I finally read this book by Philip K. Dick. Many people who are familiar with the movie Blade Runner know that this is the book the movie is based on. I think the cover of the edition I read was more accurate in saying that this book “inspired” Blade Runner. Don’t go into this book thinking it is Blade Runner and you may enjoy it. There are some characters from the book that appear in the movie, the premise is the same, and there is one particular scene from the beginning of the book that appeared more or less in the movie. But that is about it. This is not an action story like the movie. It is a good science fiction story with some philosophical undertones. Some people may not like this or think a lot of the book is boring, but if you reflect on the story after reading it (as Roger Zelazny suggested about Dick’s stories in the introduction to my edition of the book) you may find the story more interesting. Then again you may not.
I remember reading The Man in the High Castle many years ago and not liking it that much because I expected an pure alternate history story. But apparently Dick was “deep” with meaning in his stories so they came off rather strange sometimes. The book does have some action and some twists and turns. Dick also creates really cool settings. I think Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a good read for science fiction fans. Just know what to expect going into it and keep an open mind and you may like it after all.