Una mirada a la oscuridad by Philip K. Dick

Instantly lauded as something special this has come to be one of Phil’s most recognizable and referenced works and its spiritual undertones make it representative of his later work. Conceived and drafted in the early 7os but rewritten for years before its eventual publication.

The connection between PKD and Gibson’s Neuromancer may ride through this twisted nightmare from 1977. I’ve often wondered about the artistic synchronicity going on in the late 70s and early 80s that produced such unrelated but similar works like Bladerunner, Neuromancer and Rush’s 1982 single Digital Man. The pervasive paranoia and the multiple layers of theatrical irony are the elements of this story that will stay with the reader long after the book has been set down. A reader of PKD’s works will notice the recurring theme here, as in several other works, of the idea of split personalities, of a protagonist coming to grips with multiple sides of his own ego.Īnother recurring theme, perhaps helped along by PKD’s own struggles with schizophrenia, is one of surveillance and, concurrently, helplessness while being watched. There is humor in the book, though it cannot be considered a comedy, perhaps a dark comedy as the subject matter, though painted with a mild sci-fi brush, is one of addiction and death. Still, this is a complete work by a talented writer and, minimalistic as it is, keeps the reader engaged. This is actually a very well written book PKD delivers a mature, far from romantic glimpse of addiction and the drug sub-culture as only he could, a recovering, on again off again user himself and with mental illness added in.

Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, mix in a pinch of The Big Lebowski, a dollop of A Beautiful Mind, a scene from Crime and Punishment, the shadows and penumbra of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, whispered apprehension of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a hint of thirty year in advance anticipation of reality TV, stir in a portion of dystopian science fiction and mix it all together with Philip K. A Scanner Darkly can be described as follows: begin with Hunter S.

Una mirada a la oscuridad by Philip K. Dick