Science Fiction

A Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly

  • Downloads：8700
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-27 09:56:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Philip K. Dick
  • ISBN：1780220421
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

Substance D is the most dangerous drug ever to find its way on to the black market。 It destroys the links between the brain's two hemispheres， leading to disorentation and then to complete brain damage。 Bob Arctor， undercover narcotics agent， is trying to find a lead to the source of supply， but to pass as an addict he must become a user。

Download

Reviews

Joseph ，

This is probably my favourite PKD novel so far。 We follow Bob Arctor on the job; an undercover officer addicted to the fictional Substance D。 For Bob， his life and the job are the same thing。 The love of his life is a drug pusher， his friends are users and he is alienated from the 'straights'， i。e。 non-users。 This side of his world is almost innocent - his friends are innocuous pleasure-seekers， in the grips of something evil， an unimaginably dangerous drug。 This drug， Substance D， destroys Bob' This is probably my favourite PKD novel so far。 We follow Bob Arctor on the job; an undercover officer addicted to the fictional Substance D。 For Bob， his life and the job are the same thing。 The love of his life is a drug pusher， his friends are users and he is alienated from the 'straights'， i。e。 non-users。 This side of his world is almost innocent - his friends are innocuous pleasure-seekers， in the grips of something evil， an unimaginably dangerous drug。 This drug， Substance D， destroys Bob's reality throughout the course of the novel， until （in perhaps one of PKD's best attempts at this） he is no longer sure of his own identity。 This is a book that is at once funny and terrifying， tragic and endearing， a book in which （as one of the characters aptly puts） justice and wisdom are no longer the same thing， in which the real world is just as strange and messed up as Bob's drug-infused mind。 。。。more

Albert ，

Stopped at 30%。 Do not like it at all。

K。 Counihan ，

A Very Good Strange Trip + Read2 minds， but one brain。 Bob Arctor on one side is a drug dealer/ addict。 The other side of the brain hosts Fred the lawman tasked with catching Bob Arctor。 The character overlap in the same brain takes getting used to。 I suggest reading a few chapters at a time to pick up the clues of who is who。 After initial confusion I grew to like the characters and the book。

Himtorton ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was a trip - it started off decent， then it got pretty good， and the ending was alright。 It was a little hard to follow at times， but it ultimately didn't matter， as a lot of it felt like a glimpse inside a fried mind。 Curious to see what the movie is like， and definitely interested in reading more PKD after this。 This book was a trip - it started off decent， then it got pretty good， and the ending was alright。 It was a little hard to follow at times， but it ultimately didn't matter， as a lot of it felt like a glimpse inside a fried mind。 Curious to see what the movie is like， and definitely interested in reading more PKD after this。 。。。more

Bob Rose ，

This is an intriguing book。 It’s more of an anti drug book than sci-fi saga。 That’s alright。 It fits into PKDs dystopian vision。 Hollywood actors disappoint as often as impress when narrating an audio book， but Paul Giamatti （John Adams， Billions） did an excellent job

Redfox5 ，

I remember seeing the film version of this when it came out at the cinema， it was a group thing and wasn't my choice but thought it sounded alright。 It wasn't alright， it was weird and I didn't really understand what was going on。You can't judge a book by it's film， so I decided to give this a go。 Yeah， it's still weird and I'm still not sure what happened！I think the difficulty is， when your main character is high as hell on drugs， they don't make much sense， which makes things very hard to fol I remember seeing the film version of this when it came out at the cinema， it was a group thing and wasn't my choice but thought it sounded alright。 It wasn't alright， it was weird and I didn't really understand what was going on。You can't judge a book by it's film， so I decided to give this a go。 Yeah， it's still weird and I'm still not sure what happened！I think the difficulty is， when your main character is high as hell on drugs， they don't make much sense， which makes things very hard to follow。The whole （if I got this right） idea that Bob was undercover but was also being used to get to the bigger boys who were selling Substance D。 He was basically being zombified to do this， without his knowledge， was a bit of a headfuck。 And just how old was Donna？ I thought she was an adult and then 'underage' and 'little girl' are both used to refer to her？ And then she's undercover， so she must be an adult？ I was confused。This one was not for me， but it might be for you。 A lot of people seem to like Philip K。 Dick but this is the third book of his I've read and I've not been into any of them。 。。。more

