“What Kafka was to the first half of the twentieth century, Philip K. Dick is to the second half.”—Art Spiegelman, author of MAUS Philip K. Dick was both our most brilliant science fiction writer and a visionary philosopher who chose to couch his speculations in fiction. For, as he wrote about androids and virtual reality, schizophrenic prophets and amnesiac gods, Dick was also posing fundamental questions: What is reality? What is sanity? And what is human? This unprecedented collection of Dick’s literary and philosophical writings acquaints us with the astonishing range and eloquence of his lifelong inquiry. The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick includes autobiography, critiques of science fiction, and dizzyingly provocative essays such as “The Android and the Human” and “If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others.” Readers will also find two chapters of a proposed sequel to Dick’s award-winning novel The Man in the High Castle and selections from the metaphysical Exegesis that inspired his classic VALIS. Witty, erudite, and exploding with intellectual shrapnel, this is the last testament of an American original. This collection confirms Dick’s reputation as one of the foremost imaginative thinkers of the twentieth century. “A wide-ranging selection of free-wheeling philosophical essays, and journal entries; humorous, thoughtful speeches; and plot scenarios. . . . For both casual and serious Dick fans, The Shifting Realities unearths some gems.”—Boston Phoenix
Includes the stories that inspired the movies Total Recall, Screamers, Minority Report, Paycheck, and Next "More than anyone else in the field, Mr. Dick really puts you inside people's minds." --The Wall Street Journal The Philip K. Dick Reader Many thousands of readers consider Philip K. Dick the greatest science fiction mind on any planet. Since his untimely death in 1982, interest in Dick's works has continued to mount, and his reputation has been further enhanced by a growing body of critical attention. The Philip K. Dick Award is now given annually to a distinguished work of science fiction, and the Philip K. Dick Society is devoted to the study and promulgation of his works. Dick won the prestigious Hugo Award for the best novel of 1963 for The Man in the High Castle. In the last year of his life, the film Blade Runner was made from his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? This collection includes some of Dick's earliest short and medium-length fiction, including We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (the story that inspired the motion picture Total Recall), Second Variety (which inspired the motion picture Screamers), Paycheck, The Minority Report, and twenty more.
A master of science fiction, a voice of the changing counterculture, and a genuine visionary, Philip K. Dick wrote about reality, entropy, deception, and the plight of being alive in the modern world. Through his remarkable career Dick has established himself as a writer of the first order and his dreams of the future have proven to be eerily prophetic and even more prescient than when he wrote them. Vintage PKD features extracts from The Man in the High Castle, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Ubik, A Scanner Darkly, VALIS, and stories including “The Days of Perky Pat,” “A Little Something for Us Tempunauts," and “I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon,” along with essays and letters currently unavailable in book form. Vintage Readers are a perfect introduction to some of the great modern writers, presented in attractive, affordable paperback editions.
A glimpse into the mind of the bestselling science fiction author through a collection of his personal, metaphysical, religious, visionary writings. Based on thousands of pages of typed and handwritten notes, journal entries, letters, and story sketches, The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick is the magnificent and imaginative final work of an author who dedicated his life to questioning the nature of reality and perception, the malleability of space and time, and the relationship between the human and the divine. Edited and introduced by Pamela Jackson and Jonathan Lethem, this will be the definitive presentation of Dick’s brilliant, and epic, final work. In The Exegesis, Dick documents his eight-year attempt to fathom what he called “2-3-74,” a postmodern visionary experience of the entire universe “transformed into information.” In entries that sometimes ran to hundreds of pages, Dick tried to write his way into the heart of a cosmic mystery that tested his powers of imagination and invention to the limit, adding to, revising, and discarding theory after theory, mixing in dreams and visionary experiences as they occurred, and pulling it all together in three late novels known as the VALIS trilogy. In this abridgment, Jackson and Lethem serve as guides, taking the reader through the Exegesis and establishing connections with moments in Dick’s life and work. The e-book includes a sample chapter from A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick. “A dyspeptic dystopian’s mad secret notebooks, imposing order—at least of a kind—on a chaotic world…Fascinating and unsettling.”—Kirkus Reviews
Eleven short stories and novellas from 1950s periodicals such as Worlds of Science Fiction, Orbit, and Startling Stories include "Foster, You're Dead," "Prominent Author," "Upon the Dull Earth," and "Adjustment Team.
