A Scanner Darkly

If someone were to ask me which author can consistently grab your attention with the very first sentence of a book, I'd have to say PKD, hands down. It all starts off with a man who is shaking invisible aphids from his body and he's afraid that they're going to eat him. If that's not weird, nothing is, and only PKD would have thought of it. But the bugs, though interesting, are not what this book is about. It is about drugs, and a cop that has to take on the role of a drug-user. The idea is excellent, sure, but I found it sometimes hard to follow--but never to the point where I stopped reading. But the ironic end of the book made it all worthwhile. And that's not even the end of the book, because then there's an epilogue written by PKD himself. Very moving. In my opinion, Confessions of a Crap Artist had a much larger impact and was better written throughout. But that's just me.

The movie version of "A Scanner Darkly" was one of the most original films I saw last year. I loved it; the animation was innovative and fascinating, while the movie itself was hypnotic. Philip K. Dick has been responsible for writing the novel versions of several recent great films (including "Minority Report") and I was curious to read some of his work. After reading "A Scanner Darkly" I discovered why Richard Linklater made the film version the way he did. The subject matter of the film, its atmosphere could be caught in a live-action film; but I doubt it would have been as good. The book is great! Whether it's better than the movie or not, I really can't say...I barely paid attention to the plot of the movie, it was the animation that kept my eyes glued to the screen. The book is very close to the movie; Fred is an undercover narcotic agent trying to bust Bob Arctor, a man who's believed to be a big-time drug dealer of Substance D (as in death), a drug that causes split personalities in people. Scanners (hidden cameras) have been installed in Arctor's house so the police can have 24-hour surveillance; There's only one problem; Fred is Bob Arctor. He's doing surveillance on himself. His fellow workers don't know this because employees where a scramble suit (a suit which scrambles their facial features and vocal patterns, the movie couldn't have done a better job with it). Bob's life is relatively simple; He hangs out at his house all day dropping D with his two drug-addicted roommates James Barris (the most memorable character in both film and novel) and Ernie Luckman and hangs out with his drug-dealing girlfriend Donna. The only real BIG differences between novel and film are that in the movie, a character named Charles Freck (who plays a small but memorable role in the book) takes the place of a character named Jerry Fabin. And the ending of the book is more drawn out than it is in the film. Hopefully, I've made it clear that this is not a novel of science fiction but rather a novel about drugs. Science fiction does play a small role, but it doesn't deserve top billing. But drugs aren't 100% of it either. The book also captures the paranoia people felt after the Watergate scandal and it does all of it so well. This is a terrific book and is worthy of a read. I guarantee that if you see the movie you'll realize how good the translation to screen was.

GRADE: A-

I think even with out the drug we of two minds or more. How many decisions were made with THE reason for it to be chosen. Then as time passes you realize that there were many reasons and the original reason was actually not the most important.
The showed many different realities all occurring in the same geographic location yet none was truly together.

Phillip K. Dick was one of the classic science fiction writers. His 44 novels and numerous short shories have been made into at least seven films. This film, pioneers a new production technique where the movie was shot using live actors and then converted to animation using an advanced technique called interpolated rotoscoping.

The story, in company with the title, is pretty dark. The leading character, Bob Arctor is a drug dealer, going progressively insane from the new drug he is taking himself. The policeman chasing him is himself in another alter ego.

This book is produced using screen shots from the movie itself. It serves mainly as a keepsake/reminder of the movie along with giving you time to look at the pictures seeing things that you don't see as the movie flys by. For instance in the coffee drinking scene, show in the book on pages 178 - 181 sometimes the girl has earings, sometimes she doesn't.

In the future in Orange County, California, America has lost the war on drugs though some futile efforts remain by law enforcement. Uncover police officer Fred is assigned to prevent Bob Arctor from selling the lethally still illegal addictive drug Substance D by finding evidence to arrest the dealer, who unbeknownst to the cop is also a user. Getting nowhere as he cannot even find his target, Fred decides on a dangerous ploy to masquerade as Bob Arctor, which means using Substance D in order to find the proof. What Fred fails to know is that the brain spits into two personalities when abused by Substance D; Fred seeks to incarcerate himself as he already is Bob.

This graphic novel of the animated film version of Philip K. Dick's classic science fiction thriller is a superb entry that fans of the author who love this dark tale will appreciate though it is more comic book than novelization thriller. Though the book is fun to follow it seems it will pale as still frame when compared to the action sequences of the movie (about to be released) and is clearly nothing like the real thing. Still even in comic book form, Mr. Dick's dark vision of a drugged future retains the awesomeness of the original.

Harriet Klausner

I have read every SF novel that PKD has. I can say that this one is without a doubt my absolute favorite. All of the hallmarks of his writing and characters are in this book. A lot of the scenes and characters are drawn from his own personal experiences. The inner monologue and thoughts of the characters are displayed very nicely in A Scanner Darkly, as they frequently are in his writing. And his very dark satire is also in full force here as well. One of his later books and one of his best, you can really see how his writing has matured in this amazing piece. Truly a masterwork of science fiction.

Scanner Darkly is an interesting, slightly confusing "graphic novel" version of a story by master Sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. It has some interesting twists and turns, but sometimes gets bogged down by lengthy stretches of inane dialogue. Nice plot twists toward the end - it felt like it was going to be predictable, and then went another direction, which was refreshing.

This Graphic Novel format is not really a graphic novel in the traditional sense of the word. It was not hand-drawn for the book format. It is actually just screen captures from the film itself. Because of this, it felt like it was missing the motion and immediacy of either a motion picture or a true "graphic novel." The panels are also too small and don't show all the detail - the book should have been at least the size of a traditional comic "trade paperback." I'm not a fan of the rotoscoping method of animation, maybe because it's been overdone in some terrible Charles Schwab TV comercials.

I was mildly disappointed by this book- my expectations were probably too high due to the amazing quality of the actual novel, and even the Blade Runner and Total Recall stories. This book is not up to the standard of either the Scanner Darkly film or the actual written novel.

