out to buy one of Piers Anthony's 200 other books (e.g. Apoca Lips, released 2023), but he does a good bad job here, and that's all I could ever have hoped for.

[Connor Tochman]

The title of my book is Total Recall by Piers Anthony. I found this book while scrolling through Mr. O'Connell's library. The main character of the book is Douglas Quaid; he is a construction worker in the year 2084. This book is based off the movie ‘We can we remember it for you wholesale’ the movie was created by Phillip K Dick.



Douglas Quaid is a construction worker in Houston,Texas. He has been having dreams about being on Mars and he has been seeing mystery women there as well. He has a wife named Lori and she hates Mars. Their Governor has been facing a rebellion and Douglas takes a trip to a place called Rekall. This company puts fake memories inside your head or they put fake vacations in your head as well. Douglas chooses to be a secret agent on Mars, but the surgery goes wrong and Douglas actually remembers going to be a secret agent at mars. The workers from Rekall try to wipe his memory of going to mars and they try sending him home. When Douglas was going home he was attacked by his co-worker. He then goes home and his wife Lori attacks him as well and she tells him that their marriage was a false memory. A big conflict that happened during this was Lori.



I liked the way the book ended and all the detail that this book provided, I could really picture being there as it happened. One of the very detailed moments of this book was when Douglas meet Rekall’s Doctor Edgemar and Doctor Lori. Edgemar and that due to schizoid he was stuck in a fantasy. I could picture all these flying around his mind and stuff like that. My favorite quote from this book is “You'll get more from being a peacemaker than a warrior”, This quote stood out to me because you don't always have to be aggressive to get noticed.


My honest opinion on this book is that it’s a good book if you like sci-fi and spacey things. If you don’t like sci fi I do not recommend this book to you, but if you do there are other books I do recommend and those are A spell for chameleons.