The definitive editions of Philip K. Dick's short stories, containing some of the most defining works in the Science Fiction genre. This stunning new edition of Philip K Dick's work includes the influential 'Beyond Lies the Wub' and 'Second Variety', as well as a litany of mind-expanding other works. Work your way through some of the most influential stories from the 20th century, which have had a massive impact on popular culture. 'One of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction' Sunday Times 'No other writer of his generation had such a powerful intellectual presence' Brian Aldiss 'Thought-provoking,original,deeply moving. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Very fun. Classic PKD' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Wow. Every single story in this book could be made into a contemporary movie' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Absolutely brilliant . . . Strongly recommend to everyone (even those who normally do not like science fiction)' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The definitive editions of Philip K. Dick's short stories, containing some of the most defining works in the Science Fiction genre. This stunning new edition of Philip K Dick's work includes the influential 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale' and 'The Electric Ant', as well as a litany of mind-expanding other works. Work your way through some of the most influential stories from the 20th century, which have had a massive impact on popular culture. 'A great collection, showcasing Dick's evolution' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'my reason for giving the book a five-star rating has to do with my emotional state I felt when I closed the last page. I feel that I delved into a more extensive realm of PKD's mind by reading this collection' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'An amazing collection of downright bizarre fiction. So many excellent stories that it would be hard to pick a favorite' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The definitive editions of Philip K. Dick's short stories, containing some of the most defining works in the Science Fiction genre. This stunning new edition of Philip K Dick's work includes the influential 'Adjustment Team' and 'The Father Thing', as well as a litany of mind-expanding other works. Work your way through some of the most influential stories from the 20th century, which have had a massive impact on popular culture. 'I am bowled over. I am so impressed by the variety in stories, and how interesting the individual story ideas are' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Philip K. Dick is a master of messing with your head in a story' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Enter the Mind of a Genius . . . This collection of short stories by Philip K. Dick are great, thought provoking, funny, and some really frightening' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'This blew my mind, and then some. The ideas and concepts alone need five stars. What an amazing man' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
From the visionary mind of Philip K. Dick, author of groundbreaking sci-fi classics that inspired blockbuster films like Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report, comes a mind-bending tale of time travel and personal destiny. The Skull transports you to a future where the world is locked in a struggle between progress and dogma, where one man's life-altering decision will affect history and the fate of humanity. Meet Conger, a prisoner granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for freedom--if he can complete an impossible mission to assassinate a man who died 200 years ago. As he travels back in time to the turbulent 1960s, Conger must navigate an era fraught with distrust and political agendas while seeking out the elusive founder of the First Church, a man whose fateful speech launched a cult that would challenge scientific progress. Armed with the skull of his target and the knowledge that his own life hangs in the balance, Conger becomes ensnared in a web of suspicion and intrigue that threatens not only the mission, but his own identity. As the tension mounts and the clock ticks down, he uncovers a stunning revelation that forces him to question everything he believed about himself and the world. In The Skull, Philip K. Dick masterfully combines elements of science fiction, time travel, and humanity's search for meaning in a thrilling narrative that will keep you guessing until the very last page. With its unique premise and timeless themes, this extraordinary short story is sure to captivate fans of the genre and new readers alike.
Philip K. Dick was a very influential science fiction writer. More than a dozen of his stories or novels have been adapted for the screen including Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and The Adjustment Bureau. His work questioned the nature of reality and was often set against the backdrop of corporate power and greed. The editors of www.fantasticstoriesoftheimagination.com have compiled thirteen of Philip K. Dick's stories for this collection. Included are: The Eyes Have It Beyond the Door Beyond Lies the Wub Mr. Spaceship The Skull The Crystal Crypt The Defenders The Hanging Stranger The Gun Tony and the Beetles The Variable Man Piper in the Woods Second Variety
An electric collection of interviews—including the first and the last—with one of the 20th century's most prolific, influential, and dazzlingly original writers of science fiction Long before Ridley Scott transformed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? into Blade Runner, Philip K. Dick was banging away at his typewriter in relative obscurity, ostracized by the literary establishment. Today he is widely considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. These interviews reveal a man plagued by bouts of manic paranoia and failed suicide attempts; a career fuelled by alcohol, amphetamines, and mystical inspiration; and, above all, a magnificent and generous imagination at work.
From the iconic author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, stories that inspired the original dramatic series. Though perhaps most famous as a novelist, Philip K. Dick wrote more than one hundred short stories over the course of his career, each as mind-bending and genre-defining as his longer works. Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams collects ten of the best. In “Autofac,” Dick shows us one of the earliest examples (and warnings) in science fiction of self-replicating machines. “Exhibit Piece” and “The Commuter” feature Dick exploring one of his favorite themes: the shifting nature of reality and whether it is even possible to perceive the world as it truly exists. And “The Hanging Stranger” provides a thrilling, dark political allegory as relevant today as it was when Dick wrote it at the height of the Cold War. Strange, funny, and powerful, the stories in this collection highlight a master at work, encapsulating his boundless imagination and deep understanding of the human condition. Praise for Philip K. Dick “In his top form, Philip K. Dick rivals Kurt Vonnegut.”—New York Times “Dick is one of the ten best American writers of the twentieth century, which is saying a lot. Dick was a kind of Kafka steeped in LSD and rage.”—Roberto Bolaño
From the visionary mind of Philip K. Dick, author of acclaimed sci-fi adaptations such as Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report, comes Beyond the Door, a chilling tale of paranoia, suspense, and the unsettling presence of the supernatural. In this masterful study of deception and obsession, Larry Thomas, a man plagued by jealousy and suspicion, buys a mysterious vintage cuckoo clock for his wife Doris, evoking memories of her childhood. Unbeknownst to Larry, a hidden danger lies dormant within the clock, a force that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. As Doris reignites a forbidden affair with antique connoisseur Bob Chambers, the cuckoo clock seems to come alive, feeding on Larry's increasing paranoia. Faced with his own unravelling sanity, Larry finds himself locked in a tense battle with the sinister cuckoo dwelling inside the ancient timepiece. Will Larry be able to withstand the presence of the dark force entwined with the clock, or will the cuckoo's menacing grip seal his fate? Delve into the world of Beyond the Door and experience the classic blend of speculative fiction and low fantasy that has solidified Philip K. Dick's reputation as a pioneer in pulp fiction.
Philip K. Dick won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel of 1963 for "The Man In the High Castle", and in the last year of his life (1982), the film "Blade Runner" was made from his novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". Here Vol. 3 of the late writer's collected work covers the years 1952-1955 and includes "Second Variety", "Foster, You're Dead", and "The Father-Thing" among many others.
Many thousands of readers worldwide consider Philip K. Dick to have been the greatest science fiction writer on any planet. Since his untimely death in 1982, interest in Dick's work has continued to mount and his reputation has been enhanced by a growing body of critical attention. This collection draws from the writer's earliest short and medium-length fiction (including several previously unpublished stories) during the years 1952-1955.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.