The Biblio Blogazine

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick
Science Fiction, 244 pages 
A Del Rey Book

FTC Disclosure: Purchased from

This is nothing like the movie “Blade Runner”, which is loosely based on the novel.

Not that this is a bad thing. I like the movie, and I like the book.

However, I advise anyone who has not experienced both, to avoid having any expectations that one is much like the other.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that the director of the film hadn’t read much of the book. That was apparent. Yet what he created helped me visualize aspects of Rick Deckard’s post apocalyptic world. It made my reading experience much more enjoyable. In fact the author confirmed that the filmmakers did interpret that aspect of the book accurately.

For me, a good book always evokes questions that I want answered. It’s what keeps me turning page after page.

The one thought that kept recurring in my mind was, “What makes us human? What differentiates us from other creatures, organic or artificial?”

For the author, he focuses on empathy, which according to Dictionary.com, is “the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.”

We see this manifested in Deckard’s near obsession with owning a real animal. In 2021 Earth, many species have become extinct. To possess and care for any of the remaining creatures is seen as a status symbol. Not only of wealth, but of one’s empathy and “humanness”.

There was something that bothered me though, and may bother other readers as well. But when I thought about it, I am wondering if it was a deliberate act by the author.

You know how some authors have a favorite word, one that is used so often, it becomes a little bothersome? Well, Philip K. Dick loves using “ersatz” in this book. A lot.

Yet it makes sense when you know what the word means: an artificial substance or article used to replace something natural or genuine.

Maybe this is what Dick wanted to get across. Is a substitute more or less real than the original? Just because it is a substitute, is it any less precious or valuable? Can we, should we,  confer upon it the same feelings, reverence, and respect as we would the original version? Is doing so making us less human, or it more human?

For a book of only 244 pages, there is a lot of quality content that will keep you thinking, and probably re-reading many passages. 

I highly recommend it.

The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin
Science Fiction, 400 pp (Mass Market)
Eos, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 

FTC Disclaimer: My tax dollars at work. (Borrowed from the library) 

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The last line: “His hands were empty, as they ahd always been.” 

In this case, empty is not necessarily a bad thing. 

What is utopia? A place? Or is it only a state of mind? Perhaps, it is merely an illusion we make real in order to cope. 

That is of course if we ever find it. 

Shevek is in search of something, and instead of finding it, he discovers a newness of self, one that he struggles to resolve. It is this discovery which leads me to better understand the title of the book. 

Dispossessed: having suffered the loss of expectations, prospects, relationships, etc.; disaffiliated; alienated. 

The thing is, while alienated from the life he knew before he left his world physically, Shevek comes to realize he had been dealing with the same things psychologically long before he went in search of belonging, of incorporation, of cohesiveness. 

He finds some answers, just not the ones he expected. 

The protagonist searches for an ideal, and in the end it is left to the reader to determine if he found it, and where. 

I am not going to say more. Move along now. No spoilers here. 

My only gripes were that there were some lengthy, scientific/philosophical debates, which I skimmed as they went way beyond my comprehension and patience. Also, and this is very minor, there is the layout. The chapters alternate between the past and present, leading up to the final chapter where they merge. 

This was never a problem for me, and it shouldn’t be for anyone else. I found it harder to adjust to The Time Traveler’s Wife than I did this narrative. 

Still, I found this to be an enjoyable read and for any lover of science fiction, this book is for you. 

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From the author’s website:
As of 2010, Ursula K. Le Guin  has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, three collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include a volume of poetry, Incredible Good Fortune, the novel Lavinia, and an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

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