New Folio LE – The Complete Short Stories – Philip K. Dick – 4 Volumes £495 – Limitation 750

Seems to me that if someone purchases ONE book, that is hardly scalping. As already noted scalping is to make a quick buck, and purchasing an expensive book might result in a loss let alone a profit. That's how I view this whole issue regarding PKD...

BUT, speaking of the writer, I have to say I am almost done with volume 1 and am hardly impressed. His writing is reminiscent of Stephen King, and I acknowledge that both King and Dick are talented writers, but in my personal opinion, not "good" writers...

>1 astropi: I totally agree with you, which is why it didn’t take me long to decide not to buy this collection. His strength lies in his ideas much more than in his writing IMO

>2 stopsurfing: "His strength lies in his ideas much more than in his writing IMO".

Agreed. I enjoy the stories but read from the paperbacks.

>2 stopsurfing: >3 boldface: I know what you mean... that said, I still enjoy reading the beautiful FS edition much more than a paperback :)
Quite honestly, if I had paperback editions of PKD I would donate them and not even bother reading them... when all is said and done, the quality of the FS book and the illustrations does help tremendously.

>1 astropi:, >2 stopsurfing:

I'm not sure I agree. I've only read a few short stories, but I've read a fair amount of his novels.

There are particular scenes in his books which stay with you long after reading, such as the spider in "Do Androids..." or the staircase scene in "Ubik". The writing is not obviously good but it is affecting. It is also idiosyncratic, although I have not analysed why. These two features to me indicate an author worthy of more than just paperbacks.

You don't read Philip K. Dick for his prose style, you read him for his ideas. Every one of his stories I've read has impressed me with the central core of one or two highly original thoughts around which the story is constructed. Dick's imagination was extraordinary. I agree with Jobasha that there are numerous scenes and concepts that have stuck in my mind with far more vividness than those of other writers generally considered 'superior'.

I've always pegged his writing as substance over style, but the style sometimes veers towards a slapdash writing style which one assumes was due to the speed at which he wrote. He wasn't a craftsman structurally, at any scale. However, he is also one of the most philosophically adept writers when it comes to his ability to explore ideas satisfactorily through literature, in my opinion. I personally think A Scanner Darkly is his best work in terms of both substance and style, though often misunderstood as a quasi druggie's memoir.

>7 AHub: I've only read a few of his novels, and none of his short stories. At least: Man in the High Castle, Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and Ubik (maybe? not sure about that one). While I recall little about his prose style (it has to be at least 15 years since I've read anything by him), he surely has an ear for titles. A Scanner Darkly, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and many others, have the ring of archetypal literature.

Unless his editors or publishers were responsible for some of the titles, which is actually quite common as I understand things.

>8 abysswalker: Yes, I think you're right on that one. Idiosyncratic I'd say. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is for my money a brilliant title. On the surface it sounds and seems perhaps kind of cute, like a neat idea, but underneath encapsulates a wealth of philosophical ideas about the nature of consciousness and what we consider to be 'real', and what we don't. It nicely implies another question as well: are the dreams of humans any more or less real, where do we draw the line between ourselves and the androids who are programmed, in supposed distinction from ourselves?

Just completed the first volume. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, happily devouring a new story of an evening when I found the time. Of course such an elaborate version of his short stories (especially the earlier pulp) is unquestionably an overblown kaleidoscopic nonsense, and we are all mad for supporting it rather than collecting the paperbacks, but it is to my eyes a wonderful nonsense and as someone that places huge value on the joy of more traditional science fiction (arguably nostalgia for a youth spent with a nose in SF paperbacks) I cannot deny that it makes me blissfully happy to see it receive the same treatment as a magnum opus by a prose classicist. But yes, it is ridiculous. That said, I cannot say that I had any concern when I made the purchase that I would be in any sense making a poor purchasing decision, as long as I can of course finish the volumes without managing to spill coffee all over them... watching my five year old tear around the room whilst I have the luminescent monolith propped up on a cushion is slightly terrifying.

The beauty of PKD for me is in his bizarre and disturbing vision. He takes standard sci-fi tropes and turns them into a metaphor for 20th century paranoia and consumerism - not to mention his take on identity and memory. He can also be extremely funny and very ironic. I agree the short stories can be uneven. Dick was writing for the pulps and spent much of his life struggling to make a living - he needed to churn stuff out. But there are some real gems in his short stories and novels.

I remain delighted with this LE. It takes pride of place with my old Panther UK paperbacks of Dick’s novels - many of which have wonderfully lurid covers in the tradition of paperback Sci-Fi.

Static Medium is selling a Greg Ruth print from this collection: https://staticmedium.com/collections/from-the-shop/products/electric-ant

>12 PrestigeWorldWide: That's a nice print... I thought the FS did a wonderful job with the varied art in the books.

Okay, my copy, #322, is available for trade.
There are not too many, although a few, FS books I am looking for. That said, I am always open for possible trades, especially fine press. I'm in the USA.
All four volumes + slipcase are like new.