Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Blade Runner by Philip K. Dick

5 reviews

baccoamon's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Avid readers and fans of the Blade Runner series will undoubtedly come across this book when in need of another brooding scifi story to satiate that craving. But one would find themselves either pleasantly surprised or underwhelmed, depending if the reader is looking for a new story or a familiar one, to find that "Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep" is very much the corner stone of niche scifi that it is heralded as while also very much not living up to some of its more established inspirations. 

Philip K. Dick in this book seems to stumble upon larger questions around collective identity vs individuality, worship culture, mental health, and empathy that tend to lead to more open answers rather than a definite perspective. I did come away wondering if this book was written to be more of a introspection for the reader to dissect for themselves or if simply the language he was afforded was not able to directly correlate some of these ideas in a more precise way due to the time period and this very much being a speculative future where a writer from 1968 is looking into a world overcome by class elitism and techno-ethic dilemmas. For fans of speculative fiction and brooding scifi you will find yourself at home as Decker reflects on what self fulfillment, empathy, and identity means to the human experience.  

My largest negative to the story is the inability to truly humanize the Androids as it creates a strange conflict of interest when it comes to the ethos that I believed Philip to be leaning towards and the outdated understanding of Schizophrenia, as a reminder that this book is from 50 years ago, is a bit annoying to overlook while reading. 

Contemplative and interesting this book is worth your time but do not expect a literary Blade Runner. 
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athornedrose's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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luxxltyd's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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jessthanthree's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bramlee's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

2.5

I read this book at the suggestion of a friend. I probably wouldn't have finished it otherwise. Overall the concept was interesting, just very outside of my comfort zone. There were moments that made me uncomfortable because the writing was so stiff or the main character objectified female characters. Definitely look up a content warning list before reading. 
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