Public reader discussion about Second Variety in the WeRead Catalog by Philip K. Dick.
By nightprose3
I don’t really have a single “top” sci-fi writer, but PKD has to be up there among the best. He’s one of my personal favorites for sure.
By luckypencil7
This is based on the short story “Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick, right? I haven’t seen the movie in ages, but now I kind of want to go back and watch it again.
By MariaReads
I’m really into the Black Mirror kind of vibe—like, stuff that has heavier themes and makes you stop and think. Also, I’m hoping it’s written in third person. And for the main character(s), I’d prefer someone around 19–35, though if they’re a bit younger or older, that’s fine too.
By harmonyCoastal1979
PKD is getting really fast into my favorites. I’ve read 4 of his novels so far, plus a handful of short stories, and I’m trying to work my way through about a third of his catalog over the next few years. I can already tell there are like 5–6 novels that people call the “must reads,” but the rest of his books all sound just as interesting too. So I’m curious—what are your top 10 PKD novels?
By OrchidTable1988
I’m really not sure what to make of Ubik, but I couldn’t stop reading it.
By BalanceCandle14
Sorry about the pun—I really couldn’t help it. Philip K. Dick is basically the poster kid for “cult writer.” He wrote a ton, didn’t get much fame or money while he was alive, but somehow his work ended up being a foundation for a huge chunk of science fiction. And it took a while, but people definitely figured out how good he was. Without him, you don’t really get stuff like *Total Recall*, *Minority Report*, or *Blade Runner*. He feels like one of the big names from the post-WWII sci-fi wave, and the wild part is just how much he put out. I remember wanting to start reading him and realizing I had no clue where to begin—because he has something like 44 novels and over 100 short stories. That’s kind of what makes me sad though: not all of it is great. I love PKD, but some of it is super dated, and some of it is just… not good. I’m posting this mostly because I want to make it a little easier for people who want to try him but don’t know where to jump in. I’ve read a decent amount, but I’m not some super expert, so I’m curious what other people think too. ## Quick intro thoughts I love him, but he’s not immune to criticism. A lot of his stuff is 40-60 years old, so some “future” ideas don’t hold up, and a few of his scenarios kind of ignore the science of the time. Like, the idea of going from Europe to California in like 4 minutes without everyone dying—basic physics would probably turn that into a disaster. Also, sometimes his characters feel a little flat. That said, I don’t think he gets enough credit for his prose. It can be pretty straightforward and plot-first compared to writers who really play with language and structure, but there are moments where it just hits. When he gets the tone right and something lands in that gut-punch way, I honestly just think, “yeah—well put.” He talks about style and that kind of thing in the intro to *The Golden Man* collection. Some themes he keeps coming back to: interplanetary colonization (Mars/Jupiter/Moon stuff, and Earth is usually wrecked by global warming/pollution/nuclear fallout). And the whole God/spirituality angle—he makes up weird metaphor religions, shows different belief stuff, and sometimes it feels like people are “following” things like they’re being herded by TV or ads or whatever. And then there’s the trippy reality question: characters wondering what’s real, only for it to get worse. Like, how can they ever be sure they’re not losing their minds or stuck in some other layer? ## Books (not in any specific order) These are just the big ones, and basically where I’d tell a newcomer to start before going deeper into the weirder stuff. - **Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?