What the Reviewers Said
‘Deeply comprehensive, with breakdowns of all Dick’s books, it’s an essential guide for those wanting a quick tour of sci-fi’s craziest mind. ****’
Saxon Bullock, Hot Dog (February 2001).
‘it’s another lucid, well-knit, little guide — excellent value for the money.’
Interzone books received.
‘Butler’s love and enthusiasm for the writer shines from every page, and this is both a compelling read and a book that creates an irresistible impulse in the reader to rush out and plug those PKD gaps in their own collection.’
Barry Forshaw, Starlog (December 2000).
‘This Pocket Essential is in fact one of the better entries in the series….’
Review by Tony Floyd
‘An excellent introduction to the complex world of Philip K. Dick, filled with insight and synopsis galore, it gives a quick and in-depth look into each of the works of this Chicago born genius. […] This book is a must have for any reader of Dick, novice or expert.’ Justin Alan Price from Lineboro, MD United States, on www.amazon.com
‘…those nice folk at Pocket Essentials have trained their microscope on sci-fi guru and drugfiend, Philip K. Dick and produced this handy little stash of info, anecdotes and all sorts…’
Richard Shephard, Waterstone’s Online
From the Back Cover
Almost everything you need to know in one essential guide.
Who was Dick? A freaked-out junkie who took too many drugs? An explorer of madnesswho got too close to his subject and ended up claiming to have met God? A practical joker? The most consistently brilliant SF writer in the world?
At a time when most SF was about cowboys in outer space, Dick explored the landscapes of the mind, conjured with fake realities and was able to make you believe six impossible things before breakfast. He embodied the counter-culture a decade before the 1960s.
Perhaps best known for Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? – the novel which inspired Blade Runner – Dick’s world is one where reality is only provisional, where the President might be an android, where psychiatrists come in suitcases, and where God speaks through cat food commercials and comes in a handy aerosol can. And where you might be a figment of someones else’s imagination…
What’s in this book? As well as an introductory essay, each of Philip K Dick’s novels is reviewed and analysed. And for those who want more, there is a listing of the many other books and articles which have grappled with this genius.
About the Author
Andrew M Butler is Senior Lecturer Media and Cultural Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University College and author of the Pocket Essentials Terry Pratchett, Philip K Dick, Cyberpunk and, with Bob Ford, Postmodernism. He was the winner of the 2004 Pioneer Award and would collect shiny trousers in his spare time if he had any.
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