A review by fierygecko
Blade Runner by Philip K. Dick

slow-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? No

1.0

Rick Deckard, ya boring. Also, you give me the ick. My favourite part of this book was the three whole minutes of Iran's POV we get near the end, which is unfortunate because her only character trait is occasionally being depressed. I also liked J.R., but the way he's written is upsetting to me. This book lacks any real conflict and there is no character development. I finished the book because I was hoping to learn more about the weirdass religion the remaining citizens of... Earth? Terra? follow, but this story is allergic to worldbuilding so I was disappointed. This story is not, however, allergic to exposition, which is Rick Deckard's main role as the protagonist. What does he explain to us, you ask? Beats me. I started ignoring him. The man only talks about animals and androids, which would be interesting if I knew why we couldn't just breed more animals or why we started making androids. It seems the answer to both questions is "radiation", but nobody can tell you what that radiation is from. A War? That's only mentioned about one hundred times with no other explanation. There's a chance that I'm being harsh on this particular era of sci-fi, but I feel like this novel had so much interesting stuff going on around the main story, which was the least interesting part of the entire novel. The original title of the book, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" led me to believe it was a bit of a think piece about technology. The summary of Blade Runner led me to believe androids were a dangerous and invasive evil. Neither of those things felt true during my reading. Lastly, the subtext of this novel is just sexist enough to be uncomfortable and ableist enough to make me angry. The use of the word "special" has aged like milk. Even if this is because of the time period the book was written in, I don't recommend it for a read in 2025. 
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