Showing results by author "Philip Dick" in All Categories

In a drab utilitarian future, such arts as ceramic repair hold little value. Humble pot-hearler Joe Fernwright is broke and bored when the offer from the Glimmung comes along. It might just be the answer to both his financial and spiritual problems, even if it does mean working on a strange project on Plowman's Planet with other assorted odd creatures. The only thing is that the Glimmung may just be divine and ask for more than Joe's commitment to the job.

Seven Tales by Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) is a collection of science fiction short stories written by the Hugo and Nebula award-winning author and published by the pulp science fiction magazines of the 1950s. This anthology includes "Sales Pitch", a tale of future consumerism and robot salesmen; "The Crawlers", a story of mutant children born of radiation; "Meddler", a stern warning on the dangers of time travel: "Prominent Author", the tale of a transportation device that travels through the fourth dimension, and more.

Ready for a story? Here's a selection of some of the finest science fiction shorts of recent years, including stories from Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, William Gibson, Robert Sheckley, Terry Bisson, Avram Davidson, and Philip K. Dick.

If, after a great struggle, the East were to prevail over the world, what sort of civilization would be imposed by the victors? Would it be an oriental version of the societies we know - or might the great old culture be superimposed upon what was left of Western technology? The story is set in a post-apocalyptic future where global civilization is governed by a hierarchical, religious society centered around belief in karmic-based reincarnation metaphorically viewed as moving forward or backward on a turning wheel.

Precorrendo i motivi cari al cyberpunk, Philip K. Dick affonda la penna nei temi della decadenza, delle fantasie cosmiche e delle inquietudini interiori che attanagliano l'uomo moderno. Chi o cos'è Valis? È un'imperscrutabile entità intelligente che vive nello spazio? O forse un meccanismo, una formula o, ancora, un essere vivente vero e proprio, che emana uno sconvolgente flusso di informazioni sulla natura dell'universo?

What we've suspected is true. They're everywhere around us. Angels, that is, as nine of this generations boldest and most acclaimed fantasy writers tell us in this brilliant collection. At once highly imaginative and intensely spiritual, these stories are performed by top stars of television, film and music, who have themselves explored various areas of paranormal. It's a feast that will leave you infinitively more hopeful and a little less alone.

In "Piper in the Woods", an army doctor is asked to treat a soldier from Asteroid Y-3 who claims he is a plant. This wouldn't be a problem, but the soldier is incapable of any physical activity, preferring to stand still and point himself towards the sun. When more soldiers return from Asteroid Y-3 also claiming to be plants, Dr. Harris travels there to investigate. While there, he learns about a mysterious indigenous people living in the woods called "Pipers", who might be able to shed some light on the subject.

Ragle Gumm has a unique job: every day he wins a newspaper contest. And when he isn't consulting his charts and tables, he enjoys his life in a small town, in 1959. At least, that's what he thinks. But then strange things start happening. He finds a phone book where all the numbers have been disconnected, and a magazine article about a famous starlet named Marilyn Monroe, whom he's never heard of. Plus, everyday objects are beginning to disappear and are replaced by strips of paper with words written on them, like "bowl of flowers" and "soft-drink stand".

Three disparate and suspenseful looks at ourselves in three very different worlds. These engaging short stories by three of the masters of American science fiction literature, Isaac Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Philip K. Dick, open windows into our psyches, our souls, and our surroundings that presage the world we find ourselves in today. Like episodes of The Twilight Zone, cinematic in their language and characters, the stories connect with our times in surprising ways.

When a repairman accidentally discovers a parallel universe, everyone sees it as an opportunity, whether as a way to ease Earth's overcrowding, set up a personal kingdom, or hide an inconvenient mistress. But when a civilization is found already living there, the people on this side of the crack are sent scrambling to discover their motives.

Laurie, a city girl, marries and moves with her husband to Vermont and has an encounter with an apple tree, the only living tree in a dying orchard. The tree is determined to survive - somehow.

Además de novelista, Philip K. Dick fue un prolífico autor de cuentos y relatos, muchos de los cuales han sido llevados al cine en los últimos tiempos. Él mismo reunió sus narraciones breves en cinco volúmenes. Esta cuarta entrega recoge 18 relatos que Philip K. Dick escribió entre los años 1954 y 1964.

Was it a brave new world, or was it the long way home for these men?

In "The Gun", a group of space explorers are shot down above a deserted planet. While some of the crew work on repairing the ship, the remainder set out to investigate the planet. Otherwise unpopulated, they discover the huge gun that shot them down sitting atop a trove of cultural artifacts from a bygone civilization. What harm could come of dismantling the gun and taking a few of the artifacts home with them?

Prima che il problema della disoccupazione, del surplus di braccia si manifestasse, Dick aveva già ipotizzato una soluzione grottesca e sarcastica: la gente in più che non serve al sistema economico mettiamola in ghiacciaia. Teniamola da parte. Forse ci serviranno un giorno, forse no, però se li mettiamo in cantina non se ne andranno in giro a prostituirsi, drogarsi, rubare, spacciare e chissà quante altre attività illegali. Teniamo desti solo quelli che servono, che lavorano e consumano. Quelli che fanno girare la macchina del capitale.

Published shortly after his high school graduation, “Beyond Lies the Wub” is the classic short story by science fiction master Philip K. Dick. Peterson, a crew member from a spaceship visiting Mars, purchases a giant, pig-like creature called a wub. Although Captain Franco means to make a meal of the strange beast, the wub proves to be likeable and intelligent by discussing the travels of Odysseus and the impact of myth on the human spirit.

La Mente Comune di Ganimede ha decretato la fine del pianeta Terra. L'umanità sarà cancellata e il mondo riportato alla sua originaria purezza per essere nuovamente colonizzato dalla specie superiore dei Ganimediani, grossi vermi dotati di capacità telepatiche. Tuttavia, i membri del Gran Consiglio sanno che per raggiungere l'obiettivo l'ultima sacca di resistenza terragna – i ribelli Neg guidati dal leader nero Percy X – dovrà essere annientata.

"The Variable Man" is one of Philip K. Dick's most famous stories. A "fix-it man" from the past accidentally winds up on Earth 200 years in the future. His arrival may well put a crack in the progress of a delicate war by computers.

In una tranquilla cittadina americana degli anni Cinquanta vive Ragle Gumm, un bravo ragazzo che ogni giorno si impegna a vincere un concorso del quotidiano locale, cercando allegramente di sedurre la moglie del vicino. Ma il giovane sembra essere consapevole di un altro mondo e di un altro tempo, che cospirano contro di lui, e non si tratta di un semplice caso di paranoia. Ragle Gumm, in qualche modo, è al centro del mondo.

Nel XXI secolo gli Stati Uniti d'Europa e d'America sono governati da una coppia incantevole: "der Alte", il presidente, e la First Lady, vero motore del potere. Popolare e amatissima star televisiva, la donna nasconde segreti che ne potrebbero destabilizzare l'autorità, e si oppone a ogni tentativo di rovesciamento del suo benigno regime.