Tag Archives: philip k. dick

Blog, Book Reviews

Book Review: A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K DickWhat happens when the illegal drug you’re taking splits your personality? That’s exactly what happens to Bob Arctor, a dealer addicted to Substance D, street name “Death.”

Fred is a narcotics officer assigned to monitor’s Bob’s activities. Only one problem. Bob and Fred are the same guy. Arctor’s situation becomes even more complex when the police set up holographic surveillance equipment in his house where he lives with two other junkies, Barris and Luckman.

Meanwhile, Arctor continues to buy Substance D from a young woman named Donna Hawthorne in hopes of getting to her supplier, but instead, falls in love with her. Eventually, Arctor’s addiction destroys his brain and lands him in a rehab center engaging its own nefarious activities.

While not my favorite Philip K. Dick novel (that’s a tie between Ubik and Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said), he does a phenomenal job of portraying the brutal reality of drug addiction and its devastating effects on the mind and body. Dick’s invention of the “scramble suit” is a clever plot device that allows Fred to go unrecognized among this fellow officers and eventually, to Barris who attempts to betray Arctor to the police in Fred’s presence. Buckle up for a wild ride.

Blog, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Man in the High Castle by Philip K. DickIn Philip K. Dick’s alternate history novel, the Allies have lost WWII and the United States is divided up between Nazi Germany to the east and the Empire of Japan in the west. Between the two territories is a neutral zone straddling the Rocky Mountain States. It’s 1962 and the Chancellor of Nazi Germany, Martin Bormann, has just died, leaving several high-ranking Nazi officers to jockey for power including Reinhard Heydrich, Joseph Goebbels, and others. 

In the Japanese-controlled Pacific Western States, Rudolf Wegener (traveling under the name Baynes) defects from Nazi Germany to meet with a sympathetic Japanese General. There, Wegener reveals Operation Dandelion, Germany’s plans to attack the Japanese Home Islands. The meeting is held in the office of Trade Minister Tagomi in San Francisco, which is raided by an armed German militia assigned to kill Wegener. 

Meanwhile, machinist Frank Frink teams up with a co-worker to form their own business making hand-wrought metal jewelry. They plan to peddle their wares to a few local shops, starting with the largest antique shop in town owned by Robert Childan. Reluctant at first, Childan accepts the jewelry on a consignment deal but uses one of the pieces to curry favor with a young Japanese couple. He also sells a piece to Mr. Tagomi who later experiences a strange vision of an alternate San Francisco. 

In the neutral zone, Frink’s ex-wife, Julianna, is a Judo instructor and has been dating a truck driver named Joe Cinnandella. Julianna is engrossed in a popular novel called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy in which the United States and Britain have won WWII and now dominate the world. So compelling is the story that Julianna convinces Joe to drive her to Cheyenne, Wyoming to visit the author, a man named Abendsen. Along the way, she learns that Joe is not who he seems. 

Throughout the story, Mr. Tagomi and other characters in San Francisco consult the I Ching, a Chinese book of divination, to guide their decisions and foretell the future. 

Overall, The Man in the High Castle is a fascinating idea of what would have become of the United States had the Axis powers won the war. The oppression and fear experienced by the characters is palatable as each of them struggles for the best existence they can manage given their circumstances. 

Blog, Book Reviews, Opinion

Best Books About Ordinary People Thrown into Bizarre and Extraordinary Circumstances

There’s a new book recommendation site in town and its name is Shepherd. They aim to give Goodreads a run for its money and to help build their site, Shepherd has been reaching out to authors for their top five book recommendations based on a theme of their choice.

In my case, I created a list of the best books about ordinary people thrown into bizarre and extraordinary circumstances. It’s an honor to be featured on Shepherd and join the ranks of so many incredible writers!

Phil Giunta-Shepherd Top 5 Books

Blog, Conventions

After Action Report: Philcon 85 – In the Presence of Giants

In GPS we trust and that’s precisely what I did on my way to Philcon when my usual route through the City of Brotherly Love turned into a parking lot. If you know the area, you probably guessed the Schuylkill Expressway and you would be correct.

So instead of ol’ Ben Franklin, it was Walt Whitman what got me into New Jersey this time. I landed at the Cherry Hill Doubletree around 4PM, checked in, schlepped my baggage to my room, then proceeded to con registration to collect the usual accoutrements (badge and program book) before I was sent up four floors to con ops to pick up my tent card and free drink tickie for the opening reception.

Philcon Program & Badge

In the lobby, I reunited with friends Ef Deal, Serg Koren, and Susanna Reilly. It was wonderful to catch up with them before my 7PM panel, Writing: The Long and Short of It adroitly moderated by writer pal, Hildy Silverman. Fellow panelists included Elektra Hammond, Marilyn “Mattie” Brahen, and Jim Stratton. We discussed such topics as developing short story plots, number of characters and points of view, and crafting short stories as standalone works versus passing off the opening chapter of a novel.

