Nicole M. (BarteringBibliophile) reviewed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Not being an avid reader of Science Fiction, I was a little apprehensive about reading this book. The intriguing title caught my attention a few years ago and I just recently decided to finally pick it up.
Enmeshed in a story about a bounty hunter whose job it is to "retire" androids that are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from actual humans, is a philosophical novel about the meaning of life and human identity. The topics discussed within the story make one question his own reality.
Even if you don't normally have a proclivity toward Science Fiction, I would still recommend that you read this. Dial "awareness of the manifold possibilities of the future" on your Mood Organ and settle in for an interesting story about the year 2021.
Enmeshed in a story about a bounty hunter whose job it is to "retire" androids that are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from actual humans, is a philosophical novel about the meaning of life and human identity. The topics discussed within the story make one question his own reality.
Even if you don't normally have a proclivity toward Science Fiction, I would still recommend that you read this. Dial "awareness of the manifold possibilities of the future" on your Mood Organ and settle in for an interesting story about the year 2021.
Helpful Score: 2
I had heard that Dick is considered by many to be the greatest Science Fiction author ever. This book might just confirm it. The movie Blade Runner was based on this book, although the resemblance is not all that great. I would say that both the movie and the book are masterpieces.
Helpful Score: 1
Do not judge a book by the movie. They are different and great for different reasons. You should read this book. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." A must read for any Sci-Fi or Speculative fiction fan. Wonderful images and idea with great characters.
Helpful Score: 1
Rating: 5/5
This is actually the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, not Blade Runner. If you saw the movie and liked it, there is no guarantee that you will like this book. However, this is a brilliant, classic novel by a brilliant, classic sci-fi writer.
The story still has androids (a.k.a. replicants) and a detective who hunts them, but where the movie was mainly about man's reliance on machine and the definition of life, the book is more about human spirituality.
Instead of approaching the question of whether the androids are self-determining, thinking, LIVING things by asking whether they feel emotion and empathy, the book asks whether the androids can join us in a communal, religious experience and connect with other living beings in a spiritual way.
That's all just a theme though, there's still all the action and cool stuff in the book that makes sci-fi great. This book is a classic piece of science fiction literature and a must read.
This is actually the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, not Blade Runner. If you saw the movie and liked it, there is no guarantee that you will like this book. However, this is a brilliant, classic novel by a brilliant, classic sci-fi writer.
The story still has androids (a.k.a. replicants) and a detective who hunts them, but where the movie was mainly about man's reliance on machine and the definition of life, the book is more about human spirituality.
Instead of approaching the question of whether the androids are self-determining, thinking, LIVING things by asking whether they feel emotion and empathy, the book asks whether the androids can join us in a communal, religious experience and connect with other living beings in a spiritual way.
That's all just a theme though, there's still all the action and cool stuff in the book that makes sci-fi great. This book is a classic piece of science fiction literature and a must read.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was kinda trippy, but very thought provoking; makes one ponder what it means to be human.
Helpful Score: 1
Be fore-warned: This is the book that "inspired" Blade Runner.If you watched the movie and thought you'd like to read this book, you'll find there were some elements left out of the movie that would have made it a very different film. Read by itself, it's a good sci-fi novel. Just don't expect the movie scene-for-scene.
This is also known as Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?"
Although some of his references are dated, his imagination shines.
Classic. Read it.
Interesting future setting where artificial intelligence has been mastered to the point where androids are as human as humans and people even own fake A.I. pets. The robot pet that they own is kind of a caste mark or status symbol(an electric sheep is a good pet, so people dream of owning an electric sheep, because it would indicate that they are doing well).
It is what the movie Blade Runner was based on and the book is even sometimes titled as Blade Runner.
Interesting future setting where artificial intelligence has been mastered to the point where androids are as human as humans and people even own fake A.I. pets. The robot pet that they own is kind of a caste mark or status symbol(an electric sheep is a good pet, so people dream of owning an electric sheep, because it would indicate that they are doing well).
It is what the movie Blade Runner was based on and the book is even sometimes titled as Blade Runner.
From http://theinfamousj.livejournal.com/438647.html
I love, love, love, love dystopian fiction. This book title keeps being suggested time and time again, especially due to its similarity to The Lathe of Heaven.
Before I review the book, I just wanted to ask what, in Mercer's name, is up with the anti-Oregon hatred? The books I've been reading lately seem to be full of it. The Lathe of Heaven keeps having Oregon be the only place that is bombed and destroyed and then in this book Oregon is listed as a vast wasteland where only those who are suicidal should go.
That said, this book is about a post-apocalyptic world filled with radiactive dust that alters mental states and reproductive capacity. Most people have emigrated to Mars or other worlds where they are given android slaves to do their bidding. These androids look and act remarkably human, all of which is market driven according to the Rosen Corporation who produces them.
It is implied that androids who hurt {hurt? kill?} humans and then return to Earth are to be terminated and apparently this happens with such regularity that most police forces have a position called a bounty hunter just for doing this sort of work. Enter the protagonist - Rick Deckard - who is one such bounty hunter.