Not Anti-Drugs. 1977, Philip K. Dick nails his premise directly on the head sending shockwaves onwards thirty years later where the author now starts to make sense whereas before "A Scanner Darkly" and many of his other manuscripts where left to the B Movie circuit of back alley bookstores at best, it comes as no surprise to find this later-half Philip K. Dick popular novel just keeps getting better as the years role forward, Philip K. Dick, as we know, is vintage reading, becoming better with age... an age Philip K. Dick is predicting... an age that is already here... now. Bob Arctor is future Drug Enforcement Agency, uses his special scramble suit, a digital latex skin covering that can become anyone else, including Fred, a drug addict, who in actively perusing a new narcotic on the market called Substance D, for Death, lives as Bob in a Bachelor pad with two other drug addict friends, Barris and Luckman, along with a Substance D dealer chick, Donna, who he really digs, all as cover, possibly a target, for his real job, but begins to suspect that his disguise has been blown when things happening in his home lead him to suspect that someone knows he is not who he seems, and so by instructions of another DEA scramble suit employee called Hank, sets up Scanners all over the Bachelor pad in the hopes that he can view the holographic projections at a later date, becomes slowly embroidered in a mystery of worldly paranoia where the addict agent must find himself through the scanner's darkly before the clock runs out and he goes insane. `A Scanner Darkly' is very dark. At times what the characters are doing comes across as grossly disturbing, yet can be exceptionally human, but ultimately somewhat zeroed, the decentralization of power from the human being either by drug use or the government that rules them, tries to find that higher power, a better cause to fight, the collective mind is questioned relentlessly by Philip K. Dick who here goes for the jugular with questions such as, if I stand on a chair I can not bite my forehead, but can I use the mind to see the mind? Deals not with the brain or the drugs that can fuel it, but the spirit behind the veil that is using this stuff as art to feed the soul, and what happens to that soul when it does not get its art? Philip K. Dick paints Substance Death as a Substance Darkly, yet the book is wholly devoted to exposing the crime of prohibition, Arctor as the agent is in both states the hero and a victim, as agent and drug addict, Philip K. Dick ends the book with a two page article about friends of his who have died from drug misuse, a letter from October 2nd 1972 to Orange Country DEA shows that Philip K. Dick actively sought and pushed for drug education, this however is not the point, 221 pages in 1977 are devoted entirely to the problem of `prohibition' itself, the fractured psyche of the `straight' who is horrified that a horror film would role before their eyes for ever and ever, to the cracked psyche of the drug user, to the splintered psyche of the drug enforcement agent, Philip K. Dick recognizes the need for restraint, describes legal failure and pushes for education and reform, yet tells users to beware, especially those who use inorganic drug substances, McDonalds Food, Coke, Heroin, Cocaine, Alcohol... anything that does not occur naturally in nature and calls itself a drug, with organic drugs that come as herbs maybe safer to use if we do choose to experiment, exploits this final vestibule of assertion by directly evoking the Iron Law of Prohibition, that making something illegal only makes the substance a hell of a lot more dangerous and creates a horrible drug war system, "that poor man" is what we are left thinking in the end except for the notion that maybe the next Thanksgiving will see it all go back to square one again, this is a great book about reform in all things but with consequences for the frankly, `stupid'.

`A Scanner Darkly' can draw many parallels with books like `1984', `Brave New World', `Fahrenheit 451' and `Slaughterhouse 5, as we catch but a fleeting glimpse of love in a world of `thought police' and mind control `A Scanner Darkly' chooses its subject more accurately, the pathology of the drug war system, this is a piece of work that must be read by anyone who likes science-fiction, mandatory reading for anyone in the least bit interested in drug war politics or political science. Orion SF Masterworks series rates this as #20 in its list, but I believe that is because there is hardly any science-fiction in it, Philip K. Dick often referred to as the best science-fiction writer who did not write science-fiction, I believe that this is better than #4 "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner)" and can easily take #13 "Martian-Slip", if it wasn't for the fact that we need more genre defining authors and books to fill other top slots, this still rates highly in my Philip K. Dick collection, ahead of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", and that says a lot for this Philip K. Dick entry in the series. Also it reads a little more like his Hugo awarding winning "Man in the High Castle", but eons more deeply and darkly psychological, it still has characters that remind me of "Clans of the Alphane Moon" or "The Simulacra", especially "Ubik", but emphasis on not too much techno science-fiction, I find this a feel good book in the end because it ventures into realms that you would like explored by the genre. This is the only book that I can imagine sitting easily between William Burroughs and Arthur C. Clarke. See you at " The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch", next.

With apologies to Nancy Reagan, I can't possibly think of a better "Just Say No" message than this haunting novel. Told through the eyes of Fred, an undercover police officer assigned to track drug dealer/addict Bob Arctor, as well as through the eyes of Fred's alter ego, the very same Bob Arctor, "A Scanner Darkly" powerfully demonstrates the paranoia, danger, hallucinations and hand to mouth existence of people in the throws of heavy drug addiction. Occasionally, difficult to follow due to being written from the perspective of people whose minds have been severely warped due to excessive drug use, this is nonetheless an entertaining, exciting and thought-provoking work.

Classic insight into questions regarding human reality in personal identity . Dick uses drug cultures to juxtapose personal and group and tribal psycology and the laberinthine world as an undercover cop agent with tech ability to cloak there appearence completely enters a drug culture .

I have read almost everything Philip K Dick has written (I Say "almost" because he was one of the most prolific authors of the genre) and this was the one which affected me the most. It is basically the story of an undercover narcotics cop, Bruce, pretending to be a drug user, Bob, living with a group of other screwed up drug users and taking large quantities of drugs. The descent into psychosis, triggered by both the drug use and the deception, (posing as an imposter) mirrors Dick's own and, though totally predictable, it is the inevitability of the grim end which provides the drama. Bob starts off in a bad way but, as his drug use accelerates, the lines between his two identities, Bob & Bruce, cop & "criminal", drug addict & narc begin to blur. Dick explores the familiar (for him) territory of Kantian philosophy in a way which anyone with familiarity with psychotropic drugs will recognise as the voice of experience. The book is full of Dick's razor humour and the ending is all the more poignant for the affection that I, at least, felt for the cast of hopeless, helpless head cases. The dedication at the end made me want to cry. I love this book

Though sometimes crushingly depressing, A Scanner Darkly also hums with humor, humanity and deep insight. And although I felt, at times, deep contempt for the dingy, drug-obsessed lives of the characters in this novel, I was also regularly surprised by their tenderness toward one another. Their strange considerations and unexpected priorities. The underlying intelligence of even their most drug-addled conversations. The moments of naivete from even the most hard boiled characters.

By showing us how each charcter is slowly (or not-so-slowly) losing their mind to Substance D, Philip K. Dick is also implying that there is *much* to be lost. That even in their most depraved state--individuals are complex, surprising, and mysterious, even to themselves.

The effect, ultimately, is that it's impossible not to compare their lives to your own. What are the risks and rewards of *your* most compulsive behaviors? How do you justify them to yourself? What have you lost as a result of your compulsions?

And finally, the oldest question of all: what is reality? Is a recording of life an accurate depiction of it? Or does our inevitable need to manipulate that recording mean that we will forever struggle to know what is real and what isn't?

Philip K. Dick asks these questions through character depictions that are both chilling and heartening. I highly recommend this book for readers who are unafraid to explore the darker elements of human nature.

I listened to Paul Giamatti read this and was a really entertained. If I would have read it myself, I don't know if I would have finished it. The book is like this: imagine being sitting in a room with 4 or 5 people who are really high and are just saying the first thing that pops into their heads. Some of it was really funny. A little confusing because of the main character being two different people that forget that they are the same person but overall I would want to get more Phillip K. Dick novels because he is one hell of a writer.

