“Rick Deckard is an officially sanctioned bounty hunter tasked to find six rogue androids. They are machines, but look, sound and think just like humans–clever and most of all dangerous humans.”
What I like about most of Philip K. Dick’s stories is the way he uses science fiction elements to make you think about human existence and behaviors. This book is one that can do just that. In this book, the ability to feel empathy for other living things is supposed to be the main distinction between androids and humans. This is also what creates the title. People pride themselves for having live animals as pets because living animals are rare and are seen as a prize possession that improves ones ability to feel empathetic. Rick can’t afford a real sheep, so he owns a fake one (that looks and acts real) to stay in good standing with the neighborhood, and so he and his wife don’t look suspicious for not having an animal.
This book was the inspiration for the movie Blade Runner. I must admit I enjoyed the book much more than the movie because the movie misses much of what is important to the characters in the book. For example, Deckard’s concern about the “electric sheep” is missed in the movie, but it is a core theme in the book.
If you like science fiction and have not read Philip K. Dick, this is a good place to start. His work has been adapted into many films such as Total Recall, Minority Report, The Adjustment Bureau, and many others. I consider him an essential read for any science fiction fans.
Interested in this book? Look for it at your local library. If you’re affiliated with Lindenwood, you can request this book from the Lindenwood Library.
“Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he presents his fashioning of the primeval Norse myths into a novel, which begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds, delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants, and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly recreating the characters–the gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to dupe others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions–and making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.”
“When hostile aliens called the Formics attack Earth, only the legendary heroics of Mazer Rackham manage to attain a victory. To prepare for the next attack, Col. Hyrum Graff and his cohorts initiate a military program to find the next Mazer. Recruit Ender Wiggin exhibits an unusual gift for the training, easily mastering all of the challenges thrown at him.”
“A bestselling modern classic—both poignant and funny—about a boy with autism who sets out to solve the murder of a neighbor’s dog and discovers unexpected truths about himself and the world. It was nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read. Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. This improbable story of Christopher’s quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.”
“The world is going to end next Saturday, but there are a few problems–the Antichrist has been misplaced, the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse ride motorcycles, and the representatives from heaven and hell decide that they like the human race.”
“An unflinching, darkly funny, and deeply moving story of a boy, his seriously ill mother, and an unexpected monstrous visitor, featuring stunning artwork by Jim Kay. At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting— he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd— whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself— Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.”
“The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population. The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment’s calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid’s Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and a tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best.”
“Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag.” In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father’s junkyard. Her father distrusted the medical establishment, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when an older brother became violent. When another brother got himself into college and came back with news of the world beyond the mountain, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. She taught herself enough mathematics, grammar, and science to take the ACT and was admitted to Brigham Young University. There, she studied psychology, politics, philosophy, and history, learning for the first time about pivotal world events like the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.”
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