Writing: The Long and Short of It - Discussion PanelPhoto credit: Michael Ventrella

As that was my one and only panel of the evening, I stopped by the freebie table where I picked up a few gems including a copy of Nate Segaloff’s authorized biography of one of my literary heroes, Harlan Ellison.

Harlan Ellison - A Lit Fuse

At 9PM, I attended an edifying panel on Finances for Creative Professionals led by veteran writer Susan Shwartz with James Stratton, Nate Hoffelder, David M. Axler, and Russell J. Handelman. The discussion went beyond tax deductions and touched on wills, trusts, long term care insurance, and literary executors. I walked out of there with a short list of items to take care of in the coming year.

Later, I meandered over to the opening reception where I used my drink ticket for a Pepsi (no booze for me) and chatted with writer buds Aaron Rosenberg and Russ Colchamiro from Crazy 8 Press and Neil Clarke, founder and editor of Clarkesworld Magazine before calling it a night.

Since I didn’t have a panel until noon on Saturday, it was time for more book shopping. Philcon’s dealer room never disappoints when it comes to vintage SF as you can see…

Vintage SF Books!

My noon panel was also my second and final one of the con (they took it easy on me this year). Horror Without Gore was moderated by Bram Stoker award nominee Carol Gyzander and included Amy Grech, Gary Frank, and Martin Joseph Berman-Gorvine. Through a lively discussion, we determined that yes, you can write a fine horror story without graphic blood and guts through the use of suspense, atmosphere, and psychological terror. Photo credits (below): Alp Beck.

Horror Without Gore discussion panel Horror Without Gore discussion panel

The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting in on such panels as State of the Short Fiction Market moderated by Stephanie Burke with participants Neil Clarke and Margaret Riley followed by We ARE Living in Philip K. Dick’s Future, Aren’t We? with Michael Swanwick as impromptu moderator (in lieu of Gregory Frost), Ken Altabef, Lawrence Kramer, and Anatasia Klimchynskaya. The group analyzed aspects of contemporary society in the context of how it compares to Philip K. Dick’s dystopian vision. The short answer to the panel’s title is… yes we are.

After that, it was time for a delightful dinner in the hotel restaurant with friends Susanna Reilly and Francis Barron after which, fatigue set in and a power nap was in order. By the time I awoke, it was well past 8PM and I decided to stay in my room, write for a bit, watch some TV then call it a night.

The highlight of the con occurred on Sunday during my noon autograph session when Nebula-award winner Michael Swanwick invited me to his home in Philly for a small after party. I grew up in the section of the city where he has lived for decades but never knew it until we connected on Facebook three years ago. While there, I was honored yet again to meet SFWA Grand Master Samuel R. “Chip” Delaney. Michael and Chip are legends in science fiction literature and beyond and for two and a half hours on Sunday evening, I was in the presence of giants much in the same way as when I met another literary hero, Harlan Ellison, back in 1999. I drove home that night with treasured memories and an invitation from Michael to return next year. I look forward to it!

Phil with Michael Swanwick
Phil with Samuel R. "Chip" Delaney
Blog, Book Reviews

Book Review: We Can Remember It For You Wholesale and Other Classics by Philip K. Dick

Classic Stories by Phil K. DickI read this collection of 27 speculative fiction tales immediately after The Philip K. Dick Reader, also by Citadel Press. Both collections are outstanding, with “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” as the only common story between them.

My favorites include “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” (on which the 1990 film, Total Recall, was based), “The Cookie Lady,” “Jon’s World,” “The Cosmic Poachers,” “The Commuter,” “The World She Wanted,” “The Adjustment Team” (on which the 2011 film, The Adjustment Bureau, was loosely based), “A Present for Pat,” “The Hood Maker,” “Human Is,” “The Impossible Planet,” “Imposter,” “Small Town,” and “Survey Team” (albeit, the ending was predictable).

Of those mentioned above, it should be noted that “The Commuter,” “Human Is,” “The Hood Maker,” and “The Impossible Planet” were among ten Phil K. Dick stories adapted for the 2017 Netflix mini-series Electric Dreams.

Blog, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Philip K. Dick Reader

Philip K Dick ReaderThis marvelous collection of 24 stories includes such gems as “Fair Game,” “The Hanging Stranger,” “The Last of the Masters,” “War Veteran,” “Exhibit Piece,” “Sales Pitch,” “The Chromium Fence,” and several tales that were adopted into film, such as “We Can Remember it for You Wholesale” (Total Recall, 1990), “The Minority Report” (Minority Report, 2002), “The Golden Man” (Next, 2007), and “Second Variety” (Screamers, 1995).

Additionally, “Sales Pitch,” “Exhibit Piece,” “The Hanging Stranger,” and “Foster, You’re Dead!” were dramatized in the 2017 Amazon Prime anthology series, Electric Dreams, based on the works of Philip K. Dick.