‘Selected Stories’ spans author’s career
A new collection of short stories by the acclaimed science-fiction author, Phillip K. Dick is now available. “Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick” with an introduction by Jonathan Lethem contains 21 of the author’s stories that span his entire career.
Dick’s work spanned three decades, and he published 36 science-fiction novels and 121 short stories. Eleven novels and short stories have been turned into movies and he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005.
Published in this collection is “Beyond Lies the Wub,” “Roog,” “Paycheck, “Second Variety,” “Imposter,” “The King of Elves,” “Adjustment Team,” “Foster, You’re Dead,” “Upon the Dull Earth,” “Autofac,” “The Minority Report,” “The Days of Perky Pat,” “Precious Artifact,” “A Game of Unchance,” “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale,” “Faith of Our Fathers,” “The Electric Ant,” “A Little Something for Us Tempunauts, “The Exit Door Leads In,” “Rautavaara’s Case” and “I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon.”
As far as movies go, in this collection several are represented – “Second Variety” is the movie “Screamers,” in which robots used in a Cold War scenario battle have become too intelligent and are now hunting humans on both sides; “Imposter” was a movie of the same name, in which an alien has taken the form of someone who may not even know they are the alien; “Adjustment Team,” again, a same-named movie about a man who discovers his fate is being tampered with by an unknown group; “The Minority Report,” a same-named movie about a group who polices ‘thought crime;’ “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” is the basis for the movie and “Total Recall,” in which someone’s mind has been tampered with without his knowledge.
As far as short stories that aren’t already turned into movies by Hollywood, the clever “Roog” may have you thinking about why your dog is barking all the time. “The King of Elves” gives an ordinary man an extraordinary title and new purpose in life. “Foster, You’re Dead” is a 60’s-era story about the bomb shelter craze and the toll it is taking on one boy.
There are a lot of thoughtful, dark science-fiction stories that do what good science-fiction does – makes you think about the real problems it discusses through the guise of aliens and robots.