**: This is his biggest “mainstream” entry. If you like *Blade Runner*, this is basically the source. If you haven’t seen the movie, you should. The movie and the book aren’t the same story, and I read the book after the film, but it didn’t ruin anything for me. It’s set after nuclear war, with people leaving Earth for off-world colonies—but someone still has to handle the androids first. It’s illegal for androids to live on Earth, and Deckard is basically tasked with “retiring” them. It’s super cynical and digs into what it even means to be human, plus it runs two tracks: Deckard doing his job and the androids trying to cause trouble. There’s also that weird religious conflict, with a TV-centered thing versus an old man climbing a hill while people try to mess with him. Lots of ideas, and it’s probably the best place to start. - **A Scanner Darkly**: This is my favorite. The movie version uses that rotoscope style and has a stacked cast (Downey Jr, Harrelson, Reeves, Winona Ryder). I’d still say read the book first, though. It’s about drugs and undercover work: Bob Arctor is an undercover narc in a futuristic DEA trying to wipe out Substance D. It’s got that “who am I really” thing going, especially since he’s investigating himself without fully knowing it. He ends up using enough of the drug that he starts to break mentally. It can drag a bit, but it also has some genuinely great moments—like it swings from funny to heartbreaking. I think the writing works best here. Also the audiobook is great. - **VALIS**: Some people call this his masterpiece, but I don’t. I think it has decent ideas, but it doesn’t land as well. It’s really trippy. It kind of has the same identity-crisis vibe as *Scanner*, but then it goes hard into God stuff—like the main character thinks he’s getting hit with the full consciousness of God through this pink beam of light. The first chunk (or most of it) gets kind of dry and rambling with religious theory, which made it harder to get through than it felt like it should be. The story itself is okay but it sort of fizzles out, and it was supposed to be part of a trilogy that he didn’t finish. Maybe I’d like it more if I kept going into the next part, but for now I’d say don’t start here. - **Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said**: The premise is awesome: a famous guy wakes up and he’s not a person anymore—no one recognizes him, and in a fascist America that’s basically a death sentence. He’s afraid of being arrested and thrown into an internment camp because he doesn’t have the right job or ID. It’s pretty decent, just kind of unsettling and “what the hell is going on” the whole time. Strong sense of urgency and tragedy. I’d recommend it. - **The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch**: This one is a straight-up mind trip. I read it right after *Flow* and it definitely sent me somewhere weird. It involves alternate realities, a colony on Mars still being terraformed, and a drug that lets people project their minds onto dolls. There’s also Palmer Eldritch, who comes back from deep space with a new drug meant to make life way better for colonists. It’s a lot—just don’t try to make it all perfectly “meaningful.” Just let it be weird and go along for the ride. - **The Man in the High Castle**: Alternate WWII timeline where the Axis wins—Germany and Japan split up the US. If you’ve seen the show, it diverges a ton from the book. The book isn’t really about “here’s what the whole world looks like,” at least not in the way I expected, and I don’t want to spoil anything. It won a Hugo and it’s super well-regarded. It’s not my favorite PKD, but the concepts are interesting. There’s also this banned book in it that shows what things would’ve been like if the Allies won. Just keep your expectations realistic and enjoy it as its own thing. So yeah—those are the six big ones, and my thoughts on them. If you’re brand new, I’d say **start with *Androids***, then do **(*Flow My Tears*)**, and then **(*A Scanner Darkly*)**. After that, you should have a better idea whether you want more of his straight-to-the-point stuff or if you’re cool with the more offbeat, off-rails experiments. Also his short stories are genuinely great, and there are a bunch of good collections. ## Short stories / collections My favorite collection is *The Golden Man*, but there are a lot of cheap collections that are totally worth it, and you can find some of his stuff online for free anyway. I like *Golden Man* for two reasons: my sister got me a copy used because she heard I wanted to try PKD, and because his intro is so honest—poverty, his opinions on style, and how much he loves writing. Anyway, I’ll stop rambling. A few standouts: - “The King of the Elves” (apparently Disney has rights, but who knows where that’s at) - “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” (this became *Total Recall*) - “The Minority Report” (…yeah, that one) - “The Mold of Yancy” (honestly really good; the shepherd/sheep vibe) - “The Golden Man” (the government is scared of human evolution because homo sapiens might become pointless?) Hope this helps someone. Happy reading!
