Fourteen strangers came to Delmak-O. Thirteen of them were transferred by the usual authorities. One got there by praying. But once they arrived on that planet whose very atmosphere seemed to induce paranoia and psychosis, the newcomers found that even prayer was useless. For on Delmak-O, God is either absent or intent on destroying His creations

British Science Fiction Award (1978) Bob Arctor is a dealer of the lethally addictive drug Substance D. Fred is the police agent assigned to tail and eventually bust him. To do so, Fred takes on the identity of a drug dealer named Bob Arctor. And since Substance D—which Arctor takes in massive doses—gradually splits the user’s brain into two distinct, combative entities, Fred doesn’t realize he is narcing on himself

The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools

Larry Thomas bought a cuckoo clock for his wife—without knowing the price he would have to pay

Confessions of a Crap Artist is one of Philip K. Dick’s weirdest and most accomplished novels. Jack Isidore is a crap artist—a collector of crackpot ideas (among other things, he believes that the earth is hallow and that sunlight has weight) and worthless objects, a man so grossly unequipped for real life that his sister and brother-in-law feel compelled to rescue him from it. But seen through Jack’s murderously innocent gaze, Charlie and Juddy Hume prove to be just as sealed off from reality, in thrall to obsessions that are slightly more acceptable than Jack’s, but a great deal uglier

Jason Taverner est un homme comblé : toutes les semaines, 30 millions de Fans regardent son show télévisé. Mais il se réveille un matin dans une chambre d'hôtel sordide pour s'apercevoir que son identité s'est évanouie sans laisser de trace : même sa maîtresse, la belle Heather Hart, ne se souvient plus de lui. Une situation pour le moins inconfortable, dans un Etat ultra-policier où tout défaut de papiers d'identité suffit à vous faire expédier dans un camp de travail… Seulement voilà : ce n'est pas un homme comme les autres. Produit d'une expérience secrète, Taverner est un six, un mutant aux nerfs d'acier qui mènera une lutte sans merci, sous les yeux d'un pol sentimental, contre la folie où vient de basculer le monde…

Jedna z najwybitniejszych powieści amerykańskiej fantastyki naukowej. Autor sugestywnie przedstawia inny wariant historii: państwa osi wygrały II wojnę światową, w podzielonej Ameryce ścierają się wpływy japońskie i niemieckie, a wielką poczytnością cieszy się zakazana powieść fantastyczna, w której Niemcy i Japonia wojnę przegrały. Nagroda Hugo 1963

Am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts: Amerika ist ein Land der Huren, Junkies und Dealer geworden. Bob Arctor ist ein Geheimagent der Drogenüberwachung, doch mehr und mehr wird auch er ein Opfer des Rauschgifts. „Es brach mir das Herz, den Roman zu schreiben, es brach mir das Herz, ihn zu lesen … Ich glaube, es ist ein Meisterwerk geworden. Ich glaube, daß es das einzige Meisterwerk ist, das ich jemals schreiben werde … Die komischen Stellen sind die komischsten, die ich je geschrieben habe, und die traurigen sind die traurigsten, und sie sind beide in ein und demselben Buch!“ Philip K. Dick „Einer der eigenständigsten amerikanischen Autoren … . der das meiste der europäischen Avantgarde wie Nabelschau in einer Sackgasse erscheinen läßt“ Sunday Times © Copyright 1977 by Philip K. Dick Originaltiel: A Scanner Darkly

In the years following World War III, a new and powerful faith has arisen from a scorched and poisoned Earth, a faith that embraces the architect of world wide devastation. The Servants of Wrath have deified Carlton Lufteufel and re-christened him the Deus Irae. In the small community of Charlottesville, Utah, Tibor McMasters, born without arms or legs, has, through an array of prostheses, established a far-reaching reputation as an inspired painter. When the new church commissions a grand mural depicting the Deus Irae, it falls upon Tibor to make a treacherous journey to find the man, to find the god, and capture his terrible visage for posterity