This is the story of Deckard's internal and external struggle to terminate increasingly more human-seeming androids. It is the story of his struggle with the basic human desire to anthropomorphize anything that vaguely resembles us, as well as extend empathic feelings toward that which we have anthropomorphized. It is the struggle for human contact in a vacuous world {John Isidore's story}. It is a struggle to find reasons to live and be joyous in a post-apocalyptic world. It is a struggle to keep going day-to-day while living with almost crippling depression. It is a story of the struggle to make it through a marriage that has survived on momentum alone.
It is not a story about sex, though there is a short sex scene with Rachael Rosen who is more than she seems. Also, it is not a story about dialogue as all the dialogue seems clipped or to be in a form of code or short hand which the reader is never given the tools to decode. And to that end, I have docked 2 stars from this book for it is a story mostly told in this clipped dialogue.
A better book that explores these themes would be I, Robot.
I love, love, love, love dystopian fiction. This book title keeps being suggested time and time again, especially due to its similarity to The Lathe of Heaven.
Before I review the book, I just wanted to ask what, in Mercer's name, is up with the anti-Oregon hatred? The books I've been reading lately seem to be full of it. The Lathe of Heaven keeps having Oregon be the only place that is bombed and destroyed and then in this book Oregon is listed as a vast wasteland where only those who are suicidal should go.
That said, this book is about a post-apocalyptic world filled with radiactive dust that alters mental states and reproductive capacity. Most people have emigrated to Mars or other worlds where they are given android slaves to do their bidding. These androids look and act remarkably human, all of which is market driven according to the Rosen Corporation who produces them.
It is implied that androids who hurt {hurt? kill?} humans and then return to Earth are to be terminated and apparently this happens with such regularity that most police forces have a position called a bounty hunter just for doing this sort of work. Enter the protagonist - Rick Deckard - who is one such bounty hunter.
This is the story of Deckard's internal and external struggle to terminate increasingly more human-seeming androids. It is the story of his struggle with the basic human desire to anthropomorphize anything that vaguely resembles us, as well as extend empathic feelings toward that which we have anthropomorphized. It is the struggle for human contact in a vacuous world {John Isidore's story}. It is a struggle to find reasons to live and be joyous in a post-apocalyptic world. It is a struggle to keep going day-to-day while living with almost crippling depression. It is a story of the struggle to make it through a marriage that has survived on momentum alone.
It is not a story about sex, though there is a short sex scene with Rachael Rosen who is more than she seems. Also, it is not a story about dialogue as all the dialogue seems clipped or to be in a form of code or short hand which the reader is never given the tools to decode. And to that end, I have docked 2 stars from this book for it is a story mostly told in this clipped dialogue.
A better book that explores these themes would be I, Robot.
Due to the success of "The Hunger Games" and other similar books, there has been a flooding of dystopian fiction mostly directed at YA readers.
This book is definitely a classic of the dystopian genre, that any reader interested in the genre should read.
Even though the book was published in 1968 it still resonates with modern readers
This book is definitely a classic of the dystopian genre, that any reader interested in the genre should read.
Even though the book was published in 1968 it still resonates with modern readers
Great Scifi novel. Really not scifi though. More post apocalyptic and dystopic than anything. VERY DIFFERENT FROM MOVIE. Sure Deckert goes after Andys and kills them (or "retires" them i should say). But the focus here is on how empathy is a rare and prized gift. So much so that pets/animals become status symbols!! Imagine saving money for a down payment on a goat, then barely squeaking by with its huge monthly bill! But you gotta have it to show your neighbors that you can empathize with animals and have enough $$ to afford it!!!
But if you read this dont think there isnt any action as retiring Andys is no easy task. Being without emotion they clearly calculate and strike without any hesitation. Its clear that while human emotion is a prized gift its also a hinderence when the task at hand is hunting and retiring something so human the only way to prove it to administer an empathy test. Andys dont have emotions....do they?
Two thumbs up. Loved it. (Dystopic Post Apocolyptic storioes are thing so im am biased FYI)
But if you read this dont think there isnt any action as retiring Andys is no easy task. Being without emotion they clearly calculate and strike without any hesitation. Its clear that while human emotion is a prized gift its also a hinderence when the task at hand is hunting and retiring something so human the only way to prove it to administer an empathy test. Andys dont have emotions....do they?
Two thumbs up. Loved it. (Dystopic Post Apocolyptic storioes are thing so im am biased FYI)
This book and "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" are one and the same. It was released under the name "Bladerunner" after the movie came out.
This is a science fiction that's as strange as the title sounds.
Although I enjoy the movie based on this book, I find that the story is more complete and richer in content than that told in the movie. As we destroy this planet this is a possible view of tomorrow. Where those that are less than "perfect" are left behind to deal with the what is left. One of Phillip K. Dicks better stories, I recommend it to others for reading.
I am not normally a fan of science fiction but I did enjoy this book very much. There is a deep underlying philosophical theme of what makes us all human. It questions the values of society, as well as the very meaning of life and redemption. I liked the way it dealt with human compassion and empathy. A must read if you are a science fiction fan.