I thought this was going to be more science fiction oriented book. While there were some elements of that if I had to describe it to somebody I would be more inclined to use words like surreal, drug addled, paranoid. In a Scanner Darkly you have a cop, who is also working undercover as a drug dealer, and he's been assigned to take out the drug dealer who just happens to be himself. He has also completely fried his brain on the imaginary drug of the novel known as "Substance D". I'd have to say this book has more in common with Huxleys Brave New World and Orwells 1984 with a 70s stoner influence than any science fiction I've ever read. The story loses me in a few spots but overall I thought it was an entertaining book worth reading.

Overall, this a pretty uneven book but I just got so wrapped up in these quirky and tragic characters and pathetic plights. The story could be a straight fiction novel about junkies were it not for the oddball sci-fi elements that are thrown in (scramble suits, holo-scanners, freaky car radios, etc.) which make this a really oddball story. Funny, sad, deeply moving for reasons I can't quite grasp. Maybe it's because, of all the books of his that I've read, this is the one where his personality and experiences seem to loom largest. It feels so personal. I'll definitely read it again sometime.

I had read a lot of Philip K. Dick's short stories, but this was one of the first novels I bought, and it blew me away - Totally. It is one of the best books I've ever read: Amazingly written, it flows so well. It's very easy to read, and very entertaining. One of the most noteworthy things here is the dialogue, which is quite simply, the best, most realistic and coolest dialogue I've ever read! This book has it all - Laugh-out-loud humour, real emotive tragedy, and it's hip, too! It's just totally cool, and I should definitely read it again, soon... I can even recommend this to non-sf fans, because there's not really very much sf in here - The sf is used as a device, to allow some parts of the novel to work properly, but it's not really about sf topics, at all. I would say more, but I have to go right now! BUY THIS BOOK!

This is not an SF novel. This is a story about Dick's drug-addicted friends and their sad fates. The book consists of a series of anecdotes and scenes that range from the absurdly funny to the grotesquely tragic and are too familiar if you have some experience with drug addiction.
We see the characters (Dick's friends) degenerate into madness because of their drug habit. But still we refrain from saying they are degenerates and brought it on themselves, because of the compassion that Dick puts in his writing. All they wanted was to play, how can you think that is wrong.
At the end is an author's note in which Dick honors his dead friends and wants them to play again but in another way. This note is one of Dick's best writings and will break your heart (if you've got one that is). Oh yeah there's also a kind of plot to the book, but that's just thrown in to please the straights.

Science fiction master, Philip K. Dick, passed away in 1982 but his eerie, haunting storytelling has continued to live on in Hollywood through movies like Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and most recently, A Scanner Darkly.

All these movies are based on various Dick short stories and novels, and all show a world that's almost normal but also unfathomably out of control. What's especially interesting about the latest film, A Scanner Darkly, is auteur director Richard Linklater's unconventional cinematic take on the story. Using a four-step process known as "rotoscoping," Linklater filmed the entire movie with live actors, then overwrote their images with animation and backgrounds to create a sort of hybrid live-action/animated theatrical experience. While the jury is still out on whether or not that process is good filmmaking, one thing is certain: it makes for a dynamic and visually artistic graphic novel. So, using only photo stills from the animated version of the film, Pantheon Books has released A Scanner Darkly: A Graphic Novel as a companion book to the original novel and film.

While it's not unusual to see a science fiction story rendered in graphic novel form (such as Star Wars, Serenity, Aliens, and others), it's something unexpected to see a graphic novel that is almost literally the entire movie affixed to the printed page. The artistic result is stunning (and don't worry, we'll talk about the story itself in a moment). Every page of this hardcover, prestige package of Linklater's film is impossible to ignore. Like the movie, this book "stars" Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Winona Ryder, each one presented in near-lifelike stills, frame by frame, from beginning to end of the book. On artistic merit alone, this graphic novel is certainly among the best out there at present and easily deserves an "A" rating.

However, there is more to a book than it's artful, artistic presentation, and that's where A Scanner Darkly falls short. The story is basically this: Seven years in the future a new drug "Substance D" has penetrated the underground drug scene, becoming the latest lethal addiction of choice. Fred (Keanu Reeves) is an undercover police officer trying to track down the source of this deadly drug, and in the process has set his targets on drug dealer, Bob Arctor, and his circle of addict friends. What Fred doesn't know is that he himself is a Substance D addict, which has resulted in a split personality and, voila, Fred is also Bob Arctor, drug dealer.

Sound a bit convoluted? Well, it is, and it only gets more so. In fact, although Keanu Reeves plays this same guy throughout the story, he is alternately named Fred, Bob, and even Bruce. Winona Ryder plays Bob's girlfriend (SPOILER ALERT) and also his masqueraded superior officer in the police force. Robert Downey Jr. (spouting some of the most interesting dialogue of the story) is James Barris, who is either a criminal mastermind and the true brains behind Substance D, or just a pathetic addict with delusions of grandeur. And all these folks roll around in the squalid fringes of society, needing their next fix just to cope, paranoid, irrational, prone to frightening and absurd hallucinations, and doomed to be forever under the control of the drug that was supposed to free them. And, of course, a government conspiracy lurks in the background...

The passion and lesson behind Philip K. Dick's story here are evident: Drugs are deadly. The story, however, just doesn't measure up to Dick's other trippy masterpieces like Minority Report or Blade Runner. The characters are so earnest in their self-destructiveness and the plot elements often seem contrived, as if Dick is practically shouting, "Look! Don't let this happen to you!" While the sentiment is admirable (and encouraged by this reviewer!), the heavy-handed literary style makes this story feel unsatisfying.

As with all Philip K. Dick works, there are some impressively creative elements in this story, however. The futuristic "scramble suits" that hide a cop's identity by flashing millions of recorded faces in seconds are a cool idea. Also, in an interesting side story, one character ("Charles Freck," played by Rory Cochrane) commits suicide only to find that his hellish eternity is to be spent laying in bed listening to an otherworldly creature recite every trivial sin he's ever committed--an experience not so much frightening as it is mind-numbingly boring, like listening to an endless reading of the phone book or math equations. This brief, subversive view of hell resonates more with the reader than all the previous attempts at portraying the bleakness of a junkie's life in A Scanner Darkly. Had Dick brought that kind of storytelling to the book as a whole, this review would be a much different affair.

Overall, A Scanner Darkly is a both an artistic masterpiece (thanks to Richard Linklater) and (by Dick's standards) second-rate storytelling. Fans of Philip K. Dick may want to read this just to get a glimpse of the author's sorrow and passion. Most others will prefer the more tightly written works like Minority Report.

One final caution before you (or your teens) read this book. Remember that as a film, A Scanner Darkly was rated R for drug and sexual content, language, and a brief violent image. Since this graphic novel is made entirely from photo stills in the film, it also contains those same elements, including partial nudity, frequent profanity, drug recipes, and graphic depictions of the harsher side of a drug addict's life. While not always gratuitous, these elements may be offensive for many readers, so please be aware of them.

