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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I’m going to be real with y’all... I didn’t really understand this book.
I read this for a class, so I understand that there are a bunch of different themes that the story is trying to tackle: empathy, free will, what does it mean to be human, etc. However, I am dumb. I am staircase brain. I know that the Blade Runner movie veered off from the source material, but damn, where did that aluminum origami unicorn come from??
Look, I didn’t understand, but I had a good time. I can see why this is a classic. Don’t let my colander brain tell you what to do.
I read this for a class, so I understand that there are a bunch of different themes that the story is trying to tackle: empathy, free will, what does it mean to be human, etc. However, I am dumb. I am staircase brain. I know that the Blade Runner movie veered off from the source material, but damn, where did that aluminum origami unicorn come from??
Look, I didn’t understand, but I had a good time. I can see why this is a classic. Don’t let my colander brain tell you what to do.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is comprised of many favorite storytelling elements of mine. Poetic prose, subtle foreshadowing, parallels within its world and of our own. I love PKD's creative world building, which modern writers should and have found inspiration out of. The Empathy Box, Nexus 6 Brain units, guided laser tubes all helped me feel enveloped in the cyberpunk world.
The irony of Rick Deckard's mind is so monumental and relative to my own life. All in a day's work, Deckard has a shift in his personal paradigm, questioning life and death, and what it means to be human. As a modern reader, Deckard's mind alteration was not a surprise, as "Androids" are all around us. The debate about the ethics of killing these androids was already settled in my head, but it was fun to see it play out in Deckard's. In the final chapter, when Rick travels to the Oregon boarder and spots what he believes to be a living toad, I became emotionally moved. We find out a few pages later that the toad is electric, but Deckard's ignorance places more importance on a single living toad, ignoring the life in the Androids he murdered hours before. Phil Resch is another prominent figure representing the debate of life. Working under and for the faked Police department, his entire life is upended, and Resch questions his own consciousness. I love the parallels throughout and the closing moral of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Spoiler
The irony of Rick Deckard's mind is so monumental and relative to my own life. All in a day's work, Deckard has a shift in his personal paradigm, questioning life and death, and what it means to be human. As a modern reader, Deckard's mind alteration was not a surprise, as "Androids" are all around us. The debate about the ethics of killing these androids was already settled in my head, but it was fun to see it play out in Deckard's. In the final chapter, when Rick travels to the Oregon boarder and spots what he believes to be a living toad, I became emotionally moved. We find out a few pages later that the toad is electric, but Deckard's ignorance places more importance on a single living toad, ignoring the life in the Androids he murdered hours before. Phil Resch is another prominent figure representing the debate of life. Working under and for the faked Police department, his entire life is upended, and Resch questions his own consciousness. I love the parallels throughout and the closing moral of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
reflective
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:
No
A little bit biased but I had some high hopes after watching endless amount of gameplays for Quantic Dream's "Detroit: Become Human". There's a cheeky reference in the game which mentions an android written novel (bestselling nonetheless) with the name of "Do Humans Dream of Mammalian Sheep," so I naturally had to pick this up for a read. (Also the use of electronic animals in place of the extinct ones!)
Ideas in this story were good but could've have been executed better, especially with the rushed end touching on Mercerism and android-human-relationships. Regardless of what year books like these are written, later generations will find something old-timey in the novel's ideology and presentation - it's just a matter of existing pop culture since we are so spoiled with creative interpretations in media. Given it's written in the late 60's and set in 2021, there are still futuristic (although stereotypical) aspects like hovercars on rooftops and other planet habitation that make this interesting to read in a classical manner. This novel explores a lot into emotional intelligence as humans stuck behind on Earth have to deal with the postwar environment while androids emigrate and integrate to find purpose. At the end of the day, it comes down to your morals whether you think androids and humans are justified in their actions and thinking.
Ideas in this story were good but could've have been executed better, especially with the rushed end touching on Mercerism and android-human-relationships. Regardless of what year books like these are written, later generations will find something old-timey in the novel's ideology and presentation - it's just a matter of existing pop culture since we are so spoiled with creative interpretations in media. Given it's written in the late 60's and set in 2021, there are still futuristic (although stereotypical) aspects like hovercars on rooftops and other planet habitation that make this interesting to read in a classical manner. This novel explores a lot into emotional intelligence as humans stuck behind on Earth have to deal with the postwar environment while androids emigrate and integrate to find purpose. At the end of the day, it comes down to your morals whether you think androids and humans are justified in their actions and thinking.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes