Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick
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Book Summary Information
Author: Philip K. DickEdition: Kindle Edition
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Kindle eBook
Published: 2008-02-26
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 258
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Book Review: the invisible difference between man and machine
Summary: 5 Stars
"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" presents a dystopian future in which humans must struggle with the value of life in a world where nature's restorative powers have been utterly destroyed, replaced by technology that can superficially replicate both animals and people. Dick creates a future in which there is no natural world to speak of-- radioactive dust blocks the sky, wilderness has been reduced to boulder-strewn wasteland, and nearly all wild animals are extinct. Against this post-apocalyptic backdrop, the humans that have not emigrated to other "colonies" in the solar system struggle to define and cherish life. Artificial animals and people, the robotic sheep and androids from Dick's title, raise questions about the intrinsic value of life and the limits of empathy. Confronted with a barren world, the characters in this novel care for animals as a way of displaying their essential human quality-- empathy. Those who cannot afford a real animal take care of elaborate robotic look-alikes. Although robotic animals are seen as harmless, androids are forbidden from earth for fear that their lack of empathy will further imperil what life remains. The novel's main character, Rick Deckard, is a bounty hunter, a police officer who makes his living hunting androids illegally on earth. Deckard is forced to confront the implications of his job, which demands that he deny androids the same empathy he showed his electric sheep-- the same empathy that distinguishes him from the androids he "retires."
"Androids" supplements Deckard's perspective with a parallel story line that reveals the complex motivations driving androids to illegally emigrate to earth. Dick's androids are near-perfect humans, except that they coldly disregard the intrinsic value of living things, even after longing to leave Mars because it is a lifeless planet. Dick's construction of complex android personalities that demonstrate their lack of empathy is fascinating. Conscious and sentient, the androids in this novel pose existential questions about their own lives. Dick ultimately appeals to the reader's own empathy by presenting scenarios in which one recoils at the cruelty androids exhibit towards animals that, in the context of the novel, are scarce and precious.
"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" illustrates the fundamental difference between the way people react to nature, on the one hand, and the machines we make, on the other. Ultimately, humanity's ability to respect the intrinsic value of life sets us apart from the machines we create. For a quick and easy read, this book contains a deep and powerful message.
Summary of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
"The most consistently brilliant science fiction writer in the world."--John Brunner
THE INSPIRATION FOR BLADERUNNER. . .
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published in 1968. Grim and foreboding, even today it is a masterpiece ahead of its time.
By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn't afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep. . . They even built humans.
Emigrées to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn't want to be identified, they just blended in.
Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results.
"[Dick] sees all the sparkling and terrifying possibilities. . . that other authors shy away from."
--Paul Williams, Rolling Stone
From the Trade Paperback edition.
"The most consistently brilliant science fiction writer in the world."
--John Brunner
THE INSPIRATION FOR BLADERUNNER. . .
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published in 1968. Grim and foreboding, even today it is a masterpiece ahead of its time.
By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn't afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep. . . They even built humans.
Emigrées to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn't want to be identified, they just blended in.
Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results.
"[Dick] sees all the sparkling and terrifying possibilities. . . that other authors shy away from."
--Paul Williams, Rolling Stone
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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