Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick


Finished it in just an evening. Totally fun, got sucked in and couldn't put it down until it was through. Nowhere near as long as I expected when starting. Spoiler alert: there's an electric sheep in the book.

I'd seen the film Blade Runner but wasn't quite sure what to expect in terms of parallels with the source. Better to treat them as different animals altogether. The text is definitely more layered, characters less one-dimensional, far more questions asked than answered. There are themes of religion, racism, thought control and the role of government pervading the text from end to end. There are even occasional hallucinations.

The movie is in contrast a very 'hollywood' version, focusing on imagery, sex and violence... surprised? It fully ignores all the facets that really make your mind twist and covers the space with slow sax solos. I totally enjoyed the movie. The book is in many ways better; I'm glad to have been able to enjoy both- they enrich and complement each other.