Titel der Originalausgabe: The Best of Philip K. Dick Aus dem Amerikanischen von Rainer Zubeil Copyrigt © 1977 by Philip K Dick Copyright © der deutschen Übersetzung 1981 by Moewig Verlag, München Vorwort: © 1977 by Brunner Facts and Fiction Ltd. BEYOND LIES THE WUB © 1952 by Love Romances Publishing Company, Inc. für Planet Stories SECOND VARIETY © 1953 by Space Publications, Inc. für Space Science Fiction IMPOSTOR © 1953 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc. für Astounding Science Fiction COLONY © 1953 by Galaxy Publishing Corporation für Galaxy Science Fiction EXPENDABLE © 1953 by Fantasy House, Inc. für The Magazin of Fantasy and Science Fiction FOSTER, YOU'REDEAD © 1954 by Ballantine Books, Inc. für Star Science Fiction Stories Nr. 3 THE FATHER-THING © 1954 by Fantasy House, Inc. für The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction SERVICE CALL © 1955 by Columbia Publications, Inc. für Science Fiction Stories AUTOFAC © 1955 by Galaxy Publishing Corporation für Galaxy Science Fiction HUMAN IS © 1955 by Better Publications, Inc. für Startling Stories OH, TO BE A BLOBEL © 1964 by Galaxy Publishing Corporation für Galaxy Magazine FAITH OF OUR FATHERS © 1967 by Harlan Ellison für Dangerous Visions THE ELECTRIC ANT © 1969 by Mercury Press, Inc. für The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

Es läuft nicht gut für Louis Rosen und Maury Rock – ihre Firma, die elektronische Klaviere und Orgeln produziert, steckt in einer tiefen Krise. Da ersinnt Maury eine völlig neue Geschäftsidee: Er will die Fabrik auf die Produktion von Simulacra umstellen – künstliche Menschen, die weltweit bereits für Hilfsdienste und niedere Tätigkeiten eingesetzt werden. Maury jedoch hat etwas anderes vor: Seine Simulacra sollen Kopien berühmter historischer Persönlichkeiten sein, gerade so, als wären diese Menschen nie gestorben. Mit der ersten dieser Maschinen – eine Kopie von Edwin M. Stanton, Kriegsminister unter Abraham Lincoln – scheint alles perfekt zu laufen. Doch dann beschließt Maury, den legendären Präsidenten selbst nachzubauen – und zunehmend geraten die Ereignisse außer Kontrolle… Was ist ein Mensch? Mit dieser Frage hat sich Philip K. Dick zeit seines Lebens befasst, diese Frage hat er in etlichen seiner Romane – nicht zuletzt »Blade Runner« – thematisiert. Ist es möglich, dass wir eines Tages Maschinen erzeugen könnten, die nicht nur wie Menschen aussehen, sondern sich auch menschlich verhalten? Vielleicht sogar menschlicher als wir? Titel der amerikanischen Originalausgabe   WE CAN BUILD YOU

“The most consistently brilliant science fiction writer in the world.” The Inspiration for Bladerunner… ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ was published in 1968. Grim and foreboding, even today it is a masterpiece ahead of its time. By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn’t afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep… They even built humans. Emigrees to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn’t want to be identified, they just blended in. Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results. “[Dick] sees all the sparkling and terrifying possibilities… that other authors shy away from.”

“Dr. Bloodmoney” is a post-nuclear-holocaust masterpiece filled with a host of Dick’s most memorable characters: Hoppy Harrington, a deformed mutant with telekinetic powers; Walt Dangerfield, a selfless disc jockey stranded in a satellite circling the globe; Dr. Bluthgeld, the megalomaniac physicist largely responsible for the decimated state of the world; and Stuart McConchie and Bonnie Keller, two unremarkable people bent the survival of goodness in a world devastated by evil. Epic and alluring, this brilliant novel is a mesmerizing depiction of Dick’s undying hope in humanity

