Philip K. Dick

"Mr. Spaceship" is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick, first published in 1953 in Imagination, and later in The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick. It has since been republished several times, including in Beyond Lies the Wub in 1988. The story is set in the distant future, where humanity is at war with "Yuks", an alien life form which does not use mechanical spaceships nor constructions. Instead, it relies on life forms. The war has been going on for a long time, and humanity has not been able to come up with a solution against the life-form based ships and mines that the Yuks use. One day, a team of researchers led by Philip Kramer decide to build a spaceship which is powered by a human brain. They find the ideal candidate, Kramer's old professor, a dying man who volunteers to donate his brain to the project. The spaceship is built and on the first test run into outer space, the team discovers that the professor made some changes to the ship, giving him-or rather, his brain-full control over the ship. Sensing trouble, the team flees the ship, leaving the empty ship, piloted by the professor, into outer space. Later, the spaceship returns and kidnaps Kramer and his wife, and on board the ship, the professor's brain informs them that they'll be looking for a new planet to colonize, to start over, as the professor sees no hope in humanity and what it has become- a species which desires, above all else, war. 1950's science fiction.

Offers a horrifying glimpse of an alternative world - one where the Allies have lost the Second World War. In this nightmare dystopia, the Nazis have taken over New York, the Japanese control California and the African continent is virtually wiped out.

Philip K Dicks legendariska roman Skannad i dunklet (A Scanner Darkly) för första gången på svenska i översättning av Andreas Vesterlund och med efterord av John-Henri Holmberg. Romanen skildrar hur författarens alter ego Bob Arctor bor i kollektiv med sina vänner i en villa i ett futuristiskt Kalifornien och arbetar som narkotikaspanare under täcknamnet Agent Fred. Det är särskilt drogen Substans D som blivit den nya farsoten i en värld där sofistikerad elektronisk övervakning av medborgarna pågår dygnet runt och på alla plan. Substans D (eller Slow Death) är en förrädisk drog. Den skänker intensiva känslor av välbehag men är också starkt beroendeframkallande och hämmar dessutom tankeförmågan svårt. Långvarigt bruk är förödande för hjärnan. Ett delikat problem för narkotikaspanaren Bob är att han själv och vännerna i kollektivet samtliga är storkonsumenter av just Substans D. Bobs spaning kommer med andra ord främst att handla om att spana på sig själv. På jobbet är han anonym. Både han och kollegorna går klädda i så kallade distorsionsdräkter som döljer deras verkliga utseenden. Dräkten består av en tunn hinna, ett membran, som täcker hela huvudet och hela kroppen. På denna hinna projiceras, inifrån, en svit av ständigt annorlunda utseenden samtidigt som ens röst förvanskas till det oigenkänneliga. Ingen kan ana sig till vem man är. Romanen är på många sätt självbiografisk. Under några år i början av 1970-talet levde Dick i ett liknande drogmissbrukande kollektiv. Han hade som nyskild och ensam och olycklig fått kontakt med ett antal lösa existenser i trakten där han bodde. Vinddrivna personer med missbruksproblem som bosatt sig i hans villa. Under tre år författade han inget, försvann in i en passiviserad – periodvis ytterligt paranoid – drogvärld och när han till sist lyckades ta sig ur den, och mycket tack vare sin nya fru Leslie "Tessa" Busby kunde återuppta sitt skrivande, var det denna roman han skrev. Det blev ett mycket speciellt verk i Philip K Dicks stora (totalt skrev Dick mer än 40 romaner) och variationsrika produktion. Bokens titel syftar på ett bibelställe, Första Korintierbrevet, där Paulus förklarar att vi nu ser dunkelt, som i en spegel, men att vi i Guds rike kommer att se klart. Spegeln har hos Dick blivit en skanner, en övervakningsanordning. Samma bibelställe inspirerade även Ingmar Bergman när han valde titel till filmen Såsom i en spegel. Dicks roman filmatiserades för övrigt 2006 i regi av Richard Linklater med Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr och Woody Harrelson i rollerna. En lysande filmatisering! Bland annat är distorsionsdräkterna en fantastisk upplevelse, likaså animeringen "ovanpå" den filmade bilden.

What is VALIS? This question is at the heart of Philip K. Dick s groundbreaking novel, the first book in his defining trilogy. When a beam of pink light begins giving a schizophrenic man named Horselover Fat (who just might also be known as Philip K. Dick) visions of an alternate Earth where the Roman Empire still reigns, he must decide whether he is crazy or whether a godlike entity is showing him the true nature of the world. "VALIS" is essential listening for any true Philip K. Dick fan, a novel that Roberto Bolano called more disturbing than any novel by Carson] McCullers. By the end, like Dick himself, you will be left wondering what is real, what is fiction, and just what the price is for divine inspiration."

What if animals could talk? Or communicate telepathically? What if they evolved to become something more than human, or we made ourselves more like them? Storytellers have asked these questions from the dawn of human history to the present day. An Anthropomorphic Century showcases the answers to some of these questions from the last century. Features stories ranging from 1909 to 2008, including the talents of Peter S. Beagle, Philip K. Dick, Michael H. Payne, Phil Geusz, Renee Carter Hall, and more. Table of ContentsTobermory by SakiDr. Lu-mie by Clifton B. KruseThe Blue Giraffe by L. Sprague de CampBarney by Will StantonExpendable by Philip K. DickThe Conspirators by James WhiteSic Transit... ? A Shaggy Hairless-Dog Story by Steven Utley and Howard WaldropCrow's Curse by Michael H. PayneNine Lives To Live by Sharyn McCrumbVole by John Gregory BetancourtChoice Cuts by Edd VickTransmutational Transcontinental by Phil GeuszDaylight Fading by Chris HoekstraThe Good Sport by Bill KiefferThe Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael SwanwickCat 'n' Mouse by Steven MillhauserPig Paradise by Scott BradfieldSergeant Chip by Bradley DentonGordon, the Self-Made Cat by Peter S. BeagleThe Wishing Tree by Renee Carter HallCover art by Mark Brill

Philip K. Dick's only children's book finally back in print - with many subtle nods to his most famous SF work.

