Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

by Philip K. Dick

Ebook, 1968

Library's rating

Library's review

A science fiction classic, in which a bounty hunter in future San Francisco (the date isn't clear but it's sometime after "World War Terminus" has left a radioactive cloud over the planet and blocking out the sun; most humans have chosen to emigrate to Mars or another space colony to survive) has
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to track down and "retire" some lifelike androids that have escaped from the Mars colony and returned to Earth.

It was never exactly clear to me why the androids (who don't seem to be out to overthrow humans and who have built-in lifespans of only a few years) had to be killed, other than that they committed crimes in order to escape Mars, but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the story. In addition to the basic action-driven plotline, there are some interesting ethical, religious and philosophical questions posed about what makes us human, and why it's acceptable to kill androids even if they are so nearly human that only the most exacting psychological-type tests can detect their machinery.

One of the most poignant aspects has to do with the scarcity of real animals due to the radioactive fallout, which makes each specimen (even toads and spiders) worth thousands of dollars and the main status symbol for humans, who have to resort to lifelike electric animals if they can't afford the real thing. I've never seen the Harrison Ford movie The Blade Runner, which is apparently based on this story, but I'd kind of like to check it out now and compare it to the Dick story.
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Description

Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML:A masterpiece ahead of its time, a prescient rendering of a dark future, and the inspiration for the blockbuster film Blade Runner By 2021, the World War has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remain covet any living creature, and for people who can’t afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacra: horses, birds, cats, sheep. They’ve even built humans. Immigrants to Mars receive androids so sophisticated they are indistinguishable from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans can wreak, the government bans them from Earth. Driven into hiding, unauthorized androids live among human beings, undetected. Rick Deckard, an officially sanctioned bounty hunter, is commissioned to find rogue androids and “retire” them. But when cornered, androids fight back—with lethal force. Praise for Philip K. Dick “The most...… (more)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1968
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