Le formiche elettriche

by Philip K. Dick

Alcuni dei migliori racconti dello scrittore che è ormai entrato nel nostro immaginario. Possibili mondi futuri nei quali il normale "armamentario" di uno scrittore di fantascienza (astronavi, robot, androidi, alieni, mondi paralleli...), si trasforma in una sorprendente casistica di situazioni in cui è difficile distinguere tra ciò che è reale e ciò che non lo è. Un piccolo, straordinario campione della potenza visionaria dell'autore di Blade Runner.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Philip 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

Reviews

[La.Silbia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quello che amo dei racconti è l'immediatezza, la loro potenzialità di partire da una singola idea e portarla all'apice, senza inutili noie. Dick ovviamente di idee geniali deve averne avute parecchie, nella sua prolifica e un po' schizzata vita, e, nonostante molti racconti non presentino più ormai quella carica di eccezionalità che dovevano avere decadi fa, riesce comunque a trasformare la potenzialità in estrema capacità e bravura nel narrare e nel coinvolgere.
I temi restano quelli centrali della bibliografia di Dick, dalla contrapposizione dei diversi piani di realtà e dalla solita lotta umana con la tecnologia emancipatasi, all'alienazione esistenziale. Con una piccola sorpresa, nella forma di un delizioso excursus nel fantastico-grottesco nel racconto La cosa-padre, delizioso di per sé ma anche per la possibile (almeno nella mia testa) associazione con Coraline di Neil Gaiman.

Racconti presenti nel volume:
- Impostore
- Squadra di ricognizione
- La cosa-padre
- Autofac
- Modello Due
- Chi se lo ricorda
- La formica elettrica

[Matthias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories:

Impostor, 1953
Survey Team, 1954
The Father-Thing, 1954
Autofac, 1955
Second Variety, 1953
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, 1966
The Electric Ant, 1969

[Milo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il solito Dick con le sue abituali tematiche legate alla percezione della realtà e del sè. Pregevoli gli ultimi due racconti: "chi se lo ricorda", da cui sono stati tratti i film "Total Recall", e soprattutto "La formica elettrica" che ricorda molto la malinconica decadenza di Blade Runner.