Why it's essential
First published in 1968 and later re-titled after the success of the 1982 film adaptation, 's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is an iconic novel that inspired a whole new wave of science fiction as well as a new subgenre.
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What is Blade Runner about?
Blade Runner, originally published as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is a dystopian sci-fi novel by Philip K. Dick. The world has been left nearly uninhabitable and millions have died following the destruction of the World War. Those who have been left behind mourn the loss of the world's now nearly-extinct creatures, and rebuild them as electronic birds, cows, sheep…and humans. The Rosen Association manufactures replicants—androids so real that they are nearly indistinguishable from real human beings. But when a group of replicants rebel, escaping Mars and returning to Earth, bounty hunter Rick Deckard is tasked with finding them.
Editor's review
I have a poster of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner hanging up in my living room, but, like any self-respecting book person, before I'd seen the famous movie adaptation, I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The first time I read Philip K. Dick's novel, straightforward but filled to the brim with invention and thought-provoking concepts, was for a science fiction class as an undergrad. At the time, I had no idea what "cyberpunk" meant, and I certainly didn't understand the difference between an android and a robot. But Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? opened up my eyes to how sci-fi could engage the imagination.
If you've seen Blade Runner and have read or listened to the novel it’s based on, then you know that the film is not exactly what one would call a "faithful" adaptation. In fact, when I teach this book and this film in my dystopian fiction courses, students are often disappointed in the movie after reading the book first. But I think both the movie and the film are essential parts of the sci-fi canon. Both works are in conversation with each other. And both have significant things to say about the meaning of life, what it means to feel emotions, and (most essentially) what it means to be human.