Los caracteres de “El hombre en el castillo” no son sólo producto de la imaginación sino también manifestaciones de un sistema de fuerzas en el que el “I Ching” obra como un nexo análogo a un polo magnético. No obstante rara vez en una obra cualquiera de ficción, y casi nunca en la c-f podrían encontrarse caracteres más hondamente sentidos y más eficazmente retratados… La mejor novela hasta la fecha del escritor de c-f más consistentemente brillante. Ante todo por la verosimilitud con que Dick ha elaborado una ingeniosa estructura básica (unos Estados Unidos derrotados en la segunda guerra mundial y que han sido divididos en tres partes: las costas del Atlántico y del Pacífico respectivamente ocupadas por alemanes y japoneses, y una zona tapón entre dos esferas de influencia); luego por la absoluta originalidad de la presunción básica: “los alemanes ganaron la segunda guerra” aunque el “Libro de los cambios” informa sin embargo que esta amarga derrota no ha ocurrido en el mundo real… Un maestro de la c-f que ha conseguido transformar de un modo que nunca hubiéramos creido posible los temas y símbolos más fundamentales del género. —John Brunner

On October 11 the television star Jason Taverner is so famous that 30 million viewers eagerly watch his prime-time show. On October 12 Jason Taverner is not a has-been but a never-was—a man who has lost not only his audience but all proof of his existence. And in the claustrophobic betrayal state of “Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said”, loss of proof is synonyms with loss of life. Taverner races to solve the riddle of his disappearance, immerses us in a horribly plausible Philip K. Dick United States in which everyone—from a waiflike forger of identity cards to a surgically altered pleasure—informs on everyone else, a world in which omniscient police have something to hide. His bleakly beautiful novel bores into the deepest bedrock self and plants a stick of dynamite at its center

Al Miller is a sad case, someone who can’t seem to lift himself up from his stagnant and disappointing life. He’s a self-proclaimed nobody, a used car salesman with a lot full of junkers. His elderly landlord, Jim Fergesson, has decided to retire because of a heart condition and has just cashed in on his property, which includes his garage, and, next to it, the lot that Al rents. This leaves Al wondering what his next step should be, and if he even cares. Chris Harman is a record-company owner who has relied on Fergesson’s to fix his Cadillac for many years. When he hears about Fergesson’s sudden retirement fund, he tells him about a new realty development and urges him to invest in it. According to Harman, it’s a surefire path to easy wealth. Fergesson is swayed. This is his chance to be a real businessman, a well-to-do, respected gentleman, like Harman. But Al is convinced that Harman is a crook out to fleece Fergesson. Even if he doesn’t particularly like Fergesson, Al is not going to stand by and watch him get cheated. Only Al’s not very good at this, either. He may not even be right

This is actually a very funny book, and a good one, too, in that the funny things that happen happen to real people who come alive. The ending is a happy one. What more can an author say? What more can he give? [Author’s Foreword]

It was a robots' world, run by soul-less heaps of haughty metal. But among the miserable band of humans, there was one who aspired to greatness; one who aimed to bust out of his subservient shell. He was the Time-Window-Kid ... he was

In questo romanzo di fantascienza, considerato uno dei più autentici classici della science fiction americana, Philip K. Dick ci descrive il quadro di come potrebbe essere un mondo in cui il nazismo avesse vinto la guerra mondiale. Parlare di nazismo e delle sue colpe potrebbe sembrare un tema troppo importante e doloroso per farne oggetto di un romanzo di fantascienza, ma Dick, nella Svastica sul sole, ci dimostra come invece la fantascienza possa diventare un modo assai efficace per ritrarre sotto un aspetto nuovo la lucida, razionale follia del nazismo e il tumulto di pensieri confusi e malati che porta con sé e trasmette alle persone ad esso asservite: nel mondo descritto da Dick, l’Asse ha vinto la guerra, l’Italia ha preso le briciole, e l’Africa è stata distrutta in un “esperimento”, Giappone e Germania si sono spartiti il mondo, e il credo della superiorità razziale “Ariana” si è talmente compenetrato nelle altre nazioni da togliere loro ogni volontà. Vincitore del premio Hugo per il miglior romanzo in 1963

