Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

The book initially takes some time to set up the context and world-build, but once all that has been introduced, the plot begins to take off and a somewhat intense chase between the bounty hunter and the androids begin, which sucked me in and kept me enraptured. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where animals are far and few between and technology has advanced to incredible lengths (2021!), empathy is the main difference one can find between humans and androids: this book reflects on whether that statement is true; whether androids are nought but robots designed for tasks, to be obliterated at our will, and asks us what humans should be striving towards in their lives if not for the status quo dream.

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starsh111ne's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.5

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tessanie's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced

4.0

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melchior's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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stephaniet0021's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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leona's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Universally probably one of the most famous sci-fi novels (and films), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? seemed very current. With delivery robots, robovacs and other AI's starting to serve humankind, as well as the destruction we are doing to our planet, this book was very relatable to our modern situation. The problems and themes presented in this novel were extremely thought-provoking. Yes, it sounds cliched, but it really was. It is one of the books that feel like they could be read countless times, with new meanings arising through every re-read. The novel was mysterious and almost slightly creepy in tone. One criticism about this is sometimes I felt a bit lost by the plot, and didn't really understand what was happening. Especially in the second half of the book.

To talk more about the strengths of this novel:
- Extremely quotable and thought-provoking
- Thematically, I think it is excellent.
The devotion to the virtually extinct animals from nearly all of the characters felt so real, and it was almost laughable in Deckard's case. It seems so absurd to us, with the animals that we take for granted, that someone could ever be so obssessed with possessing a real animal, or that I could feel such genuine remorse for Isidore's spider.
The way empathy, morality, and what it means to be human was explored was also incredibly engaging. Is an electric animal any less worthy of love than a real animal? To what extent can a robot be considered a human, and is it 'retiring' or 'murder' of the 'poor andys'? Is Deckard an android? I'm not convinced he is, but maybe upon re-read I could be persuaded otherwise. I'm sure someone else has summarised my thoughts on the theme exploration much more efficiently than I can, sorry, my head is a bit scrambled after reading this amazing novel.
- Also that cover is just stunning. Yes, don't judge a book by its cover but wow.

Despite the praise I have given this book, I have to mention that though it is relatable in terms of it's sci-fi themes, I do think this book was quite problematic. Women didn't have great representation, (every time one of the male characters set eyes on a woman they couldn't help but comment on how perfectly formed, high and large their breasts were), as well as the fact

Deckard cheats on his wife with an android woman, the same day he meets this woman, and I feel like it was passed off as 'not counting' because she was an android 'machine' who didn't have feelings. Also, this was after Deckard had commented on how her figure looked like that of a teen girl, not a woman, however he still found her attractive. I do think that this scene somewhat furthers the moral argument of whether androids should be treated on the same level as humans (much like how has been explored with other entities like clones). It also brings into question our protagonist and makes him more morally grey, however I still didn't appreciate this scene. I just felt sorry for his wife, Iran, whose character I actually really liked.

For reference, 'arms folded self-consciously before her small high breasts she faced him,' (well I'm not surprised she's self conscious with you staring at her boobs you perv), 'as near as I can make out, most women, even young ones like her, like to cook: it's an instinct.', 'I wish I had gotten rid of her two years ago when we were considering splitting up,' (about his wife, when Deckard realises that she doesn't really care about an animal (because she'd rather have him home safe)), there were a couple of other comments but I'm not going to search through the book again to find them. For those who use the excuse of it being written in the 60s, I would argue that Shakespeare could write decent female characters and that was 400 years ago, so I don't think there is much of an excuse.

People who struggle with animal abuse / death in books should also be warned before reading. There was

the murder of a goat, the mutilation of a spider (with it's legs being cut off) and also mentions of animal and human hide being used for furniture (however this part wasn't real and was only used to detect emotional response when subjects were being tested with questioning).

I think I would have given this book a 5 star rating if not for the problems I mentioned, or the confusion I felt at some points in the book, especially regarding Mercerism and the empathy box. I definitely think it is worth reading despite its flaws, and I do think it is for the most part accessible to teenagers as well (if any are worried about its contents.)

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cjc's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I enjoyed this book, but did not love it. It is the basis of the Blade Runner movies and challenges the reader’s notion of what it means to be humans, however; the plot felt stale to me and the characters a little stiff. I don’t regret reading it because of the thoughts it helped me develop, but it certainly was not my favorite.

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bramlee's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I read this book at the suggestion of a friend. I probably wouldn't have finished it otherwise. Overall the concept was interesting, just very outside of my comfort zone. There were moments that made me uncomfortable because the writing was so stiff or the main character objectified female characters. Definitely look up a content warning list before reading.

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