Sue Stauffer ，

I love PKD。 This one is a bit different from his other well known novels but so good in so many ways。 The ending is heartbreaking and the author's note where he lists so many people。 That really struck a cord for me。 Many will find this a disturbing look into drug culture but it's really about the nature of reality and self and how our perceptions make them what they are。 Goid stuff！ I love PKD。 This one is a bit different from his other well known novels but so good in so many ways。 The ending is heartbreaking and the author's note where he lists so many people。 That really struck a cord for me。 Many will find this a disturbing look into drug culture but it's really about the nature of reality and self and how our perceptions make them what they are。 Goid stuff！ 。。。more

Jānis Lībeks ，

Echoes of "Infinite Jest" with a visceral out-of-body experience。 Echoes of "Infinite Jest" with a visceral out-of-body experience。 。。。more

Alien ，

Ein eher späteres Werk。 Offenbar eines der Lieblingsbücher von Dick selbst。 Mir gefiel es nicht sonderlich。 Das Thema: Drogen， Drogen und nochmal Drogen。 Das ist nicht mein Ding。 Es geht auch um den Gegensatz zwischen der Drogenszene und den verachtenswerten Spießern。 Der Drogenfahnder Bob ist ein Beispiel。 Ihm wurde seine bürgerliche Existenz langweilig und zuwider und so entschied er sich für ein aufregenderes Leben als Polizeispitzel。 Ziel der Polizei ist， die Hersteller der brandgefährlichen Ein eher späteres Werk。 Offenbar eines der Lieblingsbücher von Dick selbst。 Mir gefiel es nicht sonderlich。 Das Thema: Drogen， Drogen und nochmal Drogen。 Das ist nicht mein Ding。 Es geht auch um den Gegensatz zwischen der Drogenszene und den verachtenswerten Spießern。 Der Drogenfahnder Bob ist ein Beispiel。 Ihm wurde seine bürgerliche Existenz langweilig und zuwider und so entschied er sich für ein aufregenderes Leben als Polizeispitzel。 Ziel der Polizei ist， die Hersteller der brandgefährlichen neuen Droge "T" zu finden。 Nun erhält Bob von seinem Chef den Auftrag， sich selber zu bespitzeln。 Denn dank Tarnanzügen kennt sein Chef seine Identität nicht （genauso wie umgekehrt）。Das Buch ist voll von Hippie- und Drögler-Slang der 60er。 Aber nichts ist veralteter als die Mode von gestern。 Vor allem in der deutschen Übersetzung wirken die Slangwörter eher ulkig als cool: "Puppe"， "Flöhe" usw。 Science Fiction-Elemente hat der Roman nur sehr wenige。 Ich habe ihn nicht zu Ende gelesen。 。。。more