« Barefoot tient ses séminaires sur sa péniche à Sausalito. Cela coûte cent dollars pour comprendre les raisons de notre présence sur cette terre. On vous offre aussi un sandwich, mais je n’avais pas faim ce jour-là. John Lennon venait de se faire tuer et je crois savoir pourquoi nous sommes sur cette terre. C’est pour découvrir que ce que vous aimez le plus vous sera enlevé, sans doute à cause d’une erreur en haut lieu plutôt qu’à titre délibéré. » Ainsi parle Angel Archer, la narratrice de ce roman qui, un soir qu’elle lisait La Divine Comédie en se soûlant au bourbon pour cause de rage de dents, a traversé les apparences. Comme les a traversés Timothy Archer, évêque, le jour où il s’est demandé si Jésus-Christ n’était qu’un trafiquant de drogue. Comme les a traversées enfin Dick le camé, le paranoïaque, le schizo, le magicien du simulacre et du délire

C’est en 1947 qu’avait eu lieu la capitulation des Alliés devant les forces de l’Axe. Cependant que Hitler avait imposé la tyrannie nazie à l’est des États-Unis, l’ouest avait été attribué aux Japonais. Aujourd’hui, quelques années plus tard, la vie avait repris son cours normal dans la zone occupée par les Nippons. Ceux-ci se mon­traient des maîtres fermes mais corrects. Ils avaient apporté avec eux l’usage du Yi-king, le livre des transformations, le célèbre ora­cle chinois dont l’origine se perd dans la nuit des temps. Sa consul­tation permettait de régler toutes les affaires, qu’elles soient com­merciales, politiques ou même sen­timentales. Pourtant, dans cette nouvelle civili­sation, une rumeur étrange cir­culait. Un homme vivant dans un Haut Château, un écrivain de science-fiction, avait écrit un ou­vrage qui racontait la victoire des Alliés en 1945…

Mit großem Enthusiasmus und Pioniergeist haben die Menschen den Mars besiedelt. Doch nun, Jahre später, ähnelt das Leben dort auf erschreckende Weise dem Alltagstreiben auf der Erde. Und auch die politischen Grabenkämpfe setzen sich nahtlos fort: Arnie Kott ist bereits der mächtigste Mann auf dem Mars, aber das ist ihm nicht genug. Mittels eines geistesgestörten Jungen, für den die Schranken der Zeit nicht existieren, will er seinen Feinden eine endgültige Niederlage beibringen. Doch der Junge ist nicht nur in der Lage, vorwärts und rückwärts durch die Zeit zu stürzen, er kann Vergangenheit und Zukunft auch nach den Vorstellungen seines umnachteten Gehirns umgestalten. Die gewohnte Ordnung der 0.00cm Dinge zerfällt, Raum und Zeit lösen sich auf. Und der Traum vom Pionierleben wandelt sich endgültig zum Alptraum ... »Philip K. Dick ist ein visionärer und zugleich naiver (im guten Sinne des Wortes) Science-Fiction-Maler. Er ist ein Bosch im Fell eines Holzschnitzers, ein Goya, der mit der Schminke und dem Rouge einer Theatergarderobe aus der Provinz arbeitet.« - Stanislaw Lem »Das ist nicht nur ein geniales Buch in bester Philip-K.-Dick-Manier, sondern auch einer der hervorragendsten Mars-Romane, die je geschrieben wurden. So wie Dick es schildert, könnte es eines Tages wirklich sein.« - Kim Stanley Robinson Philip K. Dick, 1928 in Chicago geboren, schrieb schon in jungen Jahren zahllose Stories und arbeitete als Verkäufer in einem Plattenladen in Berkeley, ehe er 1952 hauptberuflich Schriftsteller wurde. Er verfaßte über hundert Erzählungen und Kurzgeschichten für diverse Magazine und Anthologien und schrieb mehr als dreißig Romane, von denen etliche heute als Klassiker der amerikanischen Literatur gelten. Philip K. Dick starb am 2. März 1982 in Santa Ana, Kalifornien, an den Folgen eines Schlaganfalls

