Book Review: The Collected Works Of Philip K. Dick by Philip K. Dick - Page 2

The Transmigration Of Timothy Archer is another favorite. Dick’s final novel can be read on a number of levels. It works as a simple sci-fi story, it can be interpreted as a drug-fueled dream, or even as a spiritual tale. My feeling is that the book is a lament from a man whose mind remained as sharp as ever, even as his body was failing him.

The film Blade Runner (1982) was adapted from Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? originally published in 1968. To this reviewer, it remains the template for adaptations of Dick’s writing to the big screen. The movie is visually stunning, but the pathos Harrison Ford brought to his characterization really conveys the type of duality so common in PKD’s prose.

What is now Volume One of this Library Of America set was actually first published in 2007, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Blade Runner. When it became the biggest selling title in their catalog, the LOA decided to go a little further with the program.

Not to be a company shill, but the set is modestly priced, and an excellent way to introduce yourself to one of the finest writers it has ever been my privilege to read. The volumes are hard-bound, with excellent covers, and make a nice addition to the bookshelf.

Is Philip K. Dick the finest post-War writer of American fiction? You be the judge. Based on these 13 novels, I think the argument can definitely be made.

And honestly, what do you have to lose? We have all seen the movies, and most are acknowledged classics. Why not go to the source? Reading a Philip K. Dick novel is as rewarding an experience as any I can think of.

Article Author: Greg Barbrick

Greg Barbrick is a Seattle native who was first published in 1988, in his hometown music magazine, The Rocket. Since then his work has appeared in print and online for numerous sources. He Googles himself so often that his mother told him it would make him go blind.
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