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A review by woolfardis
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams by Philip K. Dick
4.0
A collection of PKD short stories that were the inspiration for episodes of the television programme Electric Dreams. Some were true to the original whilst others had only mere snippets of them, often changing dramatically to bring them up to date and more inclusive.
Actually quite a decent collection of his stories, though one feels the need to stress that PKD expertise is not needed here. Enjoyment is available for sci-fi fans, for PKD fans and for short story fans. It's a good collection but by no means exhaustive nor the best available.
Best read in conjunction with the Channel 4 series. To be admired certainly and to have thoughts provoked definitely.
Exhibit Piece, 3 stars: A reasonable short story about a futuristic 22nd century man who curates a 20th century exhibit of American life. Good exploration on the fringes but mostly a bit meh.
Cannot even remember the adaptation even remotely... *looks it up in Electric Dreams* Oh yeah. The lesbian VR experience. Very modern, Channel 4. Well done.
Full review here.
The Commuter, 3 Stars: The adaptation was preferable, because of Timothy Spall and a deeper exploration of the concept of an encroaching dimension town, but still a good little story.
Full review here.
The Impossible Planet, 4 stars: A great short story and a really good adaptation. Feelings abound, a nice look on human greed and kindness, and the retrospect nostalgia for an earth none of us experienced but still lust for.
Full review here.
The Hanging Stranger, 4 stars: The short story is a wonderfully well-written story, well-paced and atmostpheric to the point of making hairs stand up on the back of your neck. The characters are fairly 2D but to be expected in a short story.
The adaptation... It had the same kind of theme but the pure shock of seeing a hanging dead body was completely missed and didn't quite have the same atmosphere.
Full review here.
Sales Pitch, 3 stars: 'Crazy Diamond', the adaptation, is not too far removed, but the (real) ending (that Dick wanted) to this story is a bad thing to miss out on.
Both give you a great sense of futility over the over-consumption of everything.
Full review here.
The Father-thing, 1 star: Really disliked this story and wasn't particularly interested in the adaptation neither. Can't put my finger on the reasons for disliking either. Just didn't speak to me. It felt jolted, was rather boring and the voices of the characters all melded together in to one big fat pile of nope.
Full review here.
The Hood Maker, 3 Stars: The adaptation had more depth, but I preferred the storyline and outcome of the original short story. The ideas were rather mesmerising in both, however. But there seemed a sympathy toward the Teeps in the adaptation that was not there in the story, which changes the entire feeling of the story itself.
Full review here.
Foster You're Dead, 3 Stars: Much, much, MUCH preferred the original short story than the adaptation. I was waiting for the dystopian, crunching-tech feeling you get from PKD stories but it never came. The adaptation was updated to modern audiences with modern tech, sure. And feministised, sure. But it just didn't have the all-crushing soul of the original.
Full review here.
Human Is, 2 stars: The story itself was written poorly and I really disliked it, though the plot and ideas were rather sublime. The adaptation was infinitely superior, except the change of names. I find that exceedingly unnecessary but can't quite put my finger on why I think that. Some modernisation crap presumably. Mixed together, the story and the adaptation, and this is a very good concept with great ideas. Attending alone they're a bit meh.
Full review here.
Autofac, 3 Stars: The story itself I found meh, without really knowing why. The adaptation I found rather fun, and I enjoyed Juno Temple and found her marvellous (the rest, meh) but separately they both lacked enjoyment for me. Put together, I think, they would have been rather grand.
Full review here.
Actually quite a decent collection of his stories, though one feels the need to stress that PKD expertise is not needed here. Enjoyment is available for sci-fi fans, for PKD fans and for short story fans. It's a good collection but by no means exhaustive nor the best available.
Best read in conjunction with the Channel 4 series. To be admired certainly and to have thoughts provoked definitely.
Exhibit Piece, 3 stars: A reasonable short story about a futuristic 22nd century man who curates a 20th century exhibit of American life. Good exploration on the fringes but mostly a bit meh.
Cannot even remember the adaptation even remotely... *looks it up in Electric Dreams* Oh yeah. The lesbian VR experience. Very modern, Channel 4. Well done.
Full review here.
The Commuter, 3 Stars: The adaptation was preferable, because of Timothy Spall and a deeper exploration of the concept of an encroaching dimension town, but still a good little story.
Full review here.
The Impossible Planet, 4 stars: A great short story and a really good adaptation. Feelings abound, a nice look on human greed and kindness, and the retrospect nostalgia for an earth none of us experienced but still lust for.
Full review here.
The Hanging Stranger, 4 stars: The short story is a wonderfully well-written story, well-paced and atmostpheric to the point of making hairs stand up on the back of your neck. The characters are fairly 2D but to be expected in a short story.
The adaptation... It had the same kind of theme but the pure shock of seeing a hanging dead body was completely missed and didn't quite have the same atmosphere.
Full review here.
Sales Pitch, 3 stars: 'Crazy Diamond', the adaptation, is not too far removed, but the (real) ending (that Dick wanted) to this story is a bad thing to miss out on.
Both give you a great sense of futility over the over-consumption of everything.
Full review here.
The Father-thing, 1 star: Really disliked this story and wasn't particularly interested in the adaptation neither. Can't put my finger on the reasons for disliking either. Just didn't speak to me. It felt jolted, was rather boring and the voices of the characters all melded together in to one big fat pile of nope.
Full review here.
The Hood Maker, 3 Stars: The adaptation had more depth, but I preferred the storyline and outcome of the original short story. The ideas were rather mesmerising in both, however. But there seemed a sympathy toward the Teeps in the adaptation that was not there in the story, which changes the entire feeling of the story itself.
Full review here.
Foster You're Dead, 3 Stars: Much, much, MUCH preferred the original short story than the adaptation. I was waiting for the dystopian, crunching-tech feeling you get from PKD stories but it never came. The adaptation was updated to modern audiences with modern tech, sure. And feministised, sure. But it just didn't have the all-crushing soul of the original.
Full review here.
Human Is, 2 stars: The story itself was written poorly and I really disliked it, though the plot and ideas were rather sublime. The adaptation was infinitely superior, except the change of names. I find that exceedingly unnecessary but can't quite put my finger on why I think that. Some modernisation crap presumably. Mixed together, the story and the adaptation, and this is a very good concept with great ideas. Attending alone they're a bit meh.
Full review here.
Autofac, 3 Stars: The story itself I found meh, without really knowing why. The adaptation I found rather fun, and I enjoyed Juno Temple and found her marvellous (the rest, meh) but separately they both lacked enjoyment for me. Put together, I think, they would have been rather grand.
Full review here.