Warning: Although this the action of this book is set on Mars, it could just as easily have taken place in one of the desert communities around Los Angeles. The real action takes place inside the minds of the characters. If you're looking for all the external trappings of interplanetary Sci-Fi, you will be deeply disappointed. Approach it with an open mind, and you will be richly rewarded. What happens when one of the most powerful men on the planet Mars finds that real-estate speculators are intent on gobbling up the remote and seemingly worthless Franklin D Roosevelt mountains? Naturally he wants to find out why. A casual conversation with a psychologist followed by a chance encounter with a master repairman leads to one of those Dickian leaps: Since (1) autistic children do not respond to others because they are living in the future, (2) just build a machine to slow down time and (3) maybe even use it to go back in time and retroactively post a claim on the land before the speculators do. Well, the mechanism works, in a way. The speculators were proposing to build giant apartment blocks to help relieve overcrowding on polluted Earth. The autistic boy, Manfred Steiner, sees much further, however, to the time the apartment block would become a warehouse for the sick and dying, a "tomb world," of which he himself is a denizen. Manfred's visions have a way of bending the reality of those around him; he persistently retreats to a vision of reality as "gubble" -- entropy seen as large wormlike constructs that underlie reality, leading to pure "gubbish." MARTIAN TIME-SLIP is one of my favorite Philip K Dicks. (The problem is that I like all 15 or so I've read more or less equally.) Reading Philip K Dick tends to bend your sense of reality much as Manfred Steiner does. And one can't help looking over one's shoulder for a few hours after reading him. I see Dick as not so much a science fiction writer as a creator of disturbing and eerily plausible futures

A human brain-controlled spacecraft would mean mechanical perfection. This was accomplished, and something unforeseen: a strange entity called—

Premiul Hugo 1963

Earth maintained an important garrison on Asteroid Y-3. Now suddenly it was imperiled with a biological impossibility—men becoming plants!

Intelligent parents readily understand why they must not try to educate and train their children. Robots do it much better; they do not confuse them with complexes or emotions or petty impulses. Even tired old Ed Doyle could tell you that much

It was the dawn of a golden age of transportation. Terran Development was ready to market a fourth dimension “vehicle” which afforded almost instantaneous travel. For instance, Henry Ellis commuted 160 miles to work in five steps and a few seconds. Thens one morning, he met some people on the way

Stany Zjednoczone po wojnie domowej. Niemal absolutną władzę sprawuje policja, na każdym rogu stoją jej posterunki. Gwiazda show-businessu Jason Taverner, który gromadzi przed telewizorami trzydziestomilionową widownię, pewnego dnia budzi się w obskurnym pokoju hotelowym. Nikt go nie zna, a nawet o nim nie słyszał, na domiar złego nie ma jakichkolwiek dokumentów — w gruncie rzeczy nie istnieje, jest wyrzutkiem bez żadnych praw. Nic z tego nie rozumiejąc, tropiony przez policję, stara się odzyskać tożsamość…

Ed Morris didn't know what sales-technique was until the fasrad invaded his life

Jason Taverner, popolarissimo conduttore di uno show televisivo, si trova all’improvviso senza identità. Nessuno si ricorda più di lui e il suo nome sembra scomparso dagli archivi informatici. L’uomo comincia così un viaggio alla ricerca di qualche traccia della propria esistenza nei bassifondi di una città ipertecnologica e crudele

The claws were bad enough in the first place—nasty, crawling little death-robots. But when they began to imitate their creators, it was time for the human race to make peace—if it could!

