Ratings12
Average rating3.5
Philip K Dick is, without doubt, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, in any genre. That he chose Science Fiction to articulate his muse is neither here nor there. These stories, mainly written in the early 50's over a nine month period, show the first blossoming of an extraordinary talent. Sure some of them are dated, but what does shine through are the ideas and the burning intelligence behind those ideas.
The seeds of many Dick tropes are here: the man who has his memory altered and then finds himself on the run from the authorities; the strange intelligence of artificial life forms; the distorting effect of time and space travel.
Not everything here is classic Dick, he was, after all, finding his voice. But there's enough to show that it was the beginnings of a great story teller.