Dying Inside

Telepathy isn't as fun as expected. Source: Here

“It was like that all the time, in those years: an endless trip, a gaudy voyage. But powers decay. Time leaches the colors from the best of visions. The world becomes grayer. Entropy beats us down. Everything fades. Everything goes. Everything dies.”

With a title like "Dying Inside" you'd be forgiven for not wanting something quite so morose to read in your spare time. It's also a book that only just scrapes a sci-fi categorization - set in then-contemporary 1970s America, virtually the only science-fiction aspect is the telepathy of the main character. As a note of warning to anyone thinking of picking this book: perhaps not the best read if you happen to be suffering a crisis of faith, because this book does not let up.

Dying Inside is a science-fiction novel written by Robert Silverberg and published in 1972. At the time, science fiction was very heavily influenced by the New Wave movement, which eschewed the traditions of previous pulp science fiction, choosing to focus on "soft" as opposed to hard SF and set apart from its predecessors by a greater degree of experimentation and introduction of a more literary sensibility to sci-fi narratives. 

The main thrust of the plot follows our protagonist David Selig, an ordinary man distinguished from others by virtue of his telepathic abilities, finding himself slowly losing that special power. A fairly small self-contained story about an extraordinary man coming to grips with the loss of his telepathy, who certainly isn't a sympathetic figure - having squandered his ability for his own personal gain and a miserable, self-pitying, self-loathing presence. 

You'd think that combination would sour you on Selig almost immediately; but it is a testament to Silverberg's skill as a writer for me to be proven so utterly wrong. The novel itself is episodic, beginning with the present-day narrative where Selig is making ends meet ghostwriting essays for college students, reading their minds so he's able to better plagiarize on their behalf. Moving from past to present we get to learn more about our protagonist and the people he interacts, from his mistrusting sister to child psychologist to his various girlfriends and even a fellow telepath.

Silverberg's prose is utterly enchanting here - this was one of those books that once started, I simply could not put down, how vivid and mesmerizing it was and how easily it jumps from mood to mood without the slightest hint of whiplash or disorientation. It speaks volumes how a tale about a disaffected depressive who misuses his telepathy can be made so compelling.

The fundamental themes of this book, communication, the fear of human connection and the isolation that results from it, issues of aging and the decline that follows aren't themes that usually appear in sci-fi, and certainly ring more than true for many people. Seeing these handled deftly, sensitively and in a way that allows the reader to judge David Selig's story for themselves is remarkable, particularly in a genre still associated today with its pulpy roots in the early 20th Century.

 Dying Inside is one of those rare works that transcends genre and has rightly earned its reputation as a sci-fi classic and a shining gem of the New Wave. I can't recommend it enough.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Easily one of PKD's most famous books. Source: Here

“You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation; this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.”

With the release of Blade Runner 2049 I thought it'd be more than apt to revisit Philip K. Dick's classic once more. While not my personal favorite of his books, it's one of PKD's most accessible works and a tale that inspires to this day.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a science fiction novel published by Philip K. Dick in 1968. The main plot concerns bounty hunter Rick Deckard, who is tasked with killing (referred to as "retiring") six escaped Nexus-6 model androids from Mars. The plot is set in post-apocalyptic 1992* following "World War Terminus" where nuclear war has devastated the Earth and the United Nations encourages emigration to off-world colonies - with the incentive of androids as personal servants. 

This brief summary forms more or less the basis for Ridley Scott's famous 1982 adaptation Blade Runner, but here is where both narratives diverge - Androids contains a variety of thematic plot points that didn't make the cut: 

• Because of the mass extinctions wiping out the majority of Earth's wildlife, owning a live animal is considered a status symbol. The poor can only afford robotic variants (Deckard himself owns the eponymous electric sheep)
• Mood organs known as empathy boxes can induce any desired mood in the people nearby.
• The character of John Isidore, a man of low intelligence, aids the fugitive androids.
• The religion of Mercerism is widespread on Earth and her space colonies, which follows two major tenets; be empathetic to the individual and work for the good of the community. Adherents use the empathy boxes to join in a shared experience where everyone is connected in a collective virtual reality centered on founder Wilbur Mercer  while he eternally climbs a barren hill as he has stones thrown at him, the pain of which is shared by the users.

