Opinions on him?
Which of his books are the best or otherwise worth reading?
Great author. Brilliant ideas. His prose is a tad pulpy tho. My favorite book by him is VALIS. But I'm a tad biased because I'm schizo and I find it to be one of the best portrayals of the disease. Second favorite would be A Scanner Darkly. I cried when I got to the ending and he dedicates the book to all the friends of his that died from junk. But I might be a tad biased with this too since I used to be a junkie. If drugs and schizophrenia are too edgy for you then Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep would probably be your best bet. As I'm sure you already know, 'tis the book Bladerunner was based off.
>>7667712
This is a controversial opinion, but I've tried reading a few of his books and never made it past the first 20 pages at most.
His prose is just insufferable and I don't care what any of you have to say about his ideas, he couldn't write his way out of a wet paper bag.
As pointed out whenever this topic arises - great ideas, terrible prose.
Don't start with Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (like most people do because of Blade Runner); it's got some of his worst writing. If you can put up with some crap writing, try Ubik.
If you want some Dick SF with better prose, try his 1970s novels, especially A Scanner Darkly.
Alternatively, try his non-SF novels (e.g. In Milton Lumky Territory, Confessions of a Crap Artist). They lack the great ideas of his SF, but the prose is much better. The non-SF books read like an apprentice Richard Yates.
he was a robot.
or was he? who knows, man. methamphetamine psychosis is funny that way.
what are some examples of this "bad prose" meme?
>>7667758
>prosefags
I understand your gripes, but it's not unreadable. It's just not great.
Love him. Great stories, wild worlds where anything can happen.
>>7668025
>If you can put up with some crap writing, try Ubik.
well now i know you're trolling since ubik was written fine. why is this board filled with retarded prose retards who think if something isn't written purple, it's bad?
>>7669416
People here say his prose is bad because he writes sci-fi, so he mustn't be praised without reservations. If he wasn't a genre fiction writer, this complaint would not exist.
I find his prose to be clear, but
idiosyncratic at the same time. He is quite objective most of the time, but in his "trippy" sequences he unleashes his "flashy" prose.
Ursula le Guin said he is the American Borges and I think the comparison fits - he just isn't as erudite as Borges, but the ideas are quite similar, and both prefer brief narratives.
>>7667712
My favorites are Three Stigmata, VALIS and Flow My Tears. I still have to read Scanner Darkly though and Martian Time-Slip, but people say these are among his best too.
>>7669461
>retarded prose retards
Bravo, r/books.
just VALIS
>>7669416
Dick's prose in most of his science fiction before the 1970s is slapdash. It reads like he wrote first drafts then sent them to his publisher with no revision. He's still worth reading, anyway. Even his minor novels often revolve around concepts that other writers sweat for years to try and squeeze out.
