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The Essential Philip K. Dick

nytimes.com

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Re: The Essential Philip K. Dick

#121

Post by anigbrowl »

fsckboy wrote: post #120
anigbrowl wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PKD has a much stronger claim on that than Harlan Ellison ever did. A writer of great talent who inexplicably chose to drown it in a barrel of pomposity.

according to this, Cameron said he ripped off Ellison https://www.cbr.com/terminator-harlan-ellison-credit/ the article describes it as the opening time travel part, though it's not clear that's what Cameron said.

Yeah, I've never really bought that. HE made such a thing out of it I think they put it on there to placate him. It seemed to me that his claims of plagiarism rested on very narrow conceptual elements that were too abstract to count as a real rip-off.

See below for another example of this. I really admired him as a writer when I first encountered on him but the more I got to know him the less I enjoyed it :-/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Time

In contrast, PKD stories like Second Variety feel astonishingly like the post-apocalyptic environment ruled by Skynet and the plan of hunting down the remaining humans with terminators. I would be very surprised if Cameron or someone on the creative team weren't inspired by it.

Re: The Essential Philip K. Dick

#122

Post by stevenwoo »

pmoriarty wrote: post #53
stevenwoo wrote: post #4

The writer talks about Ubik but does not mention the pervasiveness of corporate power/role in the daily life described (at least from my interpretation), this is well portrayed in Total Recall, also based on a Philip K. Dick story which varies enough from the movie to be read as separate work. Short story not mentioned but is worth reading if one has not, Second Variety.

"Short story not mentioned but is worth reading if one has not, Second Variety." The movie The Terminator has some similarities to Second Variety , and I wouldn't be surprised if the movie was somewhat influenced by the story.

When I was reading the story I confidently thought - I know how this goes, for sure Terminator was based on Second Variety. I was very surprised that Screamers was the movie licensed from the story because the Screamers part of the story is just the introduction/setup for the main plot, and the movie simply used the setup technology for the entire plot which kind of misses a point of the story in a way.

Re: The Essential Philip K. Dick

#123

Post by alanbernstein »

Trasmatta wrote: post #37

VALIS is the most bizarre but fascinating book I've ever read. I recommend going into it only after reading a number of his other books, and then reading a synopsis of his own life. It's fiction but also psuedo-autobiographical, and a deeply personal story to PKD.

I have a goal to read enough of PKD's work and life story that I can at least appreciate VALIS, if not enjoy it (So far: The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Ubik). An unreligious friend read it and, evidently, became born-again christian immediately afterward. Ever since I have been painfully curious about what in this book could possibly have precipitated such a thing.

Re: The Essential Philip K. Dick

#124

Post by DontchaKnowit »

yarg wrote: post #68
keiferski wrote: post #6

PKD is one of my favorite sci-fi writers and I recommend Ubik if you're a new reader, although like the article mentions, you definitely need to be in a certain mindset to "get it." The Man in the High Castle has an interesting concept but I don't think it's particularly well-written. One thing that I think goes unnoticed about PKD is how some of his earlier short stories are undeniably, unquestionably bad. Fair Game…

He also had a problem with women (to be fair, he was a professional writer - and apparently his wife wouldn't let him use the house). I don't think I've read a single well-meaning intelligent woman in a PKD story. I remember being surprised at the start of one of his books, that the female character introduced at the beginning was clearly competent - turned out she was evil.

Really? I can think of 2 competent and well meaning women in Ubik alone.

Re: The Essential Philip K. Dick

#125

Post by DontchaKnowit »

xhevahir wrote: post #88
keiferski wrote: post #6

PKD is one of my favorite sci-fi writers and I recommend Ubik if you're a new reader, although like the article mentions, you definitely need to be in a certain mindset to "get it." The Man in the High Castle has an interesting concept but I don't think it's particularly well-written. One thing that I think goes unnoticed about PKD is how some of his earlier short stories are undeniably, unquestionably bad. Fair Game…

Ubik is the only PKD novel I've read and man did I struggle to finish it. Once in a while a passage caught my interest and then I would realize that I was reading was basically a summary of some myth from Gnostic scripture. A real slog, on the whole.

Really? I did not get any gnostic vibes from Ubik at all. Now Valis on the other hand is like a schizophrenic reckoning with gnostic ideas

Re: The Essential Philip K. Dick

#126

Post by Trasmatta »

alanbernstein wrote: post #123
Trasmatta wrote: post #37

VALIS is the most bizarre but fascinating book I've ever read. I recommend going into it only after reading a number of his other books, and then reading a synopsis of his own life. It's fiction but also psuedo-autobiographical, and a deeply personal story to PKD.

I have a goal to read enough of PKD's work and life story that I can at least appreciate VALIS, if not enjoy it (So far: The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Ubik). An unreligious friend read it and, evidently, became born-again christian immediately afterward. Ever since I have been painfully curious about what in this book could possibly have precipitated such a thing.

I'd recommend The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and A Scanner Darkly. Those on top of the 3 you've read should prepare you for VALIS.

> An unreligious friend read it and, evidently, became born-again christian immediately afterward

Super interesting. I could see the book having that effect on somebody. Not my experience, but it doesn't surprise me that it's happened.

Re: The Essential Philip K. Dick

#127

Post by alanbernstein »

Trasmatta wrote: post #126
alanbernstein wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a goal to read enough of PKD's work and life story that I can at least appreciate VALIS, if not enjoy it (So far: The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Ubik). An unreligious friend read it and, evidently, became born-again christian immediately afterward. Ever since I have been painfully curious about what in this book could possibly have precipitated such a thing.

I'd recommend The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and A Scanner Darkly. Those on top of the 3 you've read should prepare you for VALIS. > An unreligious friend read it and, evidently, became born-again christian immediately afterward Super interesting. I could see the book having that effect on somebody. Not my experience, but it doesn't surprise me that it's happened.

I appreciate the recommendations!
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