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The Unreconstructed M and Other Stories
What if...a machine could murder one person while implicating another for the crime? An alien being looked like livestock but spoke like a philosopher? Earth was ruined by war, and Mars was humanity's only hope? Robots were created to wage an unending war on the ravaged surface of Earth while man hid underground? Peeking into the future showed a worse result with each look?
In The Unreconstructed M and Other Stories by master of science fiction Philip K. Dick, reality is as thin as imagination. Trust in your senses, your experience, and your expectations if you must. But be warned. What you do not know can leave you - and your world - forever changed!
"The Unreconstructed M" (1957), "Beyond Lies the Wub" (1952), "Strange Eden" (1954), "Survey Team" (1954), "The Defenders" (1953), "Beyond the Door" (1954), "Shell Game" (1954), "Piper in the Woods" (1953), "Meddler" (1954), "Of Withered Apples" (1954), "Progeny" (1954), "Upon the Dull Earth" (1954), "Human Is" (1955).
Public Domain (P)2015 Ray Greenley
In The Unreconstructed M and Other Stories by master of science fiction Philip K. Dick, reality is as thin as imagination. Trust in your senses, your experience, and your expectations if you must. But be warned. What you do not know can leave you - and your world - forever changed!
"The Unreconstructed M" (1957), "Beyond Lies the Wub" (1952), "Strange Eden" (1954), "Survey Team" (1954), "The Defenders" (1953), "Beyond the Door" (1954), "Shell Game" (1954), "Piper in the Woods" (1953), "Meddler" (1954), "Of Withered Apples" (1954), "Progeny" (1954), "Upon the Dull Earth" (1954), "Human Is" (1955).
Public Domain (P)2015 Ray Greenley
75 pages, Audible Audio
Published December 7, 2015
About the author
Philip K. Dick
1,547 books19.3k followersPhilip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928 and lived most of his life in California. 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 Memorial Award for best novel of the year in 1974 for Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. Philip K. Dick died on March 2, 1982, in Santa Ana, California, of heart failure following a stroke.
In addition to 44 published novels, Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, ten of his stories have been adapted into popular films since his death, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, and The Adjustment Bureau. In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.
In addition to 44 published novels, Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, ten of his stories have been adapted into popular films since his death, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, and The Adjustment Bureau. In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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January 18, 2020An Excellent Introduction into the Worlds of PKD
DISCLAIMER: I received this copy from the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.
If you have never read any PKD, this is an excellent collection to start with! It provides a variety of short stories that range from supernatural horror to science fiction.
A word of caution, most of these stories are 60-odd years old, and feel dated both in social convention and reader impact. However, for many of these stories it was the first time a particular plot twist had been used! The collection is a very taut read and extremely entertaining.
The audio production is very clean, no muddy audio or obvious edits. Ray Greenley's narration is largely unobtrusive, allowing the listener to absorb each story without undue distraction. Occasionally the cadence sounded forced and stiff. I believe this was due primarily to Mr. Greenley's adherence to clear diction more that anything else, making it very difficult to fault. His characterizations are clear and distinct, and the dialogue, by and large, flows smoothly.
I recommend this collection to any avid reader of science fiction or horror, and will give special consideration to anything, regardless of genre, Mr. Greenley narrates.
DISCLAIMER: I received this copy from the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.
If you have never read any PKD, this is an excellent collection to start with! It provides a variety of short stories that range from supernatural horror to science fiction.
A word of caution, most of these stories are 60-odd years old, and feel dated both in social convention and reader impact. However, for many of these stories it was the first time a particular plot twist had been used! The collection is a very taut read and extremely entertaining.
The audio production is very clean, no muddy audio or obvious edits. Ray Greenley's narration is largely unobtrusive, allowing the listener to absorb each story without undue distraction. Occasionally the cadence sounded forced and stiff. I believe this was due primarily to Mr. Greenley's adherence to clear diction more that anything else, making it very difficult to fault. His characterizations are clear and distinct, and the dialogue, by and large, flows smoothly.
I recommend this collection to any avid reader of science fiction or horror, and will give special consideration to anything, regardless of genre, Mr. Greenley narrates.
March 28, 2018
Almost very female character is portrayed as weak, if they appeared at all in the stories. There was also A LOT of smoking. Both are signs of the time in which these stories were written (early to mid-50s). The stories themselves were okay. Not great, but entertaining. The plot is there, but the build-up and follow-through is missing....the stuff that gives a great book depth and complexity.
January 27, 2016
An Excellent Introduction into the Worlds of PKD
DISCLAIMER: I received this copy from the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.
