Philip K. Dick is one of the best, if not the best, science fiction writers, so why has it taken me so long to discover he’s the creative genius behind many movies I love? No idea. But after listening to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (here’s my review), I wanted to read more of Philip K. Dick’s science fiction. So, I listened to The Minority Report and Other Classics, read by Keir Dullea.
Holy cow! Filmmakers adapted four of the five short stories in this collection into major motion pictures. We Can Remember It For You Wholesale was the basis of the 1990 film Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 1995, Second Variety was adapted into the movie Screamers (for those of us leary of AI, this story is particularly scary). The Minority Report released in 2002 and starred Tom Cruise, and Paycheck with Ben Affleck came out in 2003. The fifth story, The Eyes Have It, is a lot of fun word play.
What I liked about the book
There is so much imagination and moral dilemma packed into these stories. They tackle big issues like innocence, war, what is reality, and more, and all have tight, tension-filled plots.
In The Minority Report, three mutants (pre-cogs) predict when a murder will occur. Pre-crime then arrests the alleged murderer-to-be. So much for innocent until proven guilty. When a pre-cog predicts John Anderton will kill a man he hasn’t even met, the reader is left wondering, will he kill? And if Anderton doesn’t, won’t that destroy the society he’s spent his life defending?
In Paycheck, an electrical engineer completes a two-year job at Rethrick Construction and then has his memory wiped, so he has no idea what that job entailed (a pre-cursor to Severance?). He has the option of receiving his very large paycheck or a bunch of random objects he left himself while on the job. He takes the objects, many of which save his life.
The chilling Second Variety tells of a war between UN forces and the Soviet Union (the novelette was written in 1953). The losing UN forces have created killer robots, called “claws”, which kill any life form. The western forces have ways to protect themselves from the claws, but the Soviets don’t, so the tide is turning. And then the robots evolve and create different varieties of themselves. It looks pretty bleak for humankind.
In an interview, Dick said, “I don’t believe that the universe exists. I believe that the only thing that exists is God, and he is more than the universe. The universe is an extension of God into space and time.That’s the premise I start from in my work, that so-called ‘reality’ is a mass delusion that we’ve all been required to believe for reasons totally obscure.” (“An Interview With America’s Most Brilliant Science-Fiction Writer” by Joe Vitale). No where is this belief system more apparent than in Dick’s short story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, which plays with memories and reality.
What I didn’t like about the book
The dialogue is too on the nose with limited amounts of subtext. The roles of women are outdated, particularly in Paycheck where the founder of Rethrick Construction has a daughter and no sons, so he has states he has no one to leave the business to unless his daughter gives him a grandson. Yikes. The writing is also clunky, with the characters spending much of their time explaining things.
I wanted more (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing)
I’d like more description of the settings and more character development, and I’d like my favorite audio book narrator, Ray Porter, to narrate these short stories. He did a fantastic job with Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, Jack Carr’s The Terminal List, Peter Clines’ 14, and Jonathan Maberry’s Patient Zero.
How this book has affected my writing
The ending of The Minority Report has triggered ideas for my third and fourth books in The Devil Particle Series. Anderton becomes disillusioned by the criminal justice system. Or does he? Likewise, my characters believe in the Vessel Project and then become disillusioned. Or do they?
The Minority Report and Other Classics gets 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 for tackling big issues and incredible imagination.
I’m out and about this month — come see me!
Saturday, June 21st, Hedberg Public Library Book Fest, 316 S. Main Street, Janesville – At 9:30 a.m., I’m teaching my Crafting Unforgettable Characters Workshop. At 10:45 a.m. I’m on a panel with Authors Peggy Williams, Christine DeSmet, and Ken Humphrey discussing the different ways to publish a book. And at 2:30 p.m. I’ll be selling my books during the book fair.
Sunday, June 29th, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Kenosha Book Festival, 5031 7th Avenue, Kenosha — Along with other indie authors, I’ll be on hand to talk about my writing and to sell (and sign) books.
