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keikosnoodles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs, War, and Violence
maddb_96's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
shahrun's review
4.0
This was so unexpected. I really enjoyed it. The stories are so modern, scary, fascinating and thought provoking. A great little collection. I’m going to look out for more of his short stories. You could re-read each one and still get so much out of them.
lucysmith13's review
4.0
Pop Sugar Challenge 2020 prompt: A book with a robot, cyborg or AI character.
I'm a sci-fi fan, so I had a feeling I would enjoy this, yet it took me ages to get round to actually reading it! Electric Dreams is a series of 10 stories which ask 'What if?' and detail the perils of the future, some of which are closer than you think. From time travel and alien invasion to consumerism to nuclear war, Philip K Dick explores the darker side of becoming a world increasingly reliant on technology and expanding into our near universe.
I'm a sci-fi fan, so I had a feeling I would enjoy this, yet it took me ages to get round to actually reading it! Electric Dreams is a series of 10 stories which ask 'What if?' and detail the perils of the future, some of which are closer than you think. From time travel and alien invasion to consumerism to nuclear war, Philip K Dick explores the darker side of becoming a world increasingly reliant on technology and expanding into our near universe.
wyrmbergmalcolm's review against another edition
3.0
Having not read much from Philip K. Dick (The Cosmic Puppets being the only title so far), it was interesting to be exposed to some more of his work. Certainly, compared to other science fiction authors, his stories have not dated brilliantly, hence the TV series that updated them. Having said that, he had some very intriguing observations to make about the human species and the human condition that is as true today as it was when there were written.
The stories themselves were not too long, so made for an easy consumption over a fortnight of one story a night (with the final story being a little longer). Each one sucked us in very quickly and left us with a fair bit to discuss afterwards. This is the hallmark of a great science fiction story: the ability to bring out discussion about them afterwards.
The stories themselves were not too long, so made for an easy consumption over a fortnight of one story a night (with the final story being a little longer). Each one sucked us in very quickly and left us with a fair bit to discuss afterwards. This is the hallmark of a great science fiction story: the ability to bring out discussion about them afterwards.
ljwrites85's review
4.0
So before the TV series Electric Dreams was broadcast I’d never really heard of Philip K Dick (seriously every time I type that name I giggle, yes I’m like a five year old) but having enjoyed a couple of episodes of the show I thought I’d read the original stories. That was about six months ago and I have finally got round to reading them.
The stories in this collection are, Exhibit Piece, The Commuter, The Impossible Planet, The Hanging Stranger, Sales Pitch, The Father Ting, The Hood Maker, Foster, You’re Dead, Human Is and Autofac.
There is so much crammed into these short stories, aliens, telepaths, dystopian futures, space travel, body snatchers I could go on!
Like with most collections there were a few standouts. My favourites were The Hanging Stranger, Sales Pitch and Human Is.
The Hanging Stranger is about a man called Ed Loyce who after spending the morning in his basement, goes to work to find a strange man hanging in the town square. Nobody notices but him. He feels like he’s going mad, is it real or is there something more sinister at work? This for me had the best ending in the entire book and out of the stories which had the theme of is this real or am I losing my mind, it just captured my imagination.
Sales Pitch is about a world gone mad from advertising (sometimes it feels like that now, doesn’t it?), you can’t go anywhere without adverts or sales bots haunting your every move. When Ed Morris (another Ed, I know) comes home he wants to escape until a robot turns up and refuses to leave, so he takes it with him to the planet Proxima in a bid to escape it all.
Then there’s Human Is, about Jill who’s husband suddenly changes, from a cold hearted bully to the husband she’s always wanted after a trip to deep space. Again even though this is science fiction, this one is a real character based story that would appeal to anyone. I mean how often have we thought you wouldn’t mind changing your other half?
These stories were written back in the 1950’s, in the shadow of the Cold War, so there were a few outdated stereotypes and language but the stories so original and unique that will appeal to most modern readers. I can also so see why so many of his stories get adapted into films, the majority of them have ambiguous or open ending just begging someone to finish or expand the stories.
Also I could have done without the introductions on each story but that’s personal preference rather than anything else.
Overall a must for Science fiction fans and lovers of dystopian fiction.
The stories in this collection are, Exhibit Piece, The Commuter, The Impossible Planet, The Hanging Stranger, Sales Pitch, The Father Ting, The Hood Maker, Foster, You’re Dead, Human Is and Autofac.
There is so much crammed into these short stories, aliens, telepaths, dystopian futures, space travel, body snatchers I could go on!
Like with most collections there were a few standouts. My favourites were The Hanging Stranger, Sales Pitch and Human Is.