BOOKBLOG RATING:

Artistry: A

Story: C+

--MN

Hmmmm... so this is the comic of a movie of a book? Actually it works pretty well, bringing together Philip K. Dick's strange story of narcotic paranoia with Richard Linkletter's unique cinematic vision. A federal agent (or is he?) must discover who is flooding the streets with the dangerous drug Substance D. We follow a bumbling band of hallucinating addicts and morally bankrupt agents that are chasing them in one of Dick's darkest and most autobiographical tales. The artwork is well drawn using vivid colors to enhance the story. Fans of comics or of quirky tales will find a lot to enjoy here.

I very nearly clicked the "I am the Author" button when I chose to review this work - it seemed the Dickian thing to do. A Scanner Darkly - how do I love thee, let me count the ways. From the opening sentence: "One day a guy stood shaking bugs from his hair" (probably a misquote - I'm working from memory - also very Dickian), to that moment when Bob Arctor spying on himself with the Holoprojector is convinced that he is the guilty party, Dick not only unbalances your conciousness, but he unbalances your emotional reactions. I think that it is here that the true genius of the novel lies. We expect great IDEAS in Dick - questions about reality and "genuine-ness" - but here we get a breadth of emotion. A Scanner Darkly is not only an intellectual trip - it is an emotional one. There is great humour - the scene when the heads try to work out how many gears are on the stolen bicycle is hysterical. The moment when Arctor lying beside the prostitute he has picked up because his girl won't sleep with him, sees her change into the girlfriend is as touching a moment in literature. Of course Dick also uses this as part of Arctor's intellectual disintegration, and when later "Fred" reviewing the holoscan of this incident also sees the transformation we are again disoriented. The two conceits that the novel relies on - the unknown drug "Substance D" and the holoscanners that can record all the events in the house - work with varying success. The holoscanners symbolise nicely the paranoia of drug addiction - but it does take some suspension of disbelief to accept that the drug source would/could be unknown to government forces. Picky? Yes. The title - from one of St Paul's letters reflects (!) well not only the themes of the book but my own reaction to it - I see my reflection in this novel as in a glass darkly. When we stare into the abyss never forget....

I’m puzzled but I liked the story being told. I have some questions that were left unanswered but I don’t mind. I think the best stories are the ones that leave you wanting more. This is such a story.

I only discovered Dick and his work by the film adaptations that were inevitably made. A Scanner Darkly, much like most books that get made into movies, gives the viewer a much deeper and thorough perspective into a particular universe. I found this book to be much more involved and (in some cases) MUCH darker than the film.

I had seen A Scanner Darkly (the film) before, and I couldn't have helped but feel that it was merely a series of events that only barely became more than just a sum of its parts at the end. A quality film, worth watching just for the visuals, but it certainly could be confusing. The book however, seems to roll at a much-easier-to-digest pace. I rarely if ever found myself lost amongst the seedy, drug-laced, atmosphere.

It's entertaining, and perhaps more importantly, it's written well, something that tends to be harder to find in science fiction. Philip K Dick may not always what he wants to say, but he certainly knows HOW he wants to say it. This book does a good job of bridging the gap between sci fi and literature.

Really, if you even remotely enjoyed the film, you'll find something to like here.

The first time I read this book left me with somewhat ambivalent feelings. I was and still am a great fan of Dick's work, and Scanner Darkly is clearly one of his best, brimming with black humour and insane plot concepts. However, I was somewhat irritated by some of its elements, which sounded like a typical ex-addict's attempt to evade all responsibility by blaming drugs. "It wasn't my fault that I wrecked my whole life and hurt everyone around me, it was those horrible drugs! I'm going to write a book about them so that everyone will see how bad they are!" Evil drug dealers injecting hard drugs into innocent girls who then deteriorate into old hags in six months... just like the stuff I heard in school, but not necessarily true. Later I realized that the novel is far deeper than that, though. First of all it isn't a document, but rather a depiction of how it felt to be involved in the disaster that was 60-70's drug culture, and of the agonies of addiction. And second, it showed the true tragedy of the hippie era. In the book, everyone's basically either a head, wasting their brains with a plethora of substances and burning their life away, or then a straight, existing in a plastic limbo that cannot properly called a life at all. Bob Arctor chose the career of undercover narc when he realized how empty his proper life was, and his comment about the Lions Society (?) he was lecturing to about drugs was quite revealing too. "Substance D cannot destroy their brains, because they have none" (taken from memory) So I think the book is a criticism aimed at the emptiness of society which drove masses of bright young people to drop out and play around with power tools without care... and with results that the book depicts disturbingly well. Luckily there is a third way, but I don't think it was a real option for most people then.

Philip K. Dick was a true visionary, mad towards the end like many other visionaries. His books are pigeon-holed as 'Science Ficition', but I agree with the alternative genre description of 'Psy-Fi', for, like the author Morton Bain, his books explore consciousness more than interplanetary realms. HIs books should be taught before Shakespeare!

I'll begin by mentioning that I believe that this book is one of the best arguments against long-term drug use that I have ever come across. I think that this book is fantastically written in Dick's ability to communicate in fictional form his experiences with drugs without trying to force the reader to have a particular moral or emotional response. While reading it, one's sympathy for the character of Bob Arctor/Fred-- and his frustrated desire to live an interesting life on his own terms--never wavers.

however, I found the craft of writing curiously lukewarm in this book. There seem to be long passages of dialogue interspersed with too little action on the part of the characters--which, granted, could be an inherent difficulty because stoned characters don't tend to do much but eat pizza and philosophize. *s*

I also thought that a possible character relationship was hinted it by Dick, but not investigated to its fullest possibility. Throughout the book there are tiny tantalizing suggestions that another (two?) character(s) is/are undergoing the same sort of personality split due to the same destruction function within the corpus collosum, due to the action of the drugs. A second read over scenes involving these two characters suggests that both of these characters actually were seperate people, and it is possible that he chose to leave it deliberately ambiguous, though I believe in doing so he shut the door to many brain bending possibilities..

I believe that had he chosen to explore those vague suggestions, he could have opened up the door to more psychological and philosophical ideas. How would each hemisphere's personality interact with each hemisphere's personalities' in the other person (etc...)?

In terms of the psychology and science driving the book, he does make it easy to discern the difference between the scientific knowledge based on actual research, and the drug-based speculation of zoned-out charracters.

To summarize my opinion, though I found the written craft curiously lukewarm, the science surrounding the book, his evocation of the ultimate desolation of the character of Bob Arctor, and the philisophical possibilities kept me fasnicated and talking about little else for at least two days.

I couldn't stick with this book. I just wasn't interested in the drug aspects of the story, and it seemed almost like the author was under the influence when he wrote it. I had trouble following parts of the story.