Valentina ，

Tengo muchos sentimientos y pensamientos encontrados con esta novela。La narración es una joya， te mantiene en una constante incertidumbre que no se te quita hasta los capítulos finales。 Los personajes están， dentro de lo que se puede， bien construidos dentro del mundo que Phillip K。 Dick crea en torno a la adicción de la sustancia M， una droga sumamente adictiva y peligrosa。 However， El problema del narcotráfico que plantea， tanto a nivel sociocultural y político se desvanece en el momento en qu Tengo muchos sentimientos y pensamientos encontrados con esta novela。La narración es una joya， te mantiene en una constante incertidumbre que no se te quita hasta los capítulos finales。 Los personajes están， dentro de lo que se puede， bien construidos dentro del mundo que Phillip K。 Dick crea en torno a la adicción de la sustancia M， una droga sumamente adictiva y peligrosa。 However， El problema del narcotráfico que plantea， tanto a nivel sociocultural y político se desvanece en el momento en que escribe la nota final del autor。 Es un memorándum， y claramente una crítica a la sociedad。 Pero cuando comienza la nota， pareciera que no quiere admitir el error de entrar de cabeza al mundo de las drogas。 Y me molesta。 Muchísimo。 Porque se sabe， se sabe que la generación Beat （sí， K。 Dick perteneció al movimiento） idealizo una cotidianidad que jamás vivieron， pero que en los barrios negros y migrantes era pan de cada día。 Y no es como que nadie se los haya dicho。 Para nada。 Se abrió como parte del movimiento una crítica hacia esa forma de pensar。 No quiero juzgarlo， para nada， porque los contextos que pueden llevarnos a situaciones así pueden ser diversos。 Pero que no venga a decirme que no sabía en lo que se estaba metiendo。Que no。 。。。more

Tres Trece ，

mala racha。。。

Cherie R。 Weiss ，

Why？I tried。 This stream of consciousness was painful at times。 Maybe I missed the subtle brilliance， so if you can explain what I missed I would appreciate it。

Enan Ajmain ，

A Scanner Darkly broke me。I won't say much， because I think the emotional and visceral experience of the book is much more important than exploration of themes。 And I don't care about plots。The characters were good enough。 Certainly better than in The Man in the High Castle。 I'll never understand how that book won a Hugo award and ASD wasn't even nominated。 Apart from the disjointed sentences in the beginning， which slowly got better as the book progressed， A Scanner Darkly is better in every wa A Scanner Darkly broke me。I won't say much， because I think the emotional and visceral experience of the book is much more important than exploration of themes。 And I don't care about plots。The characters were good enough。 Certainly better than in The Man in the High Castle。 I'll never understand how that book won a Hugo award and ASD wasn't even nominated。 Apart from the disjointed sentences in the beginning， which slowly got better as the book progressed， A Scanner Darkly is better in every way than The Man in the High Castle。 Not to mention， a much more personal work of the author。 Much more mature work of PKD。The lack of one star is for the disjointed nature of the prose in the early chapters。 It got progressively better as the story went on。 I don't know if it was intentional， a method to accentuate what the protagonist was going through， or PKD just got better during the writing process。Edit: I decided to bump up the rating。 The emotion of the book was too visceral for mere prose problems。 Two books I have read of PKD and both times I had to bump up the rating。 Tells you something， doesn't it？ （That I'm dumb。 And that PKD's writing is subtler than you'd think at first glance。） 。。。more

Shelly L ，

This is your brain on drugs。 I’m not a fan。

Paul ，

7/10

Jane ，

TrippyNot at all what I expected。 I disliked most of it。 Misogynistic， racist， insulting and tweaky。 Not sure if I'll read another of his books again but glad I finally read one。 Too much like living in the mind of a brain damaged drug addict。 TrippyNot at all what I expected。 I disliked most of it。 Misogynistic， racist， insulting and tweaky。 Not sure if I'll read another of his books again but glad I finally read one。 Too much like living in the mind of a brain damaged drug addict。 。。。more

Ellen ，

What a trip。 Very powerful author's note at the end。 What a trip。 Very powerful author's note at the end。 。。。more

LC ，

This should be compulsory reading for children should you wish to ensure they never do drugs。 Other than that， there didn't seem much point to the book， although the twist in the tale was well placed and engrossing。 The second half of the book is more engaging than the first; indeed， much of the first half was spent trying to work out which character was which， as they all seemed so similar and spaced out。It was one of those books which， once started， was quite easy to continue， but once put dow This should be compulsory reading for children should you wish to ensure they never do drugs。 Other than that， there didn't seem much point to the book， although the twist in the tale was well placed and engrossing。 The second half of the book is more engaging than the first; indeed， much of the first half was spent trying to work out which character was which， as they all seemed so similar and spaced out。It was one of those books which， once started， was quite easy to continue， but once put down， gave no reason to resume。 。。。more