The theme of “the man who played God” has been used many ways in many stories, but never with more tense and chilling effect than in this tight little yarn by the very able Mr. Dick. You'll like it, we're sure

A hideous nightmare seemed the culture of Williamson’s world—to men who knew nothing of beauty

A brave new world or was it tne long way home—for these men

Something went wrong… and Ed Fletcher got mixed up in the biggest thing in his life

Explosive and provocative battles fought across the boundaries of time and space—and on the frontiers of the human mind. Science fiction's finest have yielded this definitive collection featuring stories of warfare, victory, conquest, heroism, and overwhelming odds. These are scenarios few have ever dared to contemplate, and they include: -"Superiority": Arthur C. Clarke presents an intergalactic war in which one side's own advanced weaponry may actually lead to its ultimate defeat. -"Dragonrider": A tale of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern, in which magic tips the scales of survival. -"Second Variety": Philip K. Dick, author of the short story that became the movie Blade Runner, reaches new heights of terror with his post apocalyptic vision of the future. -"The Night of the Vampyres": A chilling ultimatum of atomic proportions begins a countdown to disaster in George R. R. Martin's gripping drama. -"Hero": Joe Haldeman's short story that led to his classic of interstellar combat, The Forever War. -"Ender's Game": The short story that gave birth to Orson Scott Card's masterpiece of military science fiction. . . . as well as stories from Poul Anderson, Gregory Benford, C. J. Cherryh, David Drake, Cordwainer Smith, Harry Turtledove and Walter John Williams. Guaranteed to spark the imagination and thrill the soul, these thirteen science fiction gems cast a stark light on our dreams and our darkest fears—truly among the finest tales of the 20th century

"A fitting tribute to a great philosophical writer who found science fiction the ideal form tor the expression of his ideas." – The Independent Second Variety is the third in a massive five-volume collection of the complete shorter fiction of the 20th Century's greatest SF author – Philip K. Dick. It brings together 27 stories and includes such masterpieces as the title story, with its endless war being fought by ever more cunning and sophisticated robot weapons; "Impostor", in which a man is accused of being an alien spy and finds his whole identity called into question; and "Prominent Author", in which a fracture in space/time enables an ordinary future commuter to achieve unexpected literary fame. Again and again in these stories – written and published while America was in the grip of McCarthyism – Dick speaks up for ordinary people and against militarism, paranoia and xenophobia. But first and foremost these are marvellously varied and entertaining stories from a writer who overflowed with ideas. "One of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction." – Sunday Times "An elusive and incomparable artist." – Ursula LeGuin "The most consistantly brilliant SF writer in the world… author of more good short stories than I can count." – John Brunner

"More than anyone else in the field, Mr. Dick really puts you inside people's minds." – Wall Street Journal Many thousands of readers worldwide consider Philip K. Dick to have been the greatest science fiction writer on any planet. Since his untimely death in 1982, interest in Dick's work has continued to mount and his reputation has been enhanced by a growing body of critical attention. The Philip K. Dick Award is now presented annually to a distinguished work of science fiction, and the Philip K. Dick Society is devoted to the study and promulgation of his works. This collection includes all of the writer's earliest short and medium-length fiction (including several previously unpublished stories) covering the years 1954-1964, and featuring such fascinating tales as The Minority Report (the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's film), Service Call, Stand By, The Days of Perky Pat, and many others. Here, readers will find Dick's initial explorations of the themes he so brilliantly brought to life in his later work. Dick won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel of 1963 for The Man in the High Castle and in the last year of his life, the now-classic film Blade Runner was made from his novel Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep? The classic stories of Philip K. Dick offer an intriguing glimpse into the early imagination of one of science fiction's most enduring and respected names. "A useful acquisition for any serious SF library or collection." – Kirkus Reviews "Awe-inspiring." – The Washington Post

Everybody hated the mutant children born near the radiation lab. Hush it up, Washington had directed. So Gretry was sent to dispose of—

Stark terror ruled the Inner-Flight ship on that last Mars-Terra run. For the black-clad Leiters were on the prowl ... and the grim red planet was not far behind

No weapon has ever been frightful enough to put a stop to war —perhaps because we never before had any that thought for themselves!