The Hanging Stranger is about a man called Ed Loyce who after spending the morning in his basement, goes to work to find a strange man hanging in the town square. Nobody notices but him. He feels like he’s going mad, is it real or is there something more sinister at work? This for me had the best ending in the entire book and out of the stories which had the theme of is this real or am I losing my mind, it just captured my imagination.
Sales Pitch is about a world gone mad from advertising (sometimes it feels like that now, doesn’t it?), you can’t go anywhere without adverts or sales bots haunting your every move. When Ed Morris (another Ed, I know) comes home he wants to escape until a robot turns up and refuses to leave, so he takes it with him to the planet Proxima in a bid to escape it all.
Then there’s Human Is, about Jill who’s husband suddenly changes, from a cold hearted bully to the husband she’s always wanted after a trip to deep space. Again even though this is science fiction, this one is a real character based story that would appeal to anyone. I mean how often have we thought you wouldn’t mind changing your other half?
These stories were written back in the 1950’s, in the shadow of the Cold War, so there were a few outdated stereotypes and language but the stories so original and unique that will appeal to most modern readers. I can also so see why so many of his stories get adapted into films, the majority of them have ambiguous or open ending just begging someone to finish or expand the stories.
Also I could have done without the introductions on each story but that’s personal preference rather than anything else.
Overall a must for Science fiction fans and lovers of dystopian fiction.
brontebabeblog's review
4.0
A good selection of intriguing tales by Philip K. Dick. The stories are just long enough to engage the reader completely in Dick's world, but short enough to be able to dip in and out of. Some stand outs include The Commuter and Exhibit Piece. Each story also has a short introduction from somebody involved in developing a script for the TV adaptations of the tales. However, they bear very little resemblance to the stories and so there is very little point to the introductions which mainly focus on the TV show. Read the stories, skip the introductions; you're not missing anything.
lotharith's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
ishouldreadthat's review
4.0
Originally posted to I Should Read That
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This edition ties in with the new anthology TV show on Channel 4 in the UK (Amazon Prime in the US, I believe). The book consists of ten short stories, and each story is introduced by one of the writers/directors/producers of that particular episode. As someone who doesn’t usually read short stories, I can confidently say that all ten of these stories are incredibly engaging and well-written. The introductions explain a little of how the corresponding episode was created and the impact the story had on the author. That kind of context really helps put PKD’s influence in perspective and compliments each story so well.
I had a really tough time picking a favourite story. One of the reasons I love classic sci-fi is that you can not only see the incredible influence some authors have had on the genre as a whole, but you can see how they tackle issues that are still so relevant today. PKD handles everything from the surveillance state to consumerism and paranoia in Electric Dreams. My favourites stories were Impossible Planet, The Father-Thing, Human Is, and The Hanging Stranger -- I had a hard time narrowing it down!
It’s incredible how hard hitting these stories are in their own way while still being incredibly fun and entertaining to read. If you’re looking for a place to start with PKD or science fiction in general, Electric Dreams is perfect for you. The stories are about 20 pages long on average, so you can easily fly through this book. The TV show is on Sundays at 9 in the UK, and if you’re watching the show you should absolutely read the stories. There have been some changes to the adaptations already (and we all know the book is always better than the show anyway).
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This edition ties in with the new anthology TV show on Channel 4 in the UK (Amazon Prime in the US, I believe). The book consists of ten short stories, and each story is introduced by one of the writers/directors/producers of that particular episode. As someone who doesn’t usually read short stories, I can confidently say that all ten of these stories are incredibly engaging and well-written. The introductions explain a little of how the corresponding episode was created and the impact the story had on the author. That kind of context really helps put PKD’s influence in perspective and compliments each story so well.
I had a really tough time picking a favourite story. One of the reasons I love classic sci-fi is that you can not only see the incredible influence some authors have had on the genre as a whole, but you can see how they tackle issues that are still so relevant today. PKD handles everything from the surveillance state to consumerism and paranoia in Electric Dreams. My favourites stories were Impossible Planet, The Father-Thing, Human Is, and The Hanging Stranger -- I had a hard time narrowing it down!
It’s incredible how hard hitting these stories are in their own way while still being incredibly fun and entertaining to read. If you’re looking for a place to start with PKD or science fiction in general, Electric Dreams is perfect for you. The stories are about 20 pages long on average, so you can easily fly through this book. The TV show is on Sundays at 9 in the UK, and if you’re watching the show you should absolutely read the stories. There have been some changes to the adaptations already (and we all know the book is always better than the show anyway).
piaspages's review against another edition
4.0
I read this on Sunday afternoon and it was a filled with engaging stories that really got you hooked in the first paragraph and your mind was allowed to wander through the absurdity of it as well as gripping you to find the answers (which for effect, i guess, weren't always given).
Would defo recommend for those wanting to dable in Sci-fi.
Would defo recommend for those wanting to dable in Sci-fi.