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I won't have internet access while I'm away so I've scheduled some posts to pop up while I sun myself and drink cocktails. This week you should see all the answers to the questions book bloggers asked about the books I hadn't reviewed yet as part of Weekly Geeks/a mini challenge for Reading Dewey's Books. This series of posts begins with the answers below for the group of ladies who were curious about 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' by Philip K Dick (which I am a massive fan of):
classicvasilly asked 'Was the Philip K. Dick book your first book by the author? If not, how does it compare? I don't read a lot of sci-fi so what made you pick it up? Would you read more by the author?'
I always think of Philip K Dick as one of my favorite authors but I’ve only ever read two and a half of his books. I look out for any author hailed as the new Philip K Dick and cram them on to my bookshelves as fast as possible, which surprisingly results in some great finds (like ‘Spaceman Blues’ by Brian Slatterey). I love Dick’s kind of sci-fi which mixes elements of the hardboiled crime genre with futuristic settings. ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ features a world weary bounty hunter, left to survive on an Earth that most of the human race has abandoned because it’s atmosphere contains mutating particles. It’s dark and slick, but also relatable because the main guy is the kind of work-a-day PI character recognisable from the crime genre.
A long time ago I read ‘The Man in the High Castle’, which I think I was not at the right point in my reading development to understand. It’s very complex, both politically and scientifically. I read about three quarters of ‘A Scanner Darkly’ which I loved, but it was during my teenage years when I was incapable of finishing a book. The writing style of ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ reminds me of ‘A Scanner Darkly’, as does the striking imagery and imagination. I absolutely plan to read more and I hope to read all of ‘A Scanner Darkly’ at some point in 2009.
I’m a big fan of quirky titles so I think that was one of the main reasons I picked this book up. I make pretty shallow book decisions sometimes. I’m a big fan of sci-fi, but I think everyone needs to find their own comfort level within the genre. I’ve tried books like ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Snow’, which at times had much more science than story and I couldn’t get into them because I have a terribly limited knowledge of science. Like I said above Philip K Dick has written some novels that are more about crime, action and characters with great inventive science thrown in. I’m also crazy about moral dilemmas, which sci-fi specializes in. The more complex you can make them and the more twists there are that completely subvert my original view the more I like them.
Kim said 'I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep awhile ago, but I'm always curious what people think of it. Did you find any of the characters sympathetic?'
Good question! I absolutely found the characters sympathetic. All Rick Deckard wants is to own a real animal. All the androids want to do is escape slavery. They’re just chasing their own dreams, which are almost never possible or sustainable on their version of Earth. The weight of the depression, disillusion and apathy in the novel is almost unbearable because I wanted the characters to achieve their small, simple goals because these goals are ultimately the search for true happiness. I wanted the animals at the lab to be real, because they uplift Rick’s spirit. I want Rachel to be human and I even wanted the murdering androids to escape detection, at some points in the novel. There’s also Rick’s terrible marriage and the use of the mood organ, which are just parts of a very sad, but normal life on radioactive Earth. I just wanted everyone to find a happy ending, but this is sci-fi so a happy ending for all is probably as likely as a pink puppy dog saving the world, bittersweet is really all you can hope for.
There are plenty of scenes in the book when all I could feel was disgust for some of the characters. The androids rip the legs off a precious spider and ridicule Isidore because of his subhuman intelligence. Resch is probably the most unsympathetic character, as a human who displays no real signs of regret when he kills androids, almost relishing it. They’re all damaged by the way their society has ended up and in some ways they have to be almost irreparably damaged and hopeless for the novel to work. Sci-fi is all about cautionary tales after all.
Finally Eva wanted to know 'If I'm not a big fan of sci-fi, would I enjoy Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'
I think so (but then I would say that, I hope to lure everyone into reading sci-fi). Let me lay out what ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Has’ going on: robots (as a metaphor for slavery but also as big killer robots), red herrings and crime, futuristic settings, penetrating questions about what it takes to be human, warnings about our planet and our society, quick quipping dialogue, action, apathy, sadness and hope. If anything there sounds like it’s something you might enjoy then give this book a go.
