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This second volume of the collected stories of one of the most influential of all science fiction writers gathers 27 stories from August 1952 to April 1953. In this extraordinarily creative period Dick produced a seemingly endless stream of breathtakingly audacious ideas, delving ever deeper into what would become major themes of his career: alienation and the nature of humanity. In "Second Variety" Hendricks and the Russian soldier Tasso fight a desperate battle for survival in a relentless future war against machine foes. Dick commented that here "my grand theme--who is human and who only appears as human--emerges most fully". The story is a taut, Cold-War-era ancestor of The Terminator. In 1976 Dick wrote "For me 'Human Is' is my credo". Lester is an emotionless workaholic devoted to making poisons for the military. When he returns from Rexor IV a literally changed man his wife faces a unique decision. The final story "Prominent Author" is an ingenious tale of instantaneous transport with strange repercussions in time. Still subversively shocking it points to the theological explorations which became increasingly important in Dick's later writing.
With an introduction by Norman Spinrad and brief notes this collection is an opportunity to follow the development of a writer from dazzlingly original newcomer to a master of science fiction. While Ray Bradbury's The Golden Apples of the Sun (1953) reshaped the short story to his own poetic ends, Dick was rapidly turning the genre inside out. --Gary S. Dalkin
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The second volume of the complete stories of the twentieth century¿s greatest SF author.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Collection (Part 2),
By
This review is from: Second Variety: Volume Two Of The Collected Stories (Collected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick) (Paperback)
As a long time fan of the work of Philip K Dick, I love this complete collection of his short stories (of which this is the second of 5 volumes).As with any collection of this kind, where all an authors short stories are collected, you get something of a mixed bag. However, to my mind even when PKD is not at his best he is still well worth a read (and at his best he is among the very best). As well as the stories you get some interesting introductory material and some helpful notes. The stories contained in this volume (which were written between 1952 and 1955) are: "The Cookie Lady" "Beyond the Door" "Second Variety" (which the movie Screamers is based on) "Jon's World" "The Cosmic Poachers" "Progeny" "Some Kinds of Life" "Martians Come in Clouds" "The Commuter" "The World She Wanted" "A Surface Raid" "Project: Earth" "The Trouble with Bubbles" "Breakfast at Twilight" "A Present for Pat" "The Hood Maker" "Of Withered Apples" "Human Is" "Adjustment Team" (which the movie Adjustment Bureau is based on) "The Impossible Planet" "Impostor" (which the movie Impostor is based on) "James P. Crow" "Planet for Transients" "Small Town" "Souvenir" "Survey Team" "Prominent Author" "...fitting tribute to a great philosophical writer who found science fiction the ideal form for the expression of his ideas" -- The Independent 'No other writer of his generation had such a powerful intellectual presence.' -- Brian Aldiss 'One of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction.' -- Sunday Times The other four volumes in this collection are: Beyond Lies The Wub: Volume One Of The Collected Short Stories The Father-Thing: Volume Three Of The Collected Short Stories Minority Report: Volume Four Of The Collected Short Stories We Can Remember It For You Wholesale: Volume Five of The Collected Short Stories If you are new to Philip K Dick's work I would also recommend the novels (which generally seem to be regarded as among his best): Ubik (S.F. Masterworks) A Scanner Darkly (S.F. Masterworks) The Man In The High Castle (S.F. Masterworks) The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (S.F. Masterworks) Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said (S.F. Masterworks) Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?: The novel which became 'Blade Runner' (S.F. Masterworks) That said, as with the short stories, though some of PKD's works are better than others, to my mind they are all well worth reading.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much more than just Science Fiction,
By
This review is from: Second Variety: Volume Two Of The Collected Stories (Collected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick) (Paperback)
This entertaining collection of Dick's early short fiction contains many of the themes which permeate all his work and later came to define him as an author.Several stories contain embryonic ideas developed in subsequent novels, notably the eponymous 'Second Variety', 'Progeny' and 'James P Crow' which explore the human - robot interface and the metaphysical question of can a robot ever truly possess consciousness and sentience?The notion of identity theft written here by Dick in post McCarthyist USA is chillingly explored in 'Impostor' and retains a contemporary relevance in our increasingly virtual world. The theme of time travel is imaginatively investigated in 'John's World' and 'Breakfast at Twilight.' Testimony to Dick's range as much more than a writer of only Science Fiction is evident in the ghostly ambience created in 'Of Withered Apples' and 'Small Town.' The undoubted gem of this collection however is to be found towards the end and is only 13 pages in length.'Prominent Author'suggests a tantalising explanation of how worm holes may have given rise to religious belief and the authorship of The Bible.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enter the Mind of a Genius. Enter the Mind, Maybe, of a Prophet. But Let's Hope Not.,
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This review is from: Second Variety: Volume Two Of The Collected Stories (Collected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick) (Paperback)
This collection of short stories by Philip K. Dick are great, thought provoking, funny, and some really frightening.This collection is definitely darker then the first collection in this series. With stories such as the `Second Variety': A dead world of endless ash and slag because of some nuclear war, nevertheless with a few Americans and Russians alive, still fighting it out. But they don't need to worry about each other. Artificial intelligence variations are being developed, by other artificial intelligence, and the top forms look just like humans. Varity one and three have been identified. But what about variety two? This story will definitely give you some spine chills. The story `Progeny' introduces new psychological development techniques for raising children. These techniques involve taking human parents completely out of the equation. 'Naturally, robots could do the best job. Robots train him scientifically, according to a rational technique. Not according to emotional whim. Robots didn't get angry. Robots didn't nag and whine. They didn't spank a child or yell at him. They didn't give conflicting orders. They didn't quarrel among themselves or use the child for their own ends. And there could be no Oedipus Complex, with only robots around. No complexes at all. It had been discovered long ago that neurosis could be traced to childhood training. To the way parents brought up the child. The inhibitions he was taught, the manners, the lessons, the punishments, the rewards. Neuroses, complexes, warped developments, all stemmed from the subjective relationship existing between the child and the parent. If perhaps the parent could be eliminated as a factor ...' The human father is upset about not being able to raise his son and only getting the occasional visit. But does the child care? Then there is the story `James P. Crow', where humans are inferior to Robots. But there are still a few things that humans are exceptional at: 'Humans made good entertainers. That was one area the robots couldn't compete in. Human beings painted and wrote and danced and sang and acted for the amusement of robots. They cooked better, too, but robots didn't eat. Human beings had their place. They were understood and wanted: as body servants, entertainers, clerks, gardeners, construction workers, repairmen, odd-jobbers and factory workers. But when it came to something like civic control coordinator or traffic supervisor for the usone tapes that fed energy into the planet's twelve hydro-systems - Humans would be allowed to have jobs Robots have, if they can pass the `Lists' - exams created by the Robots, that they also use to see which Robot gets a certain Job. A slight problem is that no human has ever passed a List. They're not smart enough. However there is one man. He passed his Lists 10 years ago. And now he's up to Class Two. The Robots are worried and are trying to hush it up. But the news is spreading and more and more humans are finding out about this super human that goes by the name of James P. Crow. And if this human gets to Class One then he will sit on the Council and help rule the planet. But is it better to have Robots in control or Humans? What happened last time humans ran the planet?' All the stories will make you think, and give you some good entertainment. Some of them are anti-human, quite frightening and a bit disturbing. If Philip K Dick is a prophet, let's hope he gets those ones wrong.
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