A Scanner Darkly is not just a great book. It's a paradigm-shifter. It's not just incredibly well-written, it is something that was never done before and hasn't really been done to the same level since.
Scanner deals with multiple levels. On a level, it's gut-busting hilarious. Yet, I found it hard to laugh because I KNOW people who've baked themselves just like Jerry had, or Bob Arctor eventually does. On another level, it's conspiratorial. And finally, it shows the true horrors of addiction. It's not necessarily an easy read and shouldn't be read for pure entertainment value, but for those who want to use that grey matter between their ears will find it fscinating, shifting realities and all.

PKD at his best - if you have ever wanted to try a PKD novel then you couldn't do much better than to start here. I found this story to be an incredibly accessible and moving story which displays Dick's darkly comic genius to brilliant effect. I am amazed that this story has not become internationally regarded by the masses as one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. PKD wrote several masterpeices and this is certainly one of them. And what an amazing ending!
Other PKD book titles worth considering: The Man in the High Castle The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch Martian Time-slip UBIK

Except for the scramble suit, which is a very cool idea (the type of thing that Dick is typically noted for), this story is less science fiction and, more than anything else, a character study, a very intense character study. Even if the reader knows nothing about Dick's personal life, he is left with the near-certainty that this author knows of which he writes. Dick artfully draws the reader into the inner madness and external paranoia of these funny (yet tragic) people, letting on that these scenes and thoughts are just too real to have been completely made up. He makes you laugh with them in spite of feeling sorry for them. The plot is slow moving, but the ending is a real kicker. I found the reaction of the Donna character at the end of the book particularly poignant.

Reading this book is akin to the pleasure of being lost in the city you live in and suddenly realizing that you are only three blocks from home. After every page in this novel, I was dragged further from coherence and deeper into the split ego of a cop who is an addict trailing an addict who is a cop. The very fiber of reality is arbitrary; good and evil tango to a song hummed by insanity. As one follows Arctor's attempts to reconcile his addiction, his past and his future, it seems that ultimately we are empathizing with madness: it is impossible to offer consolation, just learn what you can and get the hell out.
I have never experimented with mind-altering drugs, and after reading this I don't think I have to. In the 3 or 4 days it took me to read this, I was completely submerged in the world in which Arctor plodded, eager to reach resolution. If you are looking for a narrative style like none other and characters that seem to stare at you from the pages, get this book. Be forewarned: Stories of this kind have been known to cause compulsive reading habits.

I can't say I enjoyed this work as much as some of Dicks other work. What appeals to me about his work is the chaotic out of control pace of his books, invariably taking some poor soul (and the reader) on a hellish (usually dystopian) journey through one warped scenario after another.
I found this book to be actually quite slow paced, based predominately in Fred/Bob Arctors house. The book is very much an account of a long descent into drug-induced paranoia & schizophrenia and is rich with 60s/70s references and culture. But I found it lacking in ground-breaking science-fiction content and ideas.
Readable enough, but not quite Ubik or Electric Sheep.

Just as Philip K. Dick described, the theme of this novel is not to set moral wrongs or rights of drugs and its users. It simply is to tell the consequences of drug misuse. It not only deals with the physical consequences, but also the psychological aspect, as well. To loose your own identity, unaware of the loss of one's own self. In a way, this novel can be categorized as Science Fiction-Black Comedy. But the humor in this novel does not make the subject of drug less serious, but more intense. The outrageous humor entertains the reader, giving him a moment of pleasurable laughter. Then, like drugs, a time comes when he realize that the pleasure once devoured, in fact, is just the beginning of a slow death. The reader laughs at the addicts' stupidity, and then faces the ultimate punishment with the characters involved. Although this novel may have too many adult contents, I wish this novel can be a recommended read for the ever curious and anxious high school students. A serious science fiction that has black comedic humor. What else can you ask from a fiction?

A Scanner Darkly is the only book on drugs, besides Go Ask Alice, that resembles reality. It shows that drugs are niether good or bad; it is the user that makes them, so. Any one that has been heavily involved in the drug culture can identify with this book. The drug infested romance, distinguishably good and bad atmosheres, terminology,etc. should all be familiar to those who once lived the life described. But the most penetrating part of the book for anyone who knows what it's like to be addicted is Arctor's trangression. Arctor's speech including " Do I see my self through a scanner darkly...." is a poignant and penetrating dialogue that cannot, repeat cannot, be understood by those who have never been addicted. If you've ever been on the outside looking in, unable the see through the barrier you've created for your self, enveloped in the confusion of the human experience, than you can relate to Bob Arctor. As a recovering addict, I am glad that someone understands.

I was first led to this book because of the movie. I liked the movie a lot but I knew there were holes in the story that could only be filled by reading the book. I'm glad I did because this book was fantastic. Substance D, a drug that literally divides the left and right hemispheres of the brain, causes an undercover cop to become schizophrenic while on assignment. The drug splits Agent Arctor's mind so much, he actually doesn't realize that he is investigating himself. It is a brilliant portrayal of the inner struggles of an addict. The way Dick created the relationship between Arctor and Fred (his other self) is brilliant and cannot be described unless you read this for yourself.
Philip K. Dick has become one of my favorite writers over the past year and it all started with this book. I loved how he was able to take his own experiences and describe them in a way that can really draw you in to his world.

I read the synopsis of this book and really thought I would love it. Instead, I was confused and bored. I am an avid reader and almost never give up on a book. This book is why I said almost. Glad I just “borrowed” it from the store.

A strange little trip into the mind of Bob Arctor -- an actor/mole/double agent/junky/nark whose brain literally splits in two. A kind of subtle, small story. I was expecting it to grow into a huge plot about aliens or a mega corporation seeking to control the minds of all humans. It's really not that. It's just about a few people tangled up in the world of Slow Death. A strange little ending. The dialog is a tad dated. Think 70's hippy slang (even though the story takes place in the 'future' of 1992). Funny to think that people in the future would be using words like "foxy" but that's my only real complaint about the book.

There is an old adage about writing: "Write what you know"--as quoted verbatim from Hemmingway, among many others, this proverb is a key to mastering the craft. One's best work originates from principle experience, core emotions; the rest is just window-dressings, technique for transition. Philip K. Dick, one of the most prolific authors of science fiction for the later half of the twentieth century, wrote about what he knew: paranoia, `big brother', psychological disruptions, drug abuse; and the sci-fi `trimmings' of aliens, techno-dystopias, etc. usually served as interesting backdrops. As a mad, bad, meth-snortin' horsemeat lovin' pulp master, the dominant themes Dick experienced during his relatively short(ened) life appear again and again in the bulk of his work, though rarely so coherently expressed as in his tragic masterpiece, _A Scanner Darkly_.
The `basics:' Bob Arctor is a drug dealer who is also Fred, a narc working undercover with the LAPD to bust a big time drug dealer named...Bob Arctor. Bob/Fred's drug of choice, Substance D(eath), gradually splits the user's brain into two separate halves, corroding the interaction between the hemispheres and rendering one a split-personality veering chaotically close to schizophrenia. Bob doesn't realize he's Fred, and vice-versa (except in moments of rare epiphany). As anyone who has read VALIS can attest, the real-life events from which this story is based occurred to Dick in the beginning of the `70's, and most of his fiction afterward were attempts for him to glean and get down the life-shattering experience. _A Scanner Darkly_ was debatably his most successful attempt, and certainly his most lucid.
For all the futuristic flourishes, the bulk of _A Scanner Darkly_ basically describes the everyday existence of Orange County drug users. The dissipation of the body and slow decay of the mind; the rupturing of the moral core for the immediate high; life on the downward spiral--it's all documented here, in harrowing fashion. Among the endless repetitive conversations and breakdown-ruminations, there are a few moments of outstanding imagery-the Connie/Donna face-melt and the flower-field being the most prominent in recollection--the first hideous, the second serene--both chilling to the bone given the circumstances.
Never a literary stylist, Dick's simple prose veered from elegant to downright amateurish, making some of his lesser/cryptic works a bit of a slog, yet in this particular volume, the author's heart can be found in the characters, environments, and overall pathos; the feel of catharsis is prevalent throughout and made abundantly clear in the coda:
"They wanted to have a good time, but they were like children playing in the street; they could see one after another of them being killed--run over, maimed, destroyed--but they continued to play anyhow."
A melancholic, mad masterpiece.

So, it's been a while since I've read this book. The first thing I thought immediately after reading it was that it should be a film, maybe a Gilliam film. I understand a lot of people are saying that the characters are weak or somewhat undeveloped. I'm not sure why this book effected me so much, but I have a feeling that some of the fuzzy details and character histories being lacking had something to do with it actually. It helped me to feel lost and confused just like the characters and keep me in the moment. Many of the conversations and moments of paranoia have a very powerful and realistic feeling as well as a strange insight. These moments are not simply weird but feel very natural like they originate from real minds, not some contrived drug or paranoia haze. Being that it has been a while though I don't really remember all the scenes very well, the bicycle gear math scene stands out, but I don't remember those details either. Most importantly is, I still remember how the book made me think and feel and most likely I will reread it. I'm also not so happy that the film was made into an animated feature. The material itself is 'trippy' enough, in my mind, the painted over animation would only distract from the story. I have to admit that I haven't yet seen the film, so there's that. K, I'm out, not sure if it is helpful, but maybe some people see the book the way I do.

Spaced out, crazy, dark, funny, beautiful. One of the most poignant novels on drug abuse I've ever read - like something from Kerouac but with a clearer meaning. Stick with it through the madness and you will be rewarded.

Phillip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly, is an amazingly dystopic science fiction novel that everyone should read. His use language and descriptions of southern California are a real treat especially if you happen to have ever lived there. The story follows Bob Arctor, who loses himself to Substance D, a drug that is taking over the surrounding communities. The book questions reality, identity and the role substances play in our society and interactions with other people. By the end of the book you are asking yourself what your own identity is and whether or not you are doing what you truly desire. Imaginative, compelling and at times comical, A Scanner Darkly is a must read for science fiction lovers and anyone who likes to take a good look at themselves and society.

this book is SO seventies, as well - it's complete and utter time travel to a time when stoned crazies drove up and down the Five in ancient VW Bugs with the floorboards showing pavement. I am totally in love with the woman in this story, too - the portrait Dick paints of her in this novel is one of the most beautiful things i've ever read.

It appears that there are plenty of reviews on the plot of this book, so I would like to comment specifically on the audiobook. Paul Giamatti's characterization is unbelievable. He has really hit his stride as a screen actor, and he moves it over to narration perfectly. The two skills are not necessarily interchangable, but Mr. G does it with aplomb.

The narration alone makes this worth listening to, but when combined with the plot of ASD, this is an outstanding story, and well worth your time and money. I just hope that we see more from Paul Giamatti on the audiobook frontier...

Wow. This is one of those books that just reaches into the core of your being and shocks you. The drug-induced deterioration of Fred/Bob Arctor is extremely well written - the way that the narration actually disintegrates at the same rate as the character - makes it more real. None of the characters turn out to be who you thought they were, and the ending is immensely satisfying.

As a teenager finding my way in the world, I find myself drawn to many books across many different genres. When I first saw the trailer for the movie, it took less than a minute to know everything but the plot through wikipedia. And so I discovered it was first a book. And being written by Phillip K. Dick, I was not surprised to find it in my parents' collection.

This book is like no other. I remember it as one of the books that made me sit back and think once I finished, the same thing that happened to me after 1984. And Maus. I don't wish to spoil the book which needs to be read and not described, so I'll simply say that it is worth your while, and that you should read it.

This is one of PKD's best books. It is brutally funny at times, especially when one of the characters tries to commit suicide and goes on an ugly yet funny drug induced trip. The opening paragraphs are as good as any of the "great novels". It establishes the tone and at the same time it establishes a novel tinged with sadness and a bit of hope. I reread it recently and D is really methamphetamine. What Dick describes is what I see day to day in the adult and juvenile justice system. He predicted it thirty years ago. How brilliant and how tragic.

The book is great. It sucks you in. It is truly one of the best American novels written.

What more could you ask for?
This book is one of my all-time favorite science fiction books. Its a fantastic glimpse into drug induced mental illness. It has an extra creepy edge due to the sinister nature of the particular fictional drug involved.
Certainly a classic. In my opinion either this or Man in the High Castle is Dick's best book.

This is not a review but more a test of memory,and as memory is a very Phillip Dick subject then this does not seem problematic to me. I read the book once, and a long time ago, but I remember the immense influence it had on my own beliefs about the nature of human reality.Characters, plot, conversation, etc. all seem hazy now but the only abiding 'memory' is that Phillip Dick had gone down avenues the majority would not care to navigate. This book, and J.G Ballard's 'Crash', are to me the new bibles of the late 20th century. In fact, perhaps both bible and road atlas combined. Both must be read to help us understand ourselves and to realise we are not who we think we are.

Tom Wolfe wrote somewhere in one of his condescending 'New Yorker' articles that the Hippie generation had produced no great American writers. He had obviously not read any Philip K. Dick. And certainly not A SCANNER DARKLY (which Dick himself termed "a masterpiece"). In this chilling tale of Drug-war totalitarianism one recognizes what it was like to be a 'head' in the early 1970s and for those of us who lived through it the shock of recognition is acute. Bob Arctor, the protagonist of the novel, is one of us and it is our lives that Dick writes about in SCANNER. If you were there then you know, if you weren't here's how it was.-- Lord RC END

In polite nerdspeak, its a "mind-frack". With all the hype over MITHT I thought this one would get some good press. Don't go into it expecting a typical sci-fi alternate-reality novel, be open for a new experience and I believe you will find this a great read.

First, don't get me wrong, this is an exceedingly well written book with a great storyline. HOWEVER the subject matter and story itself are dark and depressing. I am a fan of Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert, who were contemporaries an fans of Phillip K. Dick. Due to this, I wanted to try out some of his writing. I am not giving up here, but FOR ME this is not off to a good start. I don't so much mind dark (I also enjoy Stephen R. Donaldson), but depressing is not something I need in my life right now.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best from PKD. Witty, thought-provoking and dark, it explores (some of) the best and worst aspects of man. There'll be at least one character in there to whom you will be able to relate.
The conclusion to the book is not completely unexpected but is completely compelling.

I saw this movie years ago and thought it was great. I recently read "Your are Dead and I am Alive" and found the portrait of PKD fascinating and terrifying. The man had some really great ideas; many of them resulting from his paranoid schizophrenia. Anyway, I've now read three of Dick's works and have been duly unimpressed. A Scanner Darkly is meandering and boring. Sure, it's got a great idea, but in terms of telling a story, Dick seems incapable.

Rent the movie. Heck, with any of Dick's work rent the movie. They're always better.

A previous reviewer commented on Dick's inability to draw characterization. Interchangable are Arctor, Fred, Freck etc. This is all very true. The simple reason is Dick was portraying drugs as 'mind wrecks.' These were not characters, but paranoid puppets being conducted by the same string, drugs. Would one expect much character diversity when each man lives in the same broken down room. Their about as mechanical as the adroids that flood Dick's other stories. Everybody is portrayed as an addict or a stright. There is no middle ground. In fact, at the beginning of the read, I thought Freck was actually Arctor. They never spoke to each other. Now, whether or not this was my ignorance or Philip's plan, this can be said; he wrote at a rapid pace and was not meticulous in proof-reading. Anyways, this story is driven not by auxilliary characters but by substance D. If you want out of this trip, just don't pick up the book. Deciding to read this is your choice, but once picked up, it will be a disease.

I don't think I would have ever picked up A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick but as luck would have I enrolled in a Sci-fi class and it was a required reading. The story is about a man named Bob Arctor, aka "Fred," and his mind wrecked roommates who are strung out on a drug called Substance D. I found it to be a great trip, no pun intended, through the human mind on drugs, mental illness on drugs, and the severe paranoia in a way that was at times humorous, and quite entertaining. I enjoyed the book immensely and I would recommend it to everyone, even if you are not a Sci-fi fan.

Beautiful story. Tragic and lovely. This book delves deeply into what it is to be an imperfect human in a world of excess. The brutal deconstruction of the military/industrial/governmental construct in the war on drugs is just frosting on the cake.

I had never read a Philip K. Dick novel before and I am not a big fan of Science Fiction, however I could not believe how much I enjoyed this book. A Scanner Darkly is a deeply philosophical science fiction book story that dose not really feel like it is a scifi book at all. The characters are all interesting and yet so very sad. Dick obviously played off of his experience as an addict to write some of the stoner dialogue which is absolutely perfect.

If you are looking for a great summer read then you should check out this story. I know I will defiantly be reading more of Philip K. Dick's novels.

this is a really good book about drug abuse and paranoia. dick himself was a [user] so it was partly biographical. he deals with szchizophrenia and brain stuff. you really experience the confusion of the main character, it's slickly written too. a super-cool book

They use. Some things dangerous, some things not so much, but the damage comes down like a hammer. I think he captured the culture of the '60s, and early '70s pretty well. Drugs, drugs, and dark, dark results. Still, if you were "there", the humour is vivid as well. Perhaps this is where Cheech and Chong got their inspiration. Enjoyed the book.

This book was an easy 5 star rating, by the time you reach the last page it will have you questioning many aspects of your own life and reality. You will wonder how many personalities you might have, and just what you've been up to while you sleep at night. READ IT.

I'm gonna be brief.
Philip K. Dick tells funnystories.
Philip K. Dick tells tragic stories.
Philip K. Dick tellsthought-provoking stories.
Philip K. Dick tells bizarre stories.
Philip K. Dick tells beautiful stories.
A Scanner Darkly has it all. And perhaps the most moving afterwords ever.
Read it. That's all I have to say.

OK, count A Scanner Darkly as my second foray into the bizarre, twisted and ingenious imagination of PKD. Two books, two very different themes (VALIS is the other I've read to date) and two works of utterly compelling fiction.

So, take into account that I'm an admitted newcomer to PKD's works when considering whether or not to buy this book. However, I don't think I've ever been so confident in recommeding an author as I am about PKD.

If you want to read a book that will take you on a journey that will twist your mind in new and interesting ways, this one is for you.

I read this book first when I was quite young after my dad told me to to discorage me from drug use. I would say as a discoraging agent it was effective but the effect wore off. Now when I have more experience I shudder reading this book because it is so right, and the little climaxes and troughs in the book are almost as intense as reality, which is disturbingly close to what is described.

I'm willing to get just about any book a chance. I've read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and enjoyed it. This book is just too weird and disjointed. I have no idea what's really going on. I have no idea what the book is driving at. There are sentences of dialogue and such that barely even make sense after I read them 5 times over. The concept of the scramble suit and everything is really fascinating. I had to give up on this book because it was just way too much effort. I wasn't really enjoying it on any level. I may try reading it again, but I doubt it. I hardly ever give up on books, so I'm actually pretty upset that I had to give up on this one. I would only recommend this book if you're an absolute hardcore Philip K Dick fan. Otherwise, it's just a lot of confusing dialogue and strange chapters that seem to go nowhere and are hard to follow. I wish I coulda given this more stars, but I have to be honest.

I loved this book. The opening pages brought me into the story in a way comparable to the red pill, Blue pill moment in the Matrix.

A fantastic story that had me considering life and it's meaning as I continued to read, gripped to the story.

Now I need the physical version to be able to pass down to my kids.

Hidden within the inane conversations that take place in this book are some thought provoking themes.

There are some strange literary devices that Dick uses (random phrases in German, for example) that are never explained
or fleshed out.

Philip K. Dick's drug problem aided him in creating a superb story on drug dealers/narcs/split-personality combination. The characters are at times tragic, selfish, suicidal, hilarious and 3-dimensional. Readers who are familiar with Dick should love this.

Perhaps the most insightful look into the mind of the paranoid dope user ever written, A.S.D. is a testament to the genius and madness of Philip K. Dick. This book takes the reader on a terrible and tremendous ride through the identity of self and the reality of drug use. A powerful anti-drug statement, Dick's author's note makes the reader understand how auto-biographical this novel really is. A must read for the P.K.D enthusiast.

I haven't read too many books based on drug paranoia and brain damage, but I'd imagine A Scanner Darkly is one of the best. I read it in one sitting, starting in the morning and ending that night. Great read.

