From the Bookshelf of RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off)…

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Philip K. Dick

Start date: January 1, 2015

Finish date: January 31, 2015

Discussion: Buddy-Reads

Discussion leader: Heena Rathore Rathore-Pardeshi

Why we're reading this: January Science-Fiction Buddy-Read.
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What Members Thought

Mar 12, 2017 Michael Finocchiaro rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, american-20th-c, sci-fi, novels

Very interesting story on which the epic film Blade Runner was based. The ideas are certainly original and I'd imagine that Ghost in the Shell was at least partially inspired by the ideas. I just felt the character development was rather shallow and the action somewhat predictable even if I was impatient to push on to see what would happen next. Well, I'll try a few more PKD stories, but perhaps it just isn't my style - sort of inventive like Isaac Asimov but trying to be trashy like Elmore Leon ...more

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May 09, 2017 B. R. Kyle (Ambiguous Pieces) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, science-fiction, classics-literary

Aspects I Enjoyed:
~Intense Subject Matter: From my point of view, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? will probably need a couple of re-reads before the reader is able to grasp everything, there’s a lot of stuff occurring over a short in-universe time-line, it’s a lot to take in. It doesn’t help that every person in the novel suffers from some level of fallout-related brain damage and detachment from reality. I also think reading this book has helped me gain a better understanding of my Metamor Aspects I Enjoyed:
~Intense Subject Matter: From my point of view, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? will probably need a couple of re-reads before the reader is able to grasp everything, there’s a lot of stuff occurring over a short in-universe time-line, it’s a lot to take in. It doesn’t help that every person in the novel suffers from some level of fallout-related brain damage and detachment from reality. I also think reading this book has helped me gain a better understanding of my Metamorphosis project.

~Villain Antagonists: Rosen Industries will stoop to any and all levels to undermine the bounty hunters and their empathy tests, I would consider Rosen Industries the go-to example for Nebulous Evil Organisation

~Complex Characters: I found the all androids to be much more interesting than Deckard (who came across as bit of an arse), however I think their quest to prove Mercerism fake (and therefore empathy fake) was tragic but intriguing. I understand that the android’s greatest weapon is their intelligence and ability to blend in with their environments were their greatest strengths, however their sociopath behavior and naïvety about Human reactions made me realise that (emotionally) they were essentially beings with the minds of children in powerful adult bodies The notion of empathy as a learned behavior as opposed to instinctive behavior is a complex issue.

Aspects I had Problems with:
~Damsel in Distress: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published in 1968 and it most certainly shows. This novel was supposed to be set in the future, yet had a lot of social norms of that time, particularly displayed with the Iran (Rick Deckard’s wife) and the other female characters Rick Deckard interacts with. As a character, Iran annoyed me, she didn’t seem to serve a greater purpose and could easily have been removed.

~Always Save The Girl and Women Are Delicate: I got the feeling it was because of these tropes and Deckard’s attraction to Rachael was the reason he had such a problem with retiring Luba Luft and Rachel Rosen. He had no problems retiring the male androids.

~Big Lipped Alligator Moment: I understand Deckard and J.R. Isidore hallucinatory episodes are meant to be metaphorical, however that didn’t make them easier to understand, there’s a fine line between deep and meaningful symbolism and confusing obscurity. ...more

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