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Vintage PKD
A master of science fiction, a voice of the changing counterculture, and a genuine visionary, Philip K. Dick wrote about reality, entropy, deception, and the plight of being alive in the modern world. Through his remarkable career Dick has established himself as a writer of the first order and his dreams of the future have proven to be eerily prophetic and even more prescient than when he wrote them.
Vintage PKD features extracts from The Man in the High Castle, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Ubik, A Scanner Darkly, VALIS, and stories including “The Days of Perky Pat,” “A Little Something for Us Tempunauts," and “I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon,” along with essays and letters currently unavailable in book form.
Vintage Readers are a perfect introduction to some of the great modern writers, presented in attractive, affordable paperback editions.
Vintage PKD features extracts from The Man in the High Castle, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Ubik, A Scanner Darkly, VALIS, and stories including “The Days of Perky Pat,” “A Little Something for Us Tempunauts," and “I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon,” along with essays and letters currently unavailable in book form.
Vintage Readers are a perfect introduction to some of the great modern writers, presented in attractive, affordable paperback editions.
199 pages, Paperback
First published June 13, 2006
2 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Philip K. Dick
1,989 books22.7k followersPhilip Kindred Dick was a prolific American science fiction author whose work has had a lasting impact on literature, cinema, and popular culture. Known for his imaginative narratives and profound philosophical themes, Dick explored the nature of reality, the boundaries of human identity, and the impact of technology and authoritarianism on society. His stories often blurred the line between the real and the artificial, challenging readers to question their perceptions and beliefs.
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick’s most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick’s legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His work continues to challenge and inspire, offering timeless insights into the human condition a
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick’s most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick’s legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His work continues to challenge and inspire, offering timeless insights into the human condition a
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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October 5, 2023Contains stories and excerpts:
Selection from The Man in the High Castle
The Days of Perky Pat (short story) - 3/5 - Barbies of the future (they play a part in PKD's Three Stigmata, also excerpted here)
Selection from The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Selection from Ubik
A Little Something For Us Tempunauts (short story)
Selection from A Scanner Darkly
The Lucky Dog Pet Store (short story)
I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (short story)
The Zebra Papers (from The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick)
Selection from VALIS
Selection from The Man in the High Castle
The Days of Perky Pat (short story) - 3/5 - Barbies of the future (they play a part in PKD's Three Stigmata, also excerpted here)
Selection from The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Selection from Ubik
A Little Something For Us Tempunauts (short story)
Selection from A Scanner Darkly
The Lucky Dog Pet Store (short story)
I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (short story)
The Zebra Papers (from The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick)
Selection from VALIS
May 5, 2014
I wouldn't recommend reading this collection, mainly because I felt that most of the novel excerpts are better read as part of the whole novels. The short stories are worth a read, but I would look for an anthology of just short stories and read the novels as a whole.
June 4, 2008
the man lived in the future.
September 28, 2011
Mostly a collection a various chapters in his novels. The standalone short stories were excellent, Perky Pat is like a Barbie Doll in a post-apocalyptic world, that all the adults like to play with. And his essay, "The Lucky Dog Pet Store," is chock full of inspiration and vitriol for future rebellious sci-fi writers. I don't think I would have been interested in reading Ubik if I hadn't seen the first two chapters here...pretty amazing stuff.
February 11, 2017
A well-chosen collection for those interested in sampling PKD's work. Some strong stories are interspersed with five novel excerpts, including my two favourites by Dick: The Man in the High Castle, and Ubik. Vintage PKD is a strong reflection of Dick's work, which varies from brilliant to mad to maddeningly brilliant.
August 29, 2013
If you are looking for a story that will capture your imagination and transport you to another world, this is not what you are looking for. It did, however, fulfill it's own purpose, in that it supplied a sampling of works from Philip K. Dick, allowing potential readers to get a feel for how he writes, and which of his stories they might want to read in full.
The book is set up as a bunch of short stories and introductions. It begins a number of his longer stories, but stops after two chapters and moves on. If you are one that can get into a story in less than two chapters (like me), this can be infuriating, because you do not have the option of reading on, it simply stops there and starts over with the first two chapters of a different story. Still, I enjoyed reading this compilation, and it did fulfill the need I had to see what PKD's writing style was like.
The book is set up as a bunch of short stories and introductions. It begins a number of his longer stories, but stops after two chapters and moves on. If you are one that can get into a story in less than two chapters (like me), this can be infuriating, because you do not have the option of reading on, it simply stops there and starts over with the first two chapters of a different story. Still, I enjoyed reading this compilation, and it did fulfill the need I had to see what PKD's writing style was like.
August 3, 2023
This is a very worthy taster. In the collection are a number of short stories, but also excerpts from five of his novels, and the excerpts really help guide what you may have a taste for reading more of. Dick's novels, after all, are incredibly unique and also vary so much from one another. Worth it if you're after a guide, and also if you're a PK fan.
March 9, 2015
3.5 stars; a decent intro to PKD
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews