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A review by nightcrawler79
The Philip K. Dick Reader by Philip K. Dick
3.0
The main problem with this anthology is that too many of the stories are not especially interesting. They're not necessarily bad, just not very interesting. Some of the stories are excellent, though, and, for the most part they make up for the weak spots. Also, several of the stories have gone on to be movies (though you might not recognize them...) and will probably be of interest to many people irrespective of quality.
Most of the best stories are the ones that made it as films. They're often good for reasons other than the films that are based on them, though. Minority Report is good, though don't expect Tom Cruise's chief Anderton to show up. We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, which became Total Recall, is a long joke, though kind of a funny one. Paycheck is a real standout - just the premise makes it worth reading, and the rest isn't bad either. Second Variety, which became Screamers, has an okay premise but is missing something in execution.
Many of the remaining stories are fairly forgettable. The Hanging Man does stand out as a good Twilight Zone/Invasion of the Body Snatchers type story though. Most of the remaining stories split into rather generic humans-after-the-robots stories or enigmatic horror set pieces, with a couple good aliens-vs.-humans political pieces thrown in also.
Most of the best stories are the ones that made it as films. They're often good for reasons other than the films that are based on them, though. Minority Report is good, though don't expect Tom Cruise's chief Anderton to show up. We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, which became Total Recall, is a long joke, though kind of a funny one. Paycheck is a real standout - just the premise makes it worth reading, and the rest isn't bad either. Second Variety, which became Screamers, has an okay premise but is missing something in execution.
Many of the remaining stories are fairly forgettable. The Hanging Man does stand out as a good Twilight Zone/Invasion of the Body Snatchers type story though. Most of the remaining stories split into rather generic humans-after-the-robots stories or enigmatic horror set pieces, with a couple good aliens-vs.-humans political pieces thrown in also.