Poul Anderson
2008
Many of Philip K. Dick’s stories have been made into films, including “Blade Runner” which was based on the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and “Total Recall” which was based on the short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” Steven Spielberg’s 2002 adaptation of “The Minority Report,” starring Tom Cruise, was based on the short story written in 1956.
It’s been my experience that the book is usually better than the movie so after seeing the film I decided to read the original story which takes place in a future where mutant beings with precognitive abilities aid a pre-crime police force in apprehending criminals for crimes they would have committed in the future.
They’re then exiled or sent to detention camps. Murder has pretty much been eliminated. Of course the criminals complain that they haven’t done anything but this is brushed off on the grounds that they presumably deserve it. When Anderton, the top cop, is accused of murder he thinks there’s been a mistake or he’s been set up. He begins to wonder if there’s something wrong with punishing people for things they haven’t done yet. If he can’t discover who set him up he will fall victim to the system he helped create.
Some plot points are changed. For example the three precogs in the movie are portrayed peacefully but in the story they’ve been drugged and they’re forced to use their psychic abilities. But Spielberg kept the basic theme of the story and made it into a thrilling sci-fi adventure. It’s a great movie, the technical aspects are well-done, the special effects are out-standing and the acting is superb.
But I would definitely recommend reading the original story for Dick’s vision which was way ahead of its time and surprisingly up to date in spite of being over fifty years old. The edition I chose – THE MINORITY REPORT AND OTHER CLASSIC STORIES – contains eighteen stories in total. It’s not a best of collection, it’s actually volume four of his collected short stories and it spans the period between 1954 and 1964, but it’s a good representation and a must for serious collectors.
His work is imaginative, surreal and often downright strange. Dick writes about people rather than technology and science. His characters seem like ordinary people, but bizarre things happen to them. The complex plots take twists and turns and sometimes they seem like episodes of the Twilight Zone.
His future worlds are often dystopian societies characterized by misery, oppression and despair, where people lead dehumanized lives. Yet he often incorporates humor in his stories. Many of them involve precognition and themes of false reality. Others deal with the fine line between man and machine and ask – What is humanity?
This is a great edition for fans, collectors and those who enjoy short stories rather than novels. If you are only familiar with Philip K. Dick from the movies based on his work you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy.
A brief synopsis of each story follows.
AUTOFAC takes place in an apocalyptic world where robots (autofacs) work for the surviving humans. But when humanity discovers they can’t shut down the robots they are reduced to stealing supplies in order to live.
SERVICE CALL is a time travel story. A service man from the future visits the past to try and stop an invention that control’s people’s thoughts.
In CAPTIVE MARKET a woman travels through time to sell her goods to a colony of men building a ship to leave a radioactive Earth. When her customers tell her they’re leaving and won’t need any more merchandise she tries to keep them from going.
In THE MOLD OF YANCY a totalitarian society is being brain washed by broadcast messages from John Yancy, a composite man who doesn’t really exist.
In THE MINORITY REPORT three clairvoyant Precogs see alternate realities in the future and the PreCrime system uses the reports to arrest people before they commit a crime. The Police Commissioner sees a prediction that he will murder someone and he tries to find the minority report that will allow him to change the future.
In RECALL MECHANISM a man has a fear of heights and falling. He goes to a doctor who takes him back through repressed memories.
THE UNRECONSTRUCTED M, is an interesting story about a machine that can leave fake forensic clues and frame someone.
In EXPLORERS WE six astronauts who died on a mission to Mars land on Earth. The humans believe that they are clones or disguised aliens and must be killed.
In WAR GAME a toy is created that will infiltrate the minds of children.
IF THERE WERE NO BENNY CEMOLI, is a story based on the idea that whatever is in the New York Times is real.
NOVELTY ACT is about a dystopian future ruled by a woman who is wife and mother to the nation.
In WATERSPIDER many famous names are dropped when time travelers come back for Poul Anderson, because they need his help.
In WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY there is a short amount of time in which the dead can be revived. Louis Sarapis cannot be brought back but his voice appears to be coming from outer space.
ORPHEUS WITH CLAY FEET is about Jesse Slade who lives in 2040 and travels back to 1956 to inspire the writing of his favorite sci-fi author. He discloses that he is a time traveler and the writer becomes cynical and never develops his full potential.
In THE DAYS OF PERKY PAT survivors of a nuclear war are obsessed with a doll and an escapist role playing game.
STAND-BY and WHAT’LL WE DO WITH RAGLAND PARK? are both about media in the future.
OH, TO BE A BLOBEL is about the Human – Blobel war. Espionage agents on both sides undergo physical changes and assume the form of the opposing species.
Publisher: Citadel (May 2002)
Paperback: 380 pages
ISBN: 978-0806523798
Price: $14.95
Gail Pruszkowski reviews for “Romantic Times BOOKreviews” magazine and her work has been published in the “Cup of Comfort” Anthologies.
http://mysite.verizon.net/bookworm.gp/
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