Yes, I know.
SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP SHEEP
I've been saying Sleep for years, and metaphorically it works, but still isn't the title.
Now I've been a fan of Philip K. Dick for years. His works always have a way of making you think about them. I like to consider there being two main types of scifi. Intellectual, and Entertainment. Which isn't to say some writers won't find themselves in the grey area. Though there are alot of levels to Intellectual Scifi. Meaning you can show it off through Combat, History, Art, Evolution, Science, and a hundred of other fields of study, but the point is some writers really know how to flex there mind on the page.
I've talked to alot people about PKD over the years. Even met a few that feel he should be classified as an entertainment writer of scifi, but most Scifi writers I've read have never come close to PKD. I remember one set of Trek(TOS) who said that Scifi was about exploring the human condition. That upset me for a time. Mainly because I'm more interested in the aliens then I am the humans. You can discuss humans anywhere, what makes Scifi different? Though that's exactly it. Scifi gives you alot of ground to explore that you can't in our current social Scifis, and Fantasy is the same exact way.
This isn't to say that I hate Entertainment books, or that I mean to demean them by calling them such. I still read plenty of Entertainment.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick
I don't know what I was expecting reading the book. The front, and back cover both had pics from Blade Runner. Which don't make much sense considering how different the movie is, but it's there to sell the book, and I might not have remembered the real title otherwise.
This book is much different then I expected it to be. Not bad by any sense of the word. I was a little slow in starting. I have trouble getting into multiple characters, but a little over 50 pages in, and I started to enjoy it. Multiple characters are like that though. It's kinda like the writer showing you how to tie a special knot. At first you don't understand how he does it, but as slowly eases you into it you begin see it all coming together to make a nice neat bow.
As for the content of the book, I feel like it was censored. I keep getting fork instead of f***, and stuff like that. Not something I blame the writer for. It's mostly publishers, and editors that take the honor with that stuff. So you might want to take heed of which version you get if that stuff bothers you.
Now as for the theme of the book. Are Androids alive, and what constitutes being alive? This is the fundamental question raised by the book. I remember someone saying that PKD was good at asking questions that he didn't answer, and to me that is the main reason I like his works. The sense of mystery that comes from that question, and the desire that raises in some people to find an answer.
Blade Runner
Took the time to watch the movie again before writing this entry. Mostly to see what was different, and what was the same. Compared to the book it felt watered down. On it's own merits after all these years I still find the movie boring. While I wasn't expecting an action movie Ridley Scott just has this slow pace about some of these things, and so there are alot of scenes that appear to be trying to set the mood with nothing happening. Now I'm a big fan of wide shots. I hate face close ups, but with how dark most of the scenes were it's hard to make out what alot of the characters are even doing. To me that really hinders the movie when you do it throughout the entire movie. Though I wish some directors would experiment with it more. As it does help the mood when it's what you're aiming for.
I did find alot of stuff interesting though. From hover cars, keeping normal cars, the Rosen Building(Pyramid), and other stuff.
Story wise it felt like the writers had started writing a sequel to the book, and were told to go back with changes to X, Y, and Z to make it more like the book. Then again maybe I had backwards somewhere, and someone just didn't like the idea of Decker cheating on his wife. Oddly the message behind the movie seems to be akin to the Fountain of Youth along with what qualifies as being alive, but they did take a firmer stance on where Deckard found himself.
Odd tidbit: Someone pointed out to me that Edward James Olmos was in the film. For some reason this baffled me. On the way to IMDB to look it up, I kept thinking there was only one person he could be. The voice was on loop in my head the whole time,"It's too bad she won't live, but then again who does."
Concluding Thoughts
With a possible movie sequel/prequel on the way I have no idea where i stand. Maybe some new visionary will come along, and breath some life into Blade Runner. Though it may be absent familiar faces, and voices. Some actors have a way of leaving there charm on things.
As for the book, it goes down as a Scifi favorite of mine.
Next Review: Woken Furies by Richard K Morgan
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