Looking For a Good Book

It’s not often that you can return to the early works of an author whom you enjoy reading, and find worthwhile efforts or the clear beginnings of talent.  Too often I’ve found these early work collections to be embarrassing and a sad excuse to pull money from my pocket.  Not so, with this volume.  These stories, published in the 1950’s clearly show why the pulps had such a strong readership and are still looked back upon with fondness by so many.  At the same time, it’s easy to see some very dated ideology.

One of the things that makes Philip K. Dick’s work so unique and often appreciated by the Hollywood studios is his sense of never known what’s real and what’s on the fringe of being real.  Dick’s early story “Shell Game” is a great example of this and shows the sort of fun he will have in some of his later books and stories.

It was nice to read “Adjustment Team” again … this was the basis for the film The Adjustment Bureau.  Again…we see the classic Phil Dick at work, even in this early stage.

If you’ve never read a Philip K. Dick book or story before, this is still a fine collection to read to get a feel for his style and themes.  If you’re already a fan of his novels, you’ll enjoy this peek back.  These stories have all been in collections before, but it’s still nice to see them again.

This collection contains:

“Prominent Author”
“Small Town”
“The Turning Wheel”
“Exhibit Piece”
“Shell Game”
“Adjustment Team”
“Meddler”
“Progeny”
“Upon the Dull Earth”
“Foster, You’re Dead”
“Human Is”

Looking for a good book?  You really can’t go wrong with Philip K. Dick and this collection of short stories, The Early Science Fiction of Philip K. Dick, Volume 2 is a delightful read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Early Science Fiction of Philip K. Dick, Volume 2

author: Philip K. Dick

publisher: Dover Publications

ISBN: 0486801500

paperback, 192 pages