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I managed to get into Chapter 4, and noticed the difference in dramatic effect between Rick's *outing* of the Rachael Rosen of the book and her importance to the bounty hunter of the movie.
I still believe, however, that Dick is portraying a humanity which is already too compromised to repair, even if he prefers the natural evolution of the life force.
2/13:
I have plowed on into the middle of chapter 8 (e-text edition) and much like Fifth Element, I am not really sure what Dick is driving at, at least not at this point. I realize the Isidore cat episode is satiric, but I am not really sure to what end; it can be frustrating to be a pet parent, especially if there are psychological issues between litter mates, but if we are to accept that the animal androids cannot evolve, yet, the way living animals can, I still don't see the point of owning them. I still use computing devices as opposed to interact with them as entities in their own right.
We are also asked to accept that the illegal androids have to be terminated, from the opening, without being given a valid reason why they would want to kill, flee presumably a healthier colony environment, and live on an Earth now hostile to life as we know it.
About 4:40pm:
I am more than halfway through, past the role reversal with the opera singer, and back to Isidore and the girl Stratton, whatever her actual identity. I know from reading past reviews that Dick builds up paranoia effectively, and he has done so, at least with the shell game the Nexus are playing, even though I wish the back story had more weight. I will probably finish by next week, since I can't get out.
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I came back to rate the book, and feel somewhat frustrated that these online ratings don't allow for more nuance, but c'est la vie. I could not go for the four or five asterisk because looking at the text as a writer studying another, Dick had some tactical problems he did not quite manage, though I will swallow my complaint about the back story, as Pris fills it in well enough before the end game. I liked the story as a whole but some things bugged me about the Mercer elements and the android superiority, so called.
I have not seen the movie version in quite some time, but at least Blade Runner focuses on the main issue without getting lost in a metaphysical fog. I think Rachael kills the goat exactly for what she perceives after sleeping with Rick--that almost through instinctive recoil, he hates her and needs the empathetic attachment to the real living animal.
I will read it again someday, assuming my faith in ereader stability holds.
2/18:
In some ways this novel feels as much anti-suburban to me as Richard Yates--and I don't know if they were conscious of each other during their careers, but Yates and Dick certainly were of the same generation. Androids has a stock character Revolutionary Road feel to it, as well as being post-anti-Depression era.
I may be stretching it a bit to find an affinity, or point of comparison--but I cannot shake the feeling of similarity. At least for now, this is all I wished to add.
It was pleasant reading, either way, for a demanding sci-fi fan. ;)
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I wonder if Dick felt people were androids? He ended up pretty crazy... or perhaps we are.
