Status Updates From The Collected Stories of Ph...

1. AUTOFAC
一開始看得一頭問號, 看完還是一頭問號. PKD確實有種嗑了甚麼的感覺. (非造謠, 是WIKI說他有藥物濫用der

quite enjoyable so far. some of the language, given that this is within the realm of sci-fi and thus, made up, is kind of hard to understand. once i finish this i have to track down a copy of do androids dream of electric sheep because i will love blade runner till the day i die and i need to read the source material.

Only a few minute in and I already like the second short story better than Minority Report, which in retrospect makes a lot of sense since that movie really freaked me out as a kid. I still occasionally think about the eyeball scene to this day.

My backup audiobook, a slow listen on long drives!

Yep ive officially been completely won over. This is so silly and all the recurring technical jargon and links between stories and the self-referentialism its all so fun and silly and i love it!!!!! I think these definetely all read as better stories individually when read together, even though theyre not very related.

making my way through this collection; will write a holistic review/give an overall rating when i've finished all of the short stories, but for now am reviewing them one by one

really liked war games !!! This book is fun, the stories are kind of hit and miss at times but i like how they all sort of feel connected in a way?

Reads a bit like fanfiction. In a good way? Idk. I liked the recall machine a lot. Still a gun read and im still invested 👍

Up to minority report and it was a bit fast paced at first but im enjoying it more now. It felt a bit like it was trying but failing to be the trial but im fucking w it except dick has a habit of making his protags very like sigma male super smart does no wrong

Pretty good! I preferred Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but this one is fun too. I wish he could include less characters tho im going crazy tryna map this out in my head

So far some good stories, a few misses. I've been on and off with this book, something about the writing style bugs me and makes me unable to be pulled in till almost the last moment then its too late. I really did get on well with the story service call, that is my favourite so far. Autofac and the mold of Yancy were completely unenjoyable but I've yet to finish the book and there may be more enjoyment yet to come.

The Mold of Yancy , a Great story about some interstellar police finding a planet that acts as a stand in for the USA, where everyone is brainwashed by a tv host-ad man named Yancy

It is so interesting when these stories get meta

La historia original de Minority Report me ha gustado mucho más que la versión cine.

Putting this down to go watch The Minority Report movie brb

Wow! Waterspider was such a cool story. I would definitely recommend that one to fans of classic science fiction.

I Love Total Recall lol

Stand-by + What'll We Do With Ragland Park? - A short story followed by its sequel.

In which the two sides of Donald Trump (the media mogul and self-interested propaganda kind and the brainless "I do what I want, fuck-o") are pitted against one another.

This is one of the bigger swings PKD has taken. Really big ideas and sprawling worldbuilding that ends up kind of whiffing, but you have to respect the attempt

The Days of Perky Pat - This snuck up on me. This is one of the funniest fucking things I have ever read in my life that sneakily reveals a surprising amount of depth.

In a post-apocalyptic future, communities have formed around playing with what are essentially Barbie dolls.

Will expand more in the actual review but I'm like, in awe of this. PKD was INSANE for this one.

Orpheus with Clay Feet - If I had a nickel for every time Philip K Dick wrote himself as a character in one of his own stories I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

Waterspider - This is an absolutely batshit story in a collection of batshit stories. Can't spoil even the basic plot without giving the basic gist away.

I'll mention this fun factoid: There's a part in this story where PKD NEEDS the reader to see a name and recognize it as a popular real-life SF writer. Could have used anyone. He chose Poul Anderson. I think that speaks volumes about his place in the field.

If There Were No Benny Cemoli - This story is in a fascinating dialogue with, of all things, Dune-- I think. Where Dune warns against cults of personality, Dick contends that any meaningful social change requires an avatar to pin their hopes to, a model to prove its possible. An icon must emerge.

Very interesting, but I would argue it's too complicated. Also, newspapers don't work like that.

War Game - Agreed wholeheartedly, Philip. Monopoly sucks!

No but this was absolutely fucking wild. He was a madman for this one. He couldn't have known was Disney was going to become or how the military-industrial complex started to get its hooks into Hollywood, and yet he somehow hit this bullseye from beyond the grave. What the fuck

Explorers We - Works as kind of a goofy SF horror story but considers a potential first-contact scenario with aliens that I'd never thought of before. Very fun twist. Memorable.

The Unreconstructed M - This is such a PKD story. Dizzying worldbuilding, paranoia, distrust of everything around him (especially police).

Pairs well with Minority Report, a more high concept version of the way technology and policing might intersect. This is perhaps why SF writers are drawn to detective stories, there will always be room for criminals to manipulate tech and their pursuers.

Minority Report - This probably needs a full dedicated review

I believe that when cinema directors read Dick they hear only the action scenes - they scrape the bare minimum that will sell tickets. There is so much more depth in each of these “film” adaptations. Still Dick does make it hard to make a film; I doubt that any of the works in this anthology could be make exactly into a movie that would be a blockbuster - they are a bit clumsy, the characters to sharp edged…

Captive Market - A winding story of time travel, the apocalypse and the dangers of a predator my economy— thats all well and good. BUT there is an absolutely fucking INSANE moment that is buried immediately and then never referenced again. Almost makes it feel like a draft because the story doesn’t reference it again

Service Call - Not the smoothest story but it fits in a ton about human nature as it relates to disagreements, opportunistic get-aheads, population control, and new technology. A really fun moving target of a story-- the kind where your first read will always be the most important one.

I'm very quickly becoming a Dick-head.

Autofac - Fun little story about automation and resource wars. Really enjoyed the first half when they try to trick the truck. "Pizzled" should be a word if it isn't already.