science fiction

A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!
Other books by
author Philip K. Dick

"A Scanner Darkly"
Message Board
Philip K. Dick Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR: David Loftus

SCHOLARS:
Scott David Mclemore  Robert Hadley  Harriet Klausner  Sam Batterson  Jason Seward  M Gandy  Alexander Babiera  Jesi Bornemann  Future Boy  
Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!

Click here for free online dating advice!

Review Summary
"Fred" is an undercover narcotics agent for the Orange County Sheriff's Office. As "Bob Arctor," he lives in a messy pad with a bunch of other druggies and buys Substance D (known on the street as "death") in quantities from his sometime girlfriend Donna. The authorities set up cameras and microphones on the premises so that "Fred" can conduct 24-hour surveillance on himself and his housemates. But Substance D steadily separates the two halves of his brain until his personality splits almost completely as he tries to figure out which of his roommates has been sabotaging his car and other equipment. As Dick has explained, this novel -- first published in 1977 and set in 1994 -- is an exploration of drug misuse and a tribute to friends who got lost along the way, but of course it touches on his favorite themes of the nature of identity and reality.
David Loftus, Resident Scholar

A Scanner Darkly is a psychological drug thriller. Substance D is a highly addictive drug that slowly splits the human brain into two seperate idenities. When Fred, an undercover police agent is hooked on the drug, his alter-ego/cover story, Bob Arctor becomes a seemingly seperate character, and Fred is assigned to keep surveillance on himself.
Trent Dick, Resident Scholar


Detailed literary breakdown of A Scanner Darkly
Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into
dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.

New movie search (click here) New book search (click here)
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%




Tone of book - depressing/sad
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Spying & Investigations Yes
What is main char. doing? - spying/espionage in enemy territorry - unraveling a conspiracy
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - fighting a personal illness/handicap - search for identity/new understanding - mental illness/nutsophrenia
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
If enemy is a group... - drug dealers

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric: Yes - mentally ill - deluded
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

Setting
Earth setting: - 20th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation - a moderate amount of scientific explanation
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only
How much dialogue? - mostly dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to A Scanner Darkly
Sundiver - Uplift Saga 1 by David Brin
Hammered by Elizabeth Bear
The Manna Trail by Clifford W. Dunbar
Bloodhype - Flinx of the Commonwealth 5 by Alan Dean Foster
Master Of Intrigue by Mary Ann Steele




Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Movie search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed movie search
(click here)
or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion


Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!


Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!


Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game


Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

Charmed: What's wrong with Rose McGowan's chin? 7/5/2008 11:53:33 AM

Charmed: Is Piper really a Halliwell? 7/5/2008 11:48:59 AM

Doctor Who: Who was the best Doctor? 7/5/2008 4:23:13 AM

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 7/5/2008 2:40:59 AM

Doctor Who: Who was the best companion? 6/30/2008 7:37:52 AM

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 6/30/2008 12:55:48 AM

Lost in Space (TV): What kind of a name is Guy for a guy? 6/26/2008 10:21:30 AM

Lost in Space (TV): Wasn't it obvious that Major West was never going to get any? 6/26/2008 10:17:45 AM

Alien Series: Was Vasquez a lesbian? 6/26/2008 6:57:27 AM

Battlestar Galactica: Do Vipers fly past the speed of light? 6/26/2008 1:27:52 AM


Newest slaves:
Queen Amidala/Padme (Natalie Portman) 7:41:22 PM
Samuel L. Jackson-obi 7:40:38 PM
Emperors Handmaidens 7:39:45 PM
Wedge Antillies 7:38:37 PM
Clone Trooper Girlfriend 7:37:02 PM
Luke Skywalker 7:36:05 PM
Dr. Zarkov 7:35:00 PM
Body Parts Boob Girl (Scarlett Tush Johansson) 7:33:55 PM
Paige Matthews Halliwell 7:33:15 PM
7 of 9 (Jeri Ryan) 7:29:04 PM
All slaves
(click here)


Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)