By coldivy2
I only just started reading Philip K. Dick, and I honestly didn’t expect the stuff to be this funny. The movie versions don’t really give me that same vibe for some reason. Like, Blade Runner feels almost totally joyless, but the book version (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) is a blast. And the electric sheep thing—at least in the book—it’s not some metaphor or whatever. It’s just a real robot sheep that Deckard has, and he hates it because it isn’t a true animal. Every time he sees an animal he basically gets this animal catalog out, checks what it costs, and complains he’ll never be able to buy one. Also, the way he describes tech is so specific it just pops into my head in a ridiculous way. Even though everything is played straight by the characters, somehow it still feels relatable and I end up laughing. So far, everything I’ve read has kind of been like that, and I’m really into it.
By badgerpages1987
“We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” — the short story that got turned into the big “Total Recall” movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The book I found was pretty thick, and I guess it was one of those collections with a bunch of Philip K. Dick stuff. But this particular story feels almost comically short, like it’s the textbook definition of a short story. Nineteen pages… come on. You can tell there are definitely connections between the movie characters and the story characters, even down to the smaller roles. But a few parts seem swapped around. And by the time you get to the end, it’s not really like the movie at all, even though there are still similar themes and situations. I’d say it’s worth reading, but I wouldn’t go buy some huge collection just for this one unless you’re really into Dick. You could probably finish it in half an hour or less. I’m hoping I find a couple more things to like in the rest of the collection. Okay, spoilers-ish: the opening basically matches the movie pretty closely. I can totally see Sharon Stone and Arnold in their roles, though Douglas’s last name is “Quail” in the book, which is not what I’m used to — I prefer “Quaid” from the film. A few other names are different too. The Rekal guy feels like he’s kind of a mix of the salesman vibe from the movie and that more serious doctor who tries to talk him out of the delusional memory thing, including the whole sweating moment… And Robert Picard’s Johnny Cab lines are pretty much spot on. But once the initial memory implant problem happens, it really starts to drift away from the movie. Honestly, I keep thinking of it like it could be some kind of deleted scene from the movie — like, what else could’ve been in there, since the film is a lot longer.
By bisonsun
Philip K. Dick mostly gets talked about as sci-fi, or that weird/off-kilter kind of fiction—maybe fantasy-ish sometimes. (And yeah, I’m a big fan.) But I’ve also felt some pretty heavy dread and horror vibes in a few of his stories. Like “The Hanging Stranger” and “The Father-Thing.” So I guess I’m curious—do you all read Dick? What do you think of his stories? And do you ever feel like some of his work really belongs in the horror category, or is it just me?
By blueHorse
I just watched “Screamers” (1995) and even did a breakdown on it. It’s based on Philip K. Dick’s “Second Variety,” and honestly I really liked it. If you’re into those dystopian, war-torn settings where technology is basically tearing everything apart and everyone’s suffering, I’d say it’s worth checking out.
By NightPlanet
Not sure if this has been talked about a bunch already, but I’m just curious—what’s your favorite PKD book and why? I honestly can’t decide because he’s my favorite author, so I’m into basically all of it. If I had to pick, I’d say I’m torn between *Dr. Bloodmoney* and *Clans of the Alphane Moon*. I really like the post-apocalyptic feel and the kinda “Fallout” kind of setup in *Bloodmoney*. I know it came out way before Fallout and all, but I still feel like it had a big influence on that whole vibe. For *Clans*, I just enjoyed it so much. It’s super fun to read, and I loved the clans and the whole idea behind a world full of “mental patients.”
By cipher-letter1975
Rewatched it last month with my kids—honestly, it’s a really good movie.
By amberfrog40
Nice.
By beaconSecret
Most of what I know about Dick is just from the movies made from his stuff. I’d like to try one of his books that feels really “Dick” but still isn’t super hard to get into or way off the deep end (like that example with Delany’s Dhalgren).
By envelope_tide
I’ve read *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep* and watched the *Blade Runner* movies, so I kinda figured he was just a one-hit kind of thing. But now I keep running into people saying he’s actually super respected in sci-fi, even if he’s not really mainstream. That said, I keep seeing stuff about him losing it toward the end of his life, and I can’t tell what’s true or what the whole story is. I’ve tried looking around but I can’t find the full picture. Does anyone know what actually happened, like in more detail? Or at least a good link that lays it out.