A friend gave me this book in order to bing me into PKD's fold. I've read other books of his since, but none has pulled me into the lives of the characters in quite the same way. By the time I reached the end I was probably no more able to trust the "validity of [my own] perceptual reality" than was the protagonist.

Philip K. Dick's seminal novel of drug abuse and the nature of man is a commanding and at times hilarious examination of narcotics subculture. Police officer Fred is living a double life as both vice detective and slacker/drug dealer Bob Arctor. Philip Dick examines the double side to the soul as Fred and Arctor, one in the same, lose each other as their common life spins out of conrol at the hands of the mythical drug, substance D.

As the author says in his note, he is the novel. In fact, Philip Kindred Dick writes in ordinary language, about the inujstly punished lovers of life, through dramatic situations, exposing them in a comic style. With all his soul he expresses his regret for the hipocrisis of the installed system, twisting thw already twisted reality. Undoubdtly the book of my life. Very intense, funny, and very, very serious, and above all, extremily intimist. I take off my hat.

I found this book a bit confusing. However, the moral and theme of the book are very obvious. Even though Philip K. says there is no moral. As hard of a read as this book is I found myself plowing through it and being entertained for reasons I'm not sure of. Somehow Dick is able to keep my attention even when I'm not completely sure what is happening and why. To be honest I'm not sure why I even gave this book as many as three stars. The plot is very confusing and the subplots are abandoned as soon as they become interesting. I think the concept of this book is so imaginitive that it saves the book. That is true with many Sci-fi books.

This is my first Philip Dick story. I know his other books have translated well onto the big screen so I thought I would give this one a try since it will be at the movies soon.

There are at least two story lines. One about drug addicts and the other about cops doing whatever is necessary to bust the pushers and find the source.

The sci-fi side is poor and falls into the trappings of setting a date too close to the writing of the book. The book was written in 1977 and the story takes place in the mid 90s. The language and most of the technology makes you feel like you are back in the late 60s and early 70s (like lamb chops in star wars).

I suggest skipping this book. Here it is condensed: Drugs tear people up and although they are responsible (most anyway) for getting into drugs they do not deserve the harsh punishment that is put on them whether from the destructive power of the drug or "the man."

Overall: 2 1/2 stars and boring. If this was not a Philip Dick novel (i.e., just some other author) I do not think the book would receive any attention.

I found this book terribly hard to read and extremely boring. The whole Dr. Jeklly and Mr. Hyde element of the book was poorly executed. And this is really bad when the whole book rests on the credibilty of multiple personalities. The "I'm a cop. I'm a junkie. I'm a cop and a junkie" idea is really interesting but it becomes so repetive after a while. On top of that, Philip K. Dick's writing style is very rudimentary and completely lacks anything to the effect of mood or atmosphere. The only thing I would get excited about was coming across the names of cites I had been to around Southern California. Honestly, I really don't understand why people like this book so much. (...)

A gripping and poignant story set in a dystopian future (specifically Orange County Ca) where a large portion of society is hooked on some super drug. If you enjoyed the movie like I did, I would suggest the book as I found it even more interesting.

I did not see the movie, "A Scanner Darkly," but it appears to me (from a review on IMDB) that images from the movie were published more or less as is to form this product. As such, the book is faithful to the film. Perhaps too faithful, since the way of narritive development on the screen is not identical to that in book form.

ASD is fairly interesting and easy to read. The USA of "seven years in the future" is suffering a devastating drug plague fomented by terrorists. The government has reponded with heavy surveillance and police tactics. Still, many citizens (and even police!) are drug users, and a sort of addle-brained resistance to the tyranny of the crackdown is emerging. Or not.

The book is fairly innocuous but should be rated R for drug humor, for the occassional (and gratuitous) female topless nudity, for a panel or two of atop-the-sheets sex and for one gory scene. It may be all you need to know that the book does NOT make me long to see the film. Between Keanu Reeves playing his usual doltish character who repeats the last word of whatever is said to him, the long stretches where nothing much happens, and the "helpful" labels ("Back in so-and-so's house") that a true graphic novel would incorporate into the images, this "graphicization" of the movie falls far short of the satisfaction that comes from reading a quality book designed for the genre.

I've read 7 of PKD's other novels and many of his short stories. This is the first of his novels that I didn't like. The premise sounded interesting, and for about the first third of the book I was interested as well. Unfortunately, the story went nowehere and this book went downhill for me very quickly.

One of PKD's great strengths as a writer was characterization. His characters are typically believable and engaging. Not so here. Fred, the policeman is the most clearly drawn since he is the focus of the story, but he is not an interesting character. He seems to have no motivation at all. Why did he become a cop? Why did he choose the deep cover? We never learn, and at some point we stop caring. The Bob Arctor alter ego isn't any better. The other characters are just pieces without any purpose. None of them were interesting enough to keep my attention.

Weak characters can be overcome with a strong story, but very little actually happens. I had great difficulty finishing this book, and when I finally did I realized that I had gotten absolutely nothing out of it. I realize that may be the point; all these people are addicts and there is nothing waiting for them but the downward spiral toward ruin. It may be a strong point, but it doesn't necessarily make for interesting reading.

This doesn't mean I've given up on PKD. He was brilliant, and I'll continue to explore his work. However, being the prolific writer that he was he must have written a few clunkers along the way. This was one of them. If you are curious about PKD, this is definitely not the place to start.

This is the 2nd PKD story i have just read. the first being "the man in the high castle", which i liked well enough. I cannot believe however how and why so many people thought "a scanner darkly" was so great . I will never get back those couple of nights i spent chocking this book down. It was the most boring , confusing , pointless story i have ever read. if all you want to do is read line after line of gibberish conversation between junkies, than by all means read this. i have really been into sci fi latley, and have a pretty open mind, but how this story won awards confuses me as much as the story.. i am all for a mind @$%* story, but i got nothing from this. I was planning on reading about three more pkd books, but definatley not now. idk, maybe when this was written, it could have had some weight, but its just about a bunch of junkies who are paranoid of eachother, and them talking about things that dont even make sence. you would be better off just doing SD and having those conversations yourself.

He may have a cult following, but like the characters in this novel, P.K. Dick appears to have been drug addled at the time he wrote 'Scanner'. The author in fact admits to this in his postscript. The plot is intriguing but fatally flawed with inconsistencies. The last fifty pages are so laden with filler as to be virtually unintelligible. If he intended this as a cautionary tale of drug abuse, PKD succeeded in ways he never suspected.

I got this book from the library. I'll be forthcoming:
If you read it as a novel it's a horrid incorent horribly edited read. If taken as an anology and alagory (as it seems it's suposed to be.), and with the syntaxt that this was drafted in the 70's ... then it's a much better read. Iether was it's a dreadfully dificult read that is very much unpolished, in my print their's a few pages where the naritivite text merely ends with no coherent start. For instance he describes Arctor's car "He drove up to her and " [...]