Dick Oliver

Advantages: Utterly readable and compelling
Disadvantages: You probably need to be interested in the author to enjoy it

...This is a minority view, but in my opinion the posthumously published "Radio Free Albemuth" is Dick's best book. Although a first draft of the novel that eventually became "VALIS", this original version is very different, and to my mind preferable as it tells a more coherent story. The narrator is an sf writer called Philip K Dick. In the early seventies Dick underwent some experiences which he interpreted as religious. He became convinced he was being spoken to by God, but was unable to work out which God or why. "Radio Free Albemuth" was his first attempt to address these issues in a science fiction framework. He splits himself into two characters, Dick the writer and his friend Nicholas Brady, and pits them against the forces of darkness as personified by President Ferris F Freemont - a fictional version of Nixon. "Radio... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Easy to find information
Disadvantages: Not in great detail

...... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Extremely good read
Disadvantages: May disappoint anyone who expects a film novelisation

...There is no point reading "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" expecting a book of the film. Dick's novel came first, and goes deeper than "Blade Runner". Dick's main theme was the profound question "what is human?" and by juxtaposing his human characters with androids he attempted to show that it wasn't down to what you were made of. Dick believed that what distinguished humans from the android is our capacity for empathy - a theme largely ignored in the film. Dick's achievement is that his consideration of this issue arises from a highly readable and witty story. His plot is genuinely exciting (but not quite that of the film) and his characters are genuinely interesting. Dick's entire career consisted of using the popular forms of science fiction novels and stories to communicate fundamental philosophical problems... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful