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randomspirits's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Racism
wincher2031's review against another edition
4.0
If 'A Beautiful Mind' was a Blade Runner prequel, this would be it.
dllman05's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
david_agranoff's review
2.0
Oh boy. This will make for an interesting podcast we will have David Gill as a guest on DHP and he is a big fan of this one. I know many people think Vulcan's Hammer is PKD's worst, and so far that was cosmic puppets but at least those books have ideas. Still there are few important things to talk about. Recording the pod in July '21
samnopal's review against another edition
4.0
Review copied from reddit
This book is weird. The characters are weird. The most rational characters in this book are the simulacra (androids) of Edwin Stanton and Abraham Lincoln. All the human characters are plagued by possible mental health disorders from nuclear fallout in the past BUT maybe they aren't and there is just a rash of mental health professionals misdiagnosing people in order to get them committed.
If other people have it, why don't I?
The simulacra were neat. Stanton was an old codger who ended up integrating well into the future and successfully running his own company after being wooed by a billionaire. Lincoln oscillates between being the benevolent guide and sinking into his own depression about existence. He pops in to guide our main protagonist Rosenbaum in a plan to foil his main competitor.
Rosenbaum was all over the place. His growing fascination with Pris, the secondary main character maybe?, was irrational and crazed concluding with him threatening the life of another man repeatedly and awkwardly. Only to be told later that his condition may have not been real?
There are two stories in this novel, the simulacra and mental health disorders and reality. They almost blend, but Lincoln and Stanton are dumped 2/3rd of the way in for a jaunt into a mental health clinic.
Not one of the better PKD novels, but still worth the read and funny in places.
This book is weird. The characters are weird. The most rational characters in this book are the simulacra (androids) of Edwin Stanton and Abraham Lincoln. All the human characters are plagued by possible mental health disorders from nuclear fallout in the past BUT maybe they aren't and there is just a rash of mental health professionals misdiagnosing people in order to get them committed.
If other people have it, why don't I?
The simulacra were neat. Stanton was an old codger who ended up integrating well into the future and successfully running his own company after being wooed by a billionaire. Lincoln oscillates between being the benevolent guide and sinking into his own depression about existence. He pops in to guide our main protagonist Rosenbaum in a plan to foil his main competitor.
Rosenbaum was all over the place. His growing fascination with Pris, the secondary main character maybe?, was irrational and crazed concluding with him threatening the life of another man repeatedly and awkwardly. Only to be told later that his condition may have not been real?
There are two stories in this novel, the simulacra and mental health disorders and reality. They almost blend, but Lincoln and Stanton are dumped 2/3rd of the way in for a jaunt into a mental health clinic.
Not one of the better PKD novels, but still worth the read and funny in places.
adarossiwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
arthurbdd's review against another edition
4.0
With extensive thematic parallels to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (it could almost, but not quite, be part of the same timeline), this low-key slice-of-life SF novel would be harder to like were it not made very clear that the narrator's perception of events is not to be trusted. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/the-man-whose-dicks-werent-all-exactly-alike/
larsinio's review against another edition
1.0
The 27th PKD book i read, and by far the worst.
Ironically his worst is the one that features a Strong Female Character.
This book sets up to be an interesting tale of psychosis mixed with artificial psychosis, between human and android.
However its just a mess. The main plot is abandoned about 2/3 of the book, never to return. See ya, Lincoln and Stanton. Turns it it never mattered. Instead the reader is presented with a crash course mental illness sequence that is extremely rushed and feels ufinished and filled with obsolete gobbeldy gick about schizofrenia centered around the obsession with a mentally ill Strong Female Character. Sure PKD uses schizophrenia quite a bit, but its the worst application here.
Dont know how this one got published. 1 star, because i cant recommend even to PKD fans - it makes you think less of him.
Ironically his worst is the one that features a Strong Female Character.
This book sets up to be an interesting tale of psychosis mixed with artificial psychosis, between human and android.
However its just a mess. The main plot is abandoned about 2/3 of the book, never to return. See ya, Lincoln and Stanton. Turns it it never mattered. Instead the reader is presented with a crash course mental illness sequence that is extremely rushed and feels ufinished and filled with obsolete gobbeldy gick about schizofrenia centered around the obsession with a mentally ill Strong Female Character. Sure PKD uses schizophrenia quite a bit, but its the worst application here.
Dont know how this one got published. 1 star, because i cant recommend even to PKD fans - it makes you think less of him.