I drive a lot. Well, I used to drive a lot more, but when you’re 90 miles from your studio, you tend to put a mile or two on the family truckster. So I’m always on the lookout for free or cheap-ass audio books of great SF. A few days ago I stumbled across Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report and Other Stories narrated by actor Keir Dullea, the perfect mind-escape from the four-hour drive back from Vegas over the holiday weekend. And what a ride.
I suppose I should cover the audio quality as much as the material itself, seeing how this is an audio book and all. Keir’s delivery is near-flawless, though I did expect him to break out with “Open the pod bay door, Hal” at any time. His various character inflections are just enough to provide clear distinction between characters without being over the top.
There are five stories, three of which Hollywood has destroyed made into movies. Or should I say, made movies based on the inspirations of the stories penned by PKD.
Minority Report
Wow was this a little dated! Huge computers, smoking indoors, punch cards? but don’t let the low-tech approach fool you, this is an interesting ride. Yes, it’s somewhat a thriller, though by no means the non-stop chase sequence offered up in the Hollywood rendition. Same premise: the director of Pre-Crime is being made the patsy for someone with larger ambitions. Similar cast of characters, complete with three pre-cogs. And the similarity dies there. No kidnapping, no perfect Hollywood ending where the good guy gets away, and no Cruise. What you get instead: three minority reports. Let your mind wrap around that for a while.
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale
Hollywood didn’t care for the title, so they called it Total Recall and cast the Governator in the staring role. Which is priceless, as the last person you’d imagine in the role from the short story would be Ahrnold. In the short story, PK tells all of it from right here on Earth, never requiring a trip to Mars. Oh sure, the basic premise is again the same: Quail (not Quaid) grows bored with his 9-5 and seeks adventure on Mars, which he longs for but has not the means to acquire. The Recall procedure unlocks that he was a secret agent which blows his cover. But get this: the next implanted memory triggers something even more amazing! I won’t tell you what, but the creators of Pinky and the Brain and Douglas Adams knew!
Paycheck
Here’s the one I think Hollywood did a great job of adapting. Not because the followed the story line (which they didn’t), but because their inspiration wound up with something? better. [pause to duck flying vegetables and other random objects.] Say what you want about Ben Affleck’s acting talent, but the script was better, IMHO, than the original short story. Hats of to the screenwriter who took an inspiring but somewhat trite tale and crafted it into something better for the screen.
Second Variety
The one that wasn’t a movie, but should have been. And don’t mess with it. World War III happens, and we lost. And by ?we? I mean the entire human race. Nearly wiped out of existence, your prototypical MAD scenario played out. We (the American’s) are headed the way of the dodo until we invent “claws”, little pre-sentient machines that track down anything warm and get all medieval on their asses. Except us, that is. For those of you who are familiar with the work of Skynet, you know what happens next. (Side thought: Was this story the original inspiration for The Terminator?) The little machines start turning out more and more sophisticated machines in their own factories, until one day? the djinn is loose?and we’re toast. Russians. Americans. Life. No Hollywood ending here.
The Eyes Have It
Short, sweet and paranoid beyond belief, PK Dick pokes lighthearted fun at the way we use words to represent things we couldn’t possibly mean. I don’t want to spoil it, but I see this going on my MP3 player as a favorite track!
RATING: 4 out of 5
Minority Report and Other Short Stories by Philip K. Dick, narrated by Keir Dullea
Published by: HarperAudio
ISBN: 0-06-009526-1
Genre: Short Science Fiction
Evo,
In 1995 they made Screamers, loosely based on Second Variety.
Gerard