If you have a question about this book ask me in the comments and I'll answer you after I get back. If you've written a review of it leave me a link in my comments and I'll link it into this post.
classicvasilly asked 'Was the Philip K. Dick book your first book by the author? If not, how does it compare? I don't read a lot of sci-fi so what made you pick it up? Would you read more by the author?'
I always think of Philip K Dick as one of my favorite authors but I’ve only ever read two and a half of his books. I look out for any author hailed as the new Philip K Dick and cram them on to my bookshelves as fast as possible, which surprisingly results in some great finds (like ‘Spaceman Blues’ by Brian Slatterey). I love Dick’s kind of sci-fi which mixes elements of the hardboiled crime genre with futuristic settings. ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ features a world weary bounty hunter, left to survive on an Earth that most of the human race has abandoned because it’s atmosphere contains mutating particles. It’s dark and slick, but also relatable because the main guy is the kind of work-a-day PI character recognisable from the crime genre.
A long time ago I read ‘The Man in the High Castle’, which I think I was not at the right point in my reading development to understand. It’s very complex, both politically and scientifically. I read about three quarters of ‘A Scanner Darkly’ which I loved, but it was during my teenage years when I was incapable of finishing a book. The writing style of ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ reminds me of ‘A Scanner Darkly’, as does the striking imagery and imagination. I absolutely plan to read more and I hope to read all of ‘A Scanner Darkly’ at some point in 2009.
I’m a big fan of quirky titles so I think that was one of the main reasons I picked this book up. I make pretty shallow book decisions sometimes. I’m a big fan of sci-fi, but I think everyone needs to find their own comfort level within the genre. I’ve tried books like ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Snow’, which at times had much more science than story and I couldn’t get into them because I have a terribly limited knowledge of science. Like I said above Philip K Dick has written some novels that are more about crime, action and characters with great inventive science thrown in. I’m also crazy about moral dilemmas, which sci-fi specializes in. The more complex you can make them and the more twists there are that completely subvert my original view the more I like them.
Kim said 'I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep awhile ago, but I'm always curious what people think of it. Did you find any of the characters sympathetic?'
Good question! I absolutely found the characters sympathetic. All Rick Deckard wants is to own a real animal. All the androids want to do is escape slavery. They’re just chasing their own dreams, which are almost never possible or sustainable on their version of Earth. The weight of the depression, disillusion and apathy in the novel is almost unbearable because I wanted the characters to achieve their small, simple goals because these goals are ultimately the search for true happiness. I wanted the animals at the lab to be real, because they uplift Rick’s spirit. I want Rachel to be human and I even wanted the murdering androids to escape detection, at some points in the novel. There’s also Rick’s terrible marriage and the use of the mood organ, which are just parts of a very sad, but normal life on radioactive Earth. I just wanted everyone to find a happy ending, but this is sci-fi so a happy ending for all is probably as likely as a pink puppy dog saving the world, bittersweet is really all you can hope for.
There are plenty of scenes in the book when all I could feel was disgust for some of the characters. The androids rip the legs off a precious spider and ridicule Isidore because of his subhuman intelligence. Resch is probably the most unsympathetic character, as a human who displays no real signs of regret when he kills androids, almost relishing it. They’re all damaged by the way their society has ended up and in some ways they have to be almost irreparably damaged and hopeless for the novel to work. Sci-fi is all about cautionary tales after all.
Finally Eva wanted to know 'If I'm not a big fan of sci-fi, would I enjoy Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'
I think so (but then I would say that, I hope to lure everyone into reading sci-fi). Let me lay out what ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Has’ going on: robots (as a metaphor for slavery but also as big killer robots), red herrings and crime, futuristic settings, penetrating questions about what it takes to be human, warnings about our planet and our society, quick quipping dialogue, action, apathy, sadness and hope. If anything there sounds like it’s something you might enjoy then give this book a go.
If you have a question about this book ask me in the comments and I'll answer you after I get back. If you've written a review of it leave me a link in my comments and I'll link it into this post.
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