Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, also known by its movie name as Blade Runner, was written by Philip K. Dick and published in 1968 by Doubleday. The stories are written between 1940 and 1950 for American science fiction magazines.

I’ve listened this book from one of the greatest narrator Scott Brick. Both the story and narration is really great. This is the first Philip K. Dick book that I’ve read.

There is also a great film adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. One bad thing is the name have been changed to Blade Runner and now most people remember it as Blade Runner and also new books are printing as Blade Runner. Blade Runner is a 1982 film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

This novel is set in a post-apocalyptic future and the population has been critically reduced after a nuclear war called World War Terminus. Most of the animals are extinct and possessing an animal is a sign of status.

Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter, is trying to find six escaped Nexus-6 type androids. Androids possess no sense of empathy and Rick Deckard is using this to identify androids.

United Nations is trying to move everyone off-world colonies in order to preserve human race. And gives a servant android to each immigrant. Some of these servant androids escape to world for their freedom but mostly they were hunted, or retired as called in the book, by bounty hunters in Earth.

Interesting part of the book is some androids are more human than humans and some humans are more android than actual androids. I guess the main point is being human. The main character, Rick Deckard is also one of these, it is not clear in the book whether he is a real human or an android pretending to be a human, actually have no memory of being an android.

Probably “The Man in the High Castle” will be my next Philip K. Dick novel.