There's quite a significant amount cut from the film, yet both works successfully zero in on the Big Questions that Philip K. Dick posed: what does it mean to be human? Where lies the dividing line between humans, who are capable of the most inhuman acts, and androids, who on the surface are virtually indistinguishable from any other person?

It was a very accessible book to get into (considering the majority of PKD's works...) and while not my favorite of Dick's books it's one that still sticks with me. It's been said that Deckard is a detective that doesn't do a lot of detecting, but what appeals to me (and indeed, a lot of PKD's protagonists) is that they aren't heroes, or chosen for a higher calling. They're simply people trying to make sense of the world they're living in, trying to get by another day. That to me is far more resonant.

Dick ultimately postulates that what separates humans from androids is our capacity for empathy - demonstrated in a key scene where one of the fugitive androids is taking apart a spider. The android understands what the spider is, and yet still takes it apart. If an android can do that to another living being, what's to stop it from doing it to a human?

One of PKD's greatest strengths is always leaving the reader to decide for themselves. Are the androids deserving of the same rights as humans? What really is the difference between electric and biological life - and does it matter? These are questions you'll still be puzzling with long after you've left Deckard and the rest of this world's denizens. A solid gateway to the many unreal worlds of Philip K. Dick.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Books 1-3)

The Trilogy of Six. Source: Here

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move." 

Having finally finished this trilogy* at the behest of a close friend of mine, I find it tricky to really collate my thoughts on the books as a whole. If anything, it's a miracle I finally got round to these...

*Note: when I say trilogy I mean the original three books, The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and Life, the Universe and Everything.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HGTTG) is the first of five books in the HGTTG series written by Douglas Adams (the sixth written by Eoin Colfer) and first published on the 12th October 1979. An adaptation of the first four parts of Adams' radio series of the same name, it is easily one of the books that comes to mind when mentioning science fiction, a master showcase in comedic sci-fi.

Coming into this series fresh (minus the various quotable sayings now peppered in society's collective conscious) I wasn't expecting such a plunge into an anarchic, riotous Universe where nothing seemed to make any real sense and the improbable became possible. I suppose that's the big joke of it - certainly considering how absurd modern life can be if you look into it hard enough, Adams simply spins that into comedic gold, exemplified in the demolition of Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass as the opening act for the rest of this bizarre, wonderful series.

What a ride it was! The first book had me cracking up constantly (to the detriment of the friends I had gone camping with, who just wanted a good night's sleep...) and it was a barrel of laughs from then on. Everything from these books seems to have been plucked nearly at random, from the Babel fish you put in your ear as a universal translator to pan-dimensional organisms entering our world as mice, and a restaurant at the end of the universe! The books are bursting with imagination and wit and that in itself is commendable. 

To take the plot (well, less of a plot and more a pulling of our characters to various outlandish locales across the universe) seriously is to miss the point of these books. The narrative jumps about like an eel out of water but I can't say I didn't have fun seeing it leap to and fro. Even the characters were a blast to be with - Marvin the Paranoid Android being the sole exception and by far my favorite in the process.

Of all the three, The Restaurant at The End of the Universe remains my favorite. To me that was the one with more standout moments (Marvin convincing the battle robot to plummet to its death in particular) though the original holds a special place in my heart for being the first introduction to this zany, nonsensical universe.

Really if there are any criticisms they remain nitpicky in nature - that the books seem designed for as many one-liners and jokes to be cranked out as quickly as possible - but then again, they are comedic, so I'm not quite certain what I was expecting. Maybe it's not my cup of tea but I appreciated the change of pace they formed from my usual grim fare.

On the whole I thoroughly enjoyed my ride through the first three and will no doubt revisit the second half in due course. Absolutely a top recommendation for anyone looking to liven up their day.