An artist searches for God so he can paint his portrait in Philip K. Dick's collaboration with Roger Zelazny. After World War III, the Servants of Wrath cult deified the mysterious Carlton Lufteufel, creator of the doomsday weapon that wiped out much of humanity. But to worship the man, they need an image of him as a god, and no one has ever seen him. So the high priests send a limbless master painter named Tibor McMasters into the wilderness on a mission to find Lufteufel and capture his likeness. Unfortunately for Tibor, the nation's remaining Christians do not want him to succeed and are willing to kill to ensure that the so-called Deus Irae remains hidden. This hallucinatory tale through a nuclear wasteland asks what price the artist must pay for art and tries to figure outjust what makes a god.

From Hugo Award-winning author Philip K. Dick, A Maze of Death is a sci-fi murder mystery set on a mysterious planet where colonists experience unexplained shifts in reality and perception. Delmak-O is a dangerous planet. Though there are only fourteen citizens, no one can trust anyone else and death can strike at any moment. The planet is vast and largely unexplored, populated mostly by gelatinous cube-shaped beings that give cryptic advice in the form of anagrams. Deities can be spoken to directly via a series of prayer amplifiers and transmitters, but they may not be happy about it. And the mysterious building in the distance draws all the colonists to it, but when they get there each sees a different motto on the front. The mystery of this structure and the secrets contained within drive this mind-bending novel.

A realist tragicomedy from one of the masters of science fiction.

«Timothy Archers sjelevandring» handler om den episkopale biskopen i California, en kjederøykende alkoholiker med stor appetitt på kvinner. Han avviser at det finnes noe helvete en risikerer å havne i dersom en ikke tror på Gud. I samfunnsdebatten knytter han seg til borgerrettsbevegelsen og krever øyeblikkelig oppheving av raseskillet i sørstatene. Han støtter de homoseksuelle, bifile og transseksuelle i deres kamp for å leve et åpent og fullverdig liv. Mest rokket i sin tro blir biskopen ved funnet av Dødehavsrullene, som kan dateres til ca. 200 år før vår tidsregning. Der finner han ordrett tekster som er lik tekstene i Det nye testamentet. Hvordan kunne Jesus være verdens frelser og Guds sønn når de ordene han legges i munnen i evangeliene er nedtegnet allerede 200 år før han ble født? Denne romanen blir ikke mindre spennende ved at Philip K. Dick åpenbart har benyttet den episkopale biskop i California, James A. Pike, som forbilde for Timothy Archer. Helt ned i detaljene følger de to livshistoriene hverandre. James A. Pike, som Philip K. Dick kjente privat, hadde vært død i tretten år da "Timothy Archers sjelevandring" kom ut i april 1982, kort tid etter han i mars samme år døde av slag. Med utgivelsen av «Timothy Archers sjelevandring», foreligger Philip K. Dicks berømte VALIS-trilogi komplett på norsk. Bøkene er oversatt av Svein Sandnes.

The Variable Man: Philip K Dick He fixed things-clocks, refrigerators, vidsenders and destinies. But he had no business in the future, where the calculators could not handle him. He was Earth's only hope-and its sure failure The Misplaced Spaceship: Harry Harrison It might seem careless to lose track of something like a battleship but interstellar space is on a different scale of magnitude. A misplaced battleship in the wrong hands can be most dangerous. Youth: Isaac Asimov They found the two strange animals the morning after they heard the thunder sounds. They knew that they could never show their new pets to their parents. Bread Overhead: Fritz Leiber The Staff of Life suddenly and disconcertingly sprouted wings -and mankind had to eat crow Rainworm: Jakob Chapman The bond was only marred in one way. I relived her strongest memories and emotions: the explosion of Candeo-being flung from the inferno while the rest of her race sizzled in silence-the planet below a glowing brand.

I "Den guddommelige invasjon" av Philip K. Dick er ikke Gud død. Han har etter selotenes nederlag på Masada i Den første jødisk-romerske krig i år 79 reist i eksil til en planet langt utenfor vårt solsystem. Her besvangrer han jomfruen Rybys Rommey og ber Herb Asher bringe henne tilbake til Jorda for at hennes sønn Emmanuel skal frelse verden fra den demoniske Belial, også kjent som Satan og Lucifer, som har hersket her de siste to tusen år. I "Den guddommelige invasjon" blander Philip K. Dick filosofi med en spennende handling som få forfattere har gjort ham etter. Boka er den andre i VALIS-trilogien, og utkom første gang i 1981.

Small town America tears itself apart in this realist novel from one of the greats of science fiction.

Businessman Arnie Kott, who controls the water supply to his fellow homesteaders on Mars, hires recovering schizophrenic Jack to communicate with an autistic child who has psychic powers, hoping he will uncover the UN’s intentions regarding Martian land. Philip K Dick’s exploration of mental illness, colonialism and authority was first published in 1964.