A Scanner Darkly
4.1
(419)
Philip K. Dick
Winner of the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel, Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly is a semi-autobiographical novel of drug addiction set in a future American dystopia -- and the basis for the Hugo Award finalist film starring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Robert Downey, Jr."A Scanner Darkly is about a descent into the deep fears of our 24-hour consumer society: the twilight of intellectual and emotional collapse...A fascinating portrait of 70s Californian counter-culture."--The Guardian Bob Arctor is a junkie and a drug dealer, both using and selling the mind-altering Substance D. Fred is a law enforcement agent, tasked with bringing Bob down. It sounds like a standard case. The only problem is that Bob and Fred are the same person. Substance D doesn't just alter the mind, it splits it in two, and neither side knows what the other is doing or that it even exists. Now, both sides are growing increasingly paranoid as Bob tries to evade Fred while Fred tries to evade his suspicious bosses. In this dystopian future, friends can become enemies, good trips can turn terrifying, and cops and criminals are two sides of the same coin. Caustically funny and somberly contemplative, Dick fashions a novel that is as unnerving as it is enthralling."Dick is Thoreau plus the death of the American dream."--Roberto Bolaño
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Community ReviewsSee all
"This book is a trip, in more ways than one. Heartbreaking, depressing, so realistic in the worst way. Such a great read."
dunecello
"Wow, really makes you think - and really interesting from a modern perspective."
Ricki Marking-Camuto
"DEFINITELY. I really enjoyed it. The movie adaptation is a fun watch as well."
Syd
"I'm not saying that this is a badly written book as much as its a very unpleasant book. I've never read Dick's work before, so I can't say how this relates to his other pieces, but it felt very misogynistic to me. There's a lot of important social issues that the book is commenting on, and perhaps the way women are treated is supposed to be a comment as well on how women actually are treated, but it doesn't feel that way. The book really just left me feeling uncomfortable, even though I agree with the basic concept of the war on drugs being a failure."
John Detrick
"One of PKD's later books that get a mediocre rating from me. I found it pretty clear what was going to happen to Bob/Fred early on, and while I think the process used to confuse the character and reader was okay, I found the important premise that Fred had to remain unknown and disguised to his superiors pretty weak. Why? Because otherwise the plot does not work. <br/><br/>I understand that this work was important and emotion for PKD, so I also want to say that I think he was a brilliant, talented genius. I just didn't like this book much."
Andrew Greene