If you have never read any PKD, this is an excellent collection to start with! It provides a variety of short stories that range from supernatural horror to science fiction.
A word of caution, most of these stories are 60-odd years old, and feel dated both in social convention and reader impact. However, for many of these stories it was the first time a particular plot twist had been used! The collection is a very taut read and extremely entertaining.
The audio production is very clean, no muddy audio or obvious edits. Ray Greenley's narration is largely unobtrusive, allowing the listener to absorb each story without undue distraction. Occasionally the cadence sounded forced and stiff. I believe this was due primarily to Mr. Greenley's adherence to clear diction more that anything else, making it very difficult to fault. His characterizations are clear and distinct, and the dialogue, by and large, flows smoothly.
I recommend this collection to any avid reader of science fiction or horror, and will give special consideration to anything, regardless of genre, Mr. Greenley narrates.
DISCLAIMER: I received this copy from the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.
If you have never read any PKD, this is an excellent collection to start with! It provides a variety of short stories that range from supernatural horror to science fiction.
A word of caution, most of these stories are 60-odd years old, and feel dated both in social convention and reader impact. However, for many of these stories it was the first time a particular plot twist had been used! The collection is a very taut read and extremely entertaining.
The audio production is very clean, no muddy audio or obvious edits. Ray Greenley's narration is largely unobtrusive, allowing the listener to absorb each story without undue distraction. Occasionally the cadence sounded forced and stiff. I believe this was due primarily to Mr. Greenley's adherence to clear diction more that anything else, making it very difficult to fault. His characterizations are clear and distinct, and the dialogue, by and large, flows smoothly.
I recommend this collection to any avid reader of science fiction or horror, and will give special consideration to anything, regardless of genre, Mr. Greenley narrates.
September 23, 2016
The Nature of Reality (Audiobook)
How could I have missed out on the pleasure of the incredibly talented Philip K. Dick before now? This is the first collection of his works that I have listened to and I am not really sure how I missed reading some of his 44 published novels or ~121 short stories before. But... I have seen most of the 11 popular films (Total Recall, Minority Report, Impostor, Paycheck...) based on his works. Check out Wikipedia for a list of his works and adaptations of his work in film, comics, television, stage, radio, and music.
He has a very Twilight Zone feel to his work, but they were written BEFORE Twilight Zone was a twinkle in Rod Sterling's eye.
This collection contains short stories from 1952-55 & 1957:
The Unreconstructed M
Beyond Lies the Wub
Strange Eden
Survey Team
The Defenders
Beyond the Door
Shell Game
Piper in the Woods
Meddler
Of Withered Apples
Progeny
Upon the Dull Earth
Human Is
I enjoyed them all, though The Unreconstructed M, Beyond Lies the Wub, The Defenders, & Human Is are at the top of my list.
Ray Greenley did a wonderful job voicing & giving personalities to the varied characters in the stories. Thank you for choosing this project!
This audiobook was provided at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.
How could I have missed out on the pleasure of the incredibly talented Philip K. Dick before now? This is the first collection of his works that I have listened to and I am not really sure how I missed reading some of his 44 published novels or ~121 short stories before. But... I have seen most of the 11 popular films (Total Recall, Minority Report, Impostor, Paycheck...) based on his works. Check out Wikipedia for a list of his works and adaptations of his work in film, comics, television, stage, radio, and music.
He has a very Twilight Zone feel to his work, but they were written BEFORE Twilight Zone was a twinkle in Rod Sterling's eye.
This collection contains short stories from 1952-55 & 1957:
The Unreconstructed M
Beyond Lies the Wub
Strange Eden
Survey Team
The Defenders
Beyond the Door
Shell Game
Piper in the Woods
Meddler
Of Withered Apples
Progeny
Upon the Dull Earth
Human Is
I enjoyed them all, though The Unreconstructed M, Beyond Lies the Wub, The Defenders, & Human Is are at the top of my list.
Ray Greenley did a wonderful job voicing & giving personalities to the varied characters in the stories. Thank you for choosing this project!
This audiobook was provided at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.
January 15, 2016
I have been meaning to read some Philip K. Dick for a while, so I was very pleased to stumble across this selection of his short stories in audio format. This audiobook consists of about 13 different short stories, ranging from from topics of space-based sci-fi to "angels" and death to robot-filled Dystopian and Utopian futures. I'd recommend it if you are a Philip K. Dick fan looking for more or a neophyte looking for an introduction to Philip K. Dick.
February 29, 2016
Woeful. I admire this novelist, but these space opera stories are just hopeless. The reader is dreadful, as well. To be avoided.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews