Title: The Minority Report and Other Classic Stories.
Author: Philip K. Dick.
Genre: Fiction, literature, short stories, science fiction, apocalyptic lit, post-apocalyptic lit, politics, artificial intelligence, alternate universe, futuristic lit, dystopian lit, time travel, political dissent.
Country: U.K.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1954-1964 (this collection 1987).
Summary: A collection of
18 stories. In
Autofac (1955), some years after an apocalyptic world war, only a network of no longer controllable robot "autofacs" that supply goods to the human survivors remains, leaving the future of the planet's quickly-dwindling resources uncertain. In
Service Call (1955), a man named Courland is visited one day by a peculiar repairman looking to repair an appliance that will not be invented for another 9 years, and seems sinister in purpose. In
Captive Market (1955), an old woman uses her ability to travel through time to exploit a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world.
The Mold of Yancy (1955) follows an investigation into an off-Earth colony where a seemingly benign totalitarian society has emerged using Yancy, an iconic public figure. In
The Minority Report (1956), three mutants foresee all crime before it occurs, until the head of Precrime, John A. Anderton, is accused of eventually murdering a man he has never met, and becomes convinced of a great conspiracy. In
Recall Mechanism (1959), a psychologist analyzes a patient's height phobia by using a machine that extracts buried memories, and realizes the patient's phobia is not triggered by the past. In
The Unreconstructed M (1957), an independent researcher uncovers a plot to falsify evidence through A.I., in a world where the technology used to solve crimes is very advanced. In
Explorers We (1959), aliens come to Earth repeatedly, appearing as perfect replicas of a group of astronauts who died during a mission to Mars. In
War Game (1959), while The Ganymedeans are considering war with Earth, a group of Earth toy-safety inspectors examine three new toys from Ganymede to discover if they should be allowed to be imported. In
If There Were No Benny Cemoli (1963), on the 10th anniversary of the devastating atomic war on Earth, more Proxima Centaurians arrive to continue the rebuilding of the planet while a war crimes tribunal is looking for war criminals, and a surviving newspaper,
The New York Times, seems to provide an answer - Benny Cemoli.
Novelty Act (1964) tells of two brothers in a society in which people live in huge communal apartment buildings where the main goal of the tenants is to produce entertainers who will entertain the First Lady.
Waterspider (1964) features the science fiction author Poul Anderson, who is brought into the far future because he is a "pre-cog" - a writer who through his writings prophesied exact situations and happenings from the distant future, but escapes during his visit, changing the course of time. In
What the Dead Men Say (1964), in a community where death is followed by a period of 'half-life' (a short amount of time which can be rationed out over long periods in which the dead can be revived), when attempts to bring back an immensely influential businessman, Louis Sarapis, fail, but he starts speaking from outer space, nobody can quite figure out - is it him? In
Orpheus with Clay Feet (1964), Jesse Slade, a bored man living in 2040, visits an agency for that allows him to go back in time and inspire an artist of his choice for a vacation, but it doesn't go as planned.
In The Days of Perky Pat (1963) centers on a society of survivors of a global thermonuclear war, who live in isolated enclave, where the older generation spends most of their time playing with the eponymous doll in an escapist role-playing game that recalls life before the apocalypse. In
Stand-By (1963), when the homeostatic problem-solving machine Unicephalon 40-D, that fairly and disinterestedly runs the country, malfunctions, Max Fischer's job of first stand-by goes from purely symbolic to the most powerful in the world in a flash, though the highest ranking news clown Jim-Jam Briskin challenges Max's presidency and enters himself as the second candidate. In
What'll We Do with Ragland Park? (1963), a direct
sequel to
Stand-By, Fischer, who has permanently seized power, now has to face his opposition's powerful, albeit volatile, weapon - a ballad singer with a magical ability.
Oh, To Be a Blobel! (1964) deals with a veteran of Earth's war with Blobels - gelatinous one-celled alien organisms, who struggles to deal with the aftermath of his spying career being forced to involuntarily turn into a Blobel for half of each day.
My rating: 8/10.
My review:( The Minority Report and Other Classic StoriesCollapse )
