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pkiwi's review against another edition
4.0
I remember being seriously underwhelmed by the movie. Let's say I'm quite overwhelmed by the book. It has a very good 'feel' to it, not just from the story elements but also the writing style. Certainly the kind of book to reread a few times. However, I deduct one star for the fairly weird bit at the end where It didn't, for me, clarify anything and felt like a slightly desperate attempt to 'elevate' the tone of the book.
Spoiler
Mercer suddenly featured quite heavily.logecatt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rolemartyrx's review against another edition
3.0
3 points: Good - Enjoyable with noticeable weaknesses.
khornstein1's review against another edition
4.0
My husband's pick for book club...so I started off thinking, "I don't really like science fiction." Well, that's a lie. I do. But there's never enough time once I get through my fave historical fiction, realistic fiction and memoir/bio picks.
So...this book takes place in 2019 and it seems an appropriate time to read it. Dick is prescient in his vision of life in the future (the book was written in 1968), and includes video calls (FaceTime), self-driving cars, droids and perhaps most disturbingly a religion called Mercerism which revolves around people trying to feel empathy (or really feeling anything) through connecting with stories they are seeing via reality TV.
Droids..ha-ha! Well, they're coming...and my friends who work at MIT say that it is really scary as to what they're being programmed to do as well as the whole AI field in general. Then again, I hope they'll be serving me donuts at the rest home. I talked to friends about how scary I found Westworld (not because of the robot element but because of the question Dick raises as well: what does it mean to be human?) If you don't believe humans have souls, what is the difference between a lump of cells and a person-made being? And if robots are programmed to have feelings, how are those feelings any different from what humans now experience? It's kind of mind-boggling.
I was going to take off two points for sexism, but then I remind myself: 1968! The novel then brought up other questions: other than Iran, who is human, the other women are droids and programmed to have "feminine" traits as well as be killers...an idea that Westworld well-develops with Dolores and Maeve. Westworld also explores the whole animal droid thing as well which I found the weak part of this book...then again, aren't we all supposed to have those little animal droid helper things in the not-so-distant future?
So...clunky writing at times, and confusing at the beginning, this book lays out some thoughts that continue to inform our times, and raises questions for which there are no straightforward answers. It's worth a read, and it's making me think I should read "Children of Men."
So...this book takes place in 2019 and it seems an appropriate time to read it. Dick is prescient in his vision of life in the future (the book was written in 1968), and includes video calls (FaceTime), self-driving cars, droids and perhaps most disturbingly a religion called Mercerism which revolves around people trying to feel empathy (or really feeling anything) through connecting with stories they are seeing via reality TV.
Droids..ha-ha! Well, they're coming...and my friends who work at MIT say that it is really scary as to what they're being programmed to do as well as the whole AI field in general. Then again, I hope they'll be serving me donuts at the rest home. I talked to friends about how scary I found Westworld (not because of the robot element but because of the question Dick raises as well: what does it mean to be human?) If you don't believe humans have souls, what is the difference between a lump of cells and a person-made being? And if robots are programmed to have feelings, how are those feelings any different from what humans now experience? It's kind of mind-boggling.
I was going to take off two points for sexism, but then I remind myself: 1968! The novel then brought up other questions: other than Iran, who is human, the other women are droids and programmed to have "feminine" traits as well as be killers...an idea that Westworld well-develops with Dolores and Maeve. Westworld also explores the whole animal droid thing as well which I found the weak part of this book...then again, aren't we all supposed to have those little animal droid helper things in the not-so-distant future?
So...clunky writing at times, and confusing at the beginning, this book lays out some thoughts that continue to inform our times, and raises questions for which there are no straightforward answers. It's worth a read, and it's making me think I should read "Children of Men."
maddie_reads_stuff's review against another edition
4.0
In a future where empathy is the only measure that distinguishes humans from androids, a bounty hunter sets out to retire six rogue androids from Mars.
Raises many interesting questions about the value of life and artificial life, or truth vs. reality vs. the value of a lie. No wonder it's a classic.
Raises many interesting questions about the value of life and artificial life, or truth vs. reality vs. the value of a lie. No wonder it's a classic.
aidentheging's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
mkhare's review against another edition
4.0
First read 22nd - 28th November 2016
This was incredibly thought-provoking and deserving of many re-reads. 4.25 stars
Re-read 20th November - 2nd December 2018 for Book Club!
This was incredibly thought-provoking and deserving of many re-reads. 4.25 stars
Re-read 20th November - 2nd December 2018 for Book Club!
connell98's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed how this made my brain think. A good piece to discuss what makes humans human and how that may limit our understanding of non-human living things. How far does intelligence take you if you have no empathy? And what happens when empathy is defeated by knowledge?
ben11m's review against another edition
5.0
C'est une oeuvre absolument monstrueuse . Un coup de circuit qui mérite d'être lu par les fans de S-F, mais SURTOUT les fans de philo.
Je me demandais pourquoi j'aimais autant ça pendant, mais crime c'est tellement collé sur la philosophie absurde les parallèles avec Camus sont fous.
Du génie <3
Je me demandais pourquoi j'aimais autant ça pendant, mais crime c'est tellement collé sur la philosophie absurde les parallèles avec Camus sont fous.
Du génie <3
samneat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5