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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.0876208
EAN num: 9780806512099
ISBN number: 0806512091
Label: Citadel
Manufacturer: Citadel
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 396
Printing Date: April 01, 2002
Publishing house: Citadel
Release Date: April 01, 2002
Sale Popularity Level: 314169
Studio: Citadel
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Product Description:
Many thousands of readers consider Philip K. Dick the greatest science fiction mind on any planet. Since his untimely death in 1982, interest in Dick's works has continued to mount and his reputation has been further enhanced by a growing body of critical attention. The Philip K. Dick Award is now given annually to a distinguished work of science fiction, and the Philip K. Dick Society is devoted to the study and promulgation of his works.
This collection includes all of the writer's earliest short and medium-length fiction (including some previously unpublished stories) covering the years 1952-1955. These fascinating stories include We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, The Cookie Lady, The World She Wanted, and many others.
'A useful acquisition for any serious SF library or collection'. -- Kirkus Reviews
'The collected stories of Philip K. Dick is awe inspiring'. -- The Washington Post
'More than anyone else in the field, Mr. Dick really puts you inside people's minds'. -- Wall Street Journal
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Rated by buyers
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all of the stories in this one are good sci-fi stories. unfortunatle the title story for which i bought the book was only like 13 pages long:( We can remember it for you wholesale was the story on which the movie TOTAL RECALL was based on.
Rated by buyers
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The forward said that this collection of short stories was PKD's early work and it shows. I had problems with some of his endings but found the majority of the stories enjoyable. I should also mention that not all of the stories are really science fiction. I am, however, looking forward to reading some of the later works by (...) to see the development of the author.
Rated by buyers
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In May of 1987 Underwood-Miller published a five volume set titled "The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick", with the second volume being subtitled "Second Variety". In September of 1990 the Carroll Group republished the second volume with a few of changes including changing the subtitle to "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". In addition to the change of title, they removed the title story from the original volume and replaced it with the new title story. This was probably done to take advantage of the release of the movie "Total Recall" which was based on the story. The last change they made was to move the story "Prominent Author" from the last story to the third story.
This is another great volume in the collection of Philip K. Dick's early short fiction. The original intent of the series was to present the stories in the order in which they were believed to have been written instead of the order in which they were published. However, by switching stories and changing the order in this book, the stories are now no longer in either order. There are 27 stories here, so it doesn't make sense to go through them all in detail, but there are several ones of note:
The title story, as mentioned earlier, was the basis for the movie "Total Recall", and for those familiar with the movie the very first part of the story matches the very first part of the movie very well. Douglas Quail is unsatisfied with his life and has a desire to go to Mars, he decides to check-out Rekal and is convinced to get the memories of a trip there as a secret agent implanted. At some point the two stories diverge though, and while the movie turns into an action film, the story takes a different twist at the end. The story was written in 1965 and very first published in 1966, so it is much newer than the rest of the stories in this book which were mostly written and published in 1953 and 1954. In 1999, this story tied for 32nd on the Locus All-Time Poll for novelettes.
There are stories about our humanity such as "Progeny", which takes a look at what our society might be like if parents are taken out of the business of raising their children. There is "Human Is", which looks at what it really means to be human. "Breakfast at Twilight" involves at a family which is pulled into the near future to witness a war which appears to be the end of civilization. Lastly, there is James P. Crow, which looks at a future society which has forgotten that humans created robots and instead believes the reverse.
This is a very good collection, despite the decision to break away from the chronological order of the stories. The original collection was ranked 3rd on the Locus poll for collections in 1988. The diversity is greater here than in the very first volume. Some of the stories may be a bit predictable, however that is largely due to other writers copying Dick's style and ideas. This volume leaves the reader looking forward to volume 3 and the continued evolution of Dick's writing.
Rated by buyers
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Philip K. Dick's short stories are the best work of one of the greatest ( science) fiction writers in the history of the genre. His spare style leaves plenty for the imagination, as opposed to those writers who feel it necessary to fill their pages with endless technological detail. His staid characters are straight out of the Eisenhower Years, and are put through hoops such as no one has dreamed up before or since. Brilliant premises create psychological dilemmas that almost always resolve unexpectedly. As testament to his fertile imagination, five movies directly credit his short stories, and many more arguably rip him off. This five volume set comprises half of my ten most treasured books; if you like fiction, short stories, or genius social commentary, buy these stories.
Rated by buyers
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I must have missed something about this book. I can't believe that Minority Report and Total Recall, two movies that I did enjoy, came from this author. The stories seem to be missing something. Perhaps, this version should not have been the very first works by this author for me to have read.
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