Book reread – Do androids dream of electric sheep ?

Book – Do androids dream of electric sheep ? 

Author :  Philip K. Dick 

Score: 9/10

Year: 1968

Publisher:  Del Rey VS "Open Source" archive  

ISBN 9780345508553 VS open source 1st edition

Pages  225 (ebook) VS open source 1st edition 152 (epub) ; 169 (pdf) 

Language: English 

In Lucybulle's club de lecture en eau douce, mentioned several times now, March 2024 group read was Philip Kindred Dick's Do androids dream of electric sheep ?  - each person reading alone, at their own pace. 

As I'd read it in December 2016, I decided to re-read, for several reasons :

First, because I wasn't able to participate in the club's chosen books that often ;

Secondly, because it's such a good story that it was time to re-visit, and note what changes - if any - in opinions I would have regarding his story.

Third, and lastly, because I wanted to compare the 1968's first edition text, with that of modern editions. 

I copy paste, and alter slightly, a portion of my original review, and shall expand afterwards to details based on the second and third reasons for the reread. 

The author's title is very intelligent and the content, although written with simple English, is far more complex, raising philosophical and existential questions, resonating now even more than in the late 1960's - because some of the imagined realities have been partially reached by technology in the past few years. I think about virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, both made real and accessible to a wider portion of the world's population than either had been in their inceptions. 

It is a cautionary tale about us, humans, and the dangers of letting go of empathy - one of the most important characteristics that we need to keep alive and present in our lives. 

Indeed, in the immediate near-future in this fictional tale, the world has seen a devastating war  leaving Earth in ruins ; most animals are now extinct and revered as sacred, and all cruelty to animals is a crime.

The original story action starts in 1992 but after that year passed, editions changed to 2021, with the war happening in the 1990's - if specified at all within their text. 

In spite of the passage of years, Earth is still covered by dust, the war's remnant, which still can damage - and there is a subplot regarding its effects, as well as difference between IQ and empathy. 

Humans have developed increasingly sophisticated androids, and used them as labor whilst colonizing Mars ; these androids haven't been programmed with empathy, and it is through empathy personality tests that humans can now recognize androids. 

Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter for the police, and his mission is simple : he has to kill androids ; but his dream is to own a real animal, not just one of the many fake, robotic ones that he can find in shops. 

This novel raises many ethical, existential and philosophical questions and cleverly debates the notions of artificial life forms VS ''real'' ones, empathy VS sociopath cold blooded murder, and is it murder to kill that which is labeled as not living because it is artificially created. 

I said earlier Secondly, because it's such a good story that it was time to re-visit, and note what changes - if any - in opinions I would have regarding his story ; I have to say this double re-read (I remind that I compared two editions), I grew to appreciate some passages, details, phrases, that I hadn't processed in the same intensity as I had in my 2016, first reading of this novel. The flipside for this coin is that I also downgraded my overall score, from what seemed perfectly well-written story, to specific phrases which I felt somewhat lazy in composition : in their repetitions, or some  "he said" "she said" "it said" moments, and even words appearing twice, directly above one another, in a phrase that could've used a synonym or a different way, to avoid such a close double-usage. 

Third, and lastly, because I wanted to compare the 1968's first edition text, with that of modern editions was my next reason for re-reading. 

The main differences between editions  : 

• The 1st edition from 1968 has a dedication to Maren Augusta Bergrud (1923-1967, and who appears to have been a friend of Philip Kindred Dick), as well as a quote from William Butler Yeats, a portion of his poem The Song of the Happy Shepherd - not present in either of the two other editions I've read (9780575079939 in 2016 and the current 9780345508553)

And still I dream he treads the lawn,

Walking ghostly in the dew,

Pierced by my glad singing through

• At least until the late 1980's or early 90's, editions followed P.K. Dick's original future dates ; the story starting on 3 January 1992, and, where, the immediate backstories occur in 1990.

Newer editions changed it to 2021, though am not sure at which point editors had shifted - perhaps as early as the 1990's hit ? this requires proper research. 

Thus, in the ebook I borrowed, ISBN 9780345508553, based on Del Rey's edition from 2017 (ISBN 9780345404473), this change is present. 

• What perturbed me the most in changing only 1992/1990 to 2021/2019 but not the rest within the new edition is that all past events of the story take place in the 1970's, which were the in the near, immediate future for the author (I remind you, once more, 1st publication was 1968) ; keeping these events in the 1970's, but in 2017 (or earlier) skews modern readers' perspective - especially those who haven't read any original 1960's scifi, with their original future-dates... and those who don't research the socio-politico-economical contexts in which the author imagined these stories.

• On the other hand, I prefer the 2017 edition's layout and fonts : it's much clearer to read, better spaced ; various typos have been corrected ; names (such as magazines) are italicized, just as well as some words in dialogues, to emphasize - this latter part may help readers, but weren't present at all in the first edition text, where an identical font was used for everything, with no emphasized words, nor did they clarify any name. 

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Let me show just two samples from the 2 editions I review here.

Title page on 1st edition VS 2017 - the red, bold, capitalized title is vibrant, and violent - it fits the subjects of the novel, isn't it ? The Black font for the 2017 edition is ok, but it doesn't convey the same message. You notice the proud announcement about inspiring both Blade Runner movies. 

Here's a portion of an early page, in the same order - notice how the text is uneven ? this happens many times, all over the book, and I don't know if it's designed purposefully (do we need to see imagery forming ? collect words to make a code ? who knows), or, most probably, some editorial issues in the layout, seen even in the 2017 edition. Also notice the higher quality fonts in the latter, it's just too bad, in my opinion, to have date changes that don't make enough sense. 

and 

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In the process of re-reading this story, I decided to take a few notes, to detail the chapters - before condensing the draft, in order to reduce spoiling the exact order and chapters in which events and characters appear. 

That said, the first chapter introduces Rick Deckard and his wife, Iran, on the morning of 3rd January 1992 (2021 in new editions). We learn of a machine which simulates emotions, all catalogued and numbered - one has to dial its code to feel its effects. 

Through their argument, we learn of Rick's job : he's a bounty hunter, whose missions are to hunt down andys (androids) ; and about mechanical animals that are now customarily owned by people - as a result of mass extinctions of most 'real' animals during WWT (World War Terminal). The notions of a new religion which emerged some time prior to the story, Mercerism, and its principals are told us. 

We learn about human exodus to colonies away from Earth. and the effects of the falling dust, post WWT. 

Rather early on, a set of philosophical debates, centering around humans' empathy as opposed to android's "brain" capacity and a test that Rick has to run in order to detect several rogue androids - having to visit the main manufacturer for some of his tasks ahead. 

Every chapter or a few, POV shifts between each main character, until the various threads of the story becomes clearer, and head towards their culmination. In the interim, the questions of identity, empathy and personal or group beliefs are regularly brought back, with a focus on contrasts between each group, and always aiming towards a possible, ultimate, face-off between them.