Max Wolffe ，

I normally find PKD long-winded and too trippy for my taste， but this story of a man's descent into drug induced psychosis is incredibly well done。 The Good:- Impressive world。 Drugs are pervasive and especially in the circle of the main character， Bob Arctor。 PKD's note at the end describes his own experience in the 60s with drug misuse and the day to day happenings （nothing really） of Bob and his friends are believable。- The characters are all fascinating and nuanced。 Their mental states are i I normally find PKD long-winded and too trippy for my taste， but this story of a man's descent into drug induced psychosis is incredibly well done。 The Good:- Impressive world。 Drugs are pervasive and especially in the circle of the main character， Bob Arctor。 PKD's note at the end describes his own experience in the 60s with drug misuse and the day to day happenings （nothing really） of Bob and his friends are believable。- The characters are all fascinating and nuanced。 Their mental states are interesting and personalities are well developed。 The faceless police officers are perfectly boring， bureaucratic， and apathetic （especially Hank）。- I found the Author's note at the end to be really touching。 Drug misuse clearly really impacted his life。 The Bad:- PKD's dialogue and monologues are on the long side for me。 I think PKD needs some getting use to （or you need to really like his style from the outset） because I just can't get through the crazy rambling in some of his books。 This was on the light side， but still was a bit of a slog at times。- Elements of the plot are pretty hard to believe: a。 The whole Fred having Bob Arctor as his main target （which I understand to be a necessary part of the plot）。Overall would recommend。 I also watched the movie and found that to be pretty faithful at capturing the core of the book， though I think you miss out on a little bit of the main point of the psychosis without the book。 。。。more

Juliana Linares ，

Algo curioso acabou de acontecer。。。。 enquanto eu terminava esse livro， após dois dias de melancolia induzida pela própria leitura， pensando em como ele se parecia com uma mistura de "Um Reflexo na Escuridão" e "Fluam Minhas Lágrimas。。。" eu me deparei com uma nota do autor ao final do livro em que eu já conhecia。 Foi então que percebi que eu já tinha lido esse livro há uns anos e que ele era exatamente o Um Reflexo na Escuridão que a Aleph mudou de nome。 Ainda estou surpresa como memoria da trist Algo curioso acabou de acontecer。。。。 enquanto eu terminava esse livro， após dois dias de melancolia induzida pela própria leitura， pensando em como ele se parecia com uma mistura de "Um Reflexo na Escuridão" e "Fluam Minhas Lágrimas。。。" eu me deparei com uma nota do autor ao final do livro em que eu já conhecia。 Foi então que percebi que eu já tinha lido esse livro há uns anos e que ele era exatamente o Um Reflexo na Escuridão que a Aleph mudou de nome。 Ainda estou surpresa como memoria da tristeza enorme desse livro permaneceu comigo por todos esses anos， apesar de eu não ter guardado a história em si （lembro de não ter entendido muito bem na época） e ter sofrido ainda mais com a leitura agora que eu a compreendi。 É um livro brilhante。"Esse romance tratou de algumas pessoas que foram punidas um pouco demais pelo o que fizeram。 Elas só queriam se divertir， mas eram como crianças brincando na rua; testemunharam as crianças ao seu redor serem mortas， mas continuaram brincando。 Todos nós fomos de fato muito felizes por um tempo， sentados a toa sem trabalhar， só falando bobagem e brincando， mas isso durou um período tão curto e foi seguido de uma punição que foi além do aceitável: mesmo quando podíamos ver， não podíamos acreditar no que estava acontecendo。" 。。。more

Garnet Walters ，

An odd book that felt very 70s。 Some passages were beautifully written and then there were jarring racist and sexist bits。 An interesting reflection on the war against drugs that you feel the US lost a long time ago。 I did find it a bit difficult to keep track of all the characters and their weird tics。 Some fascinating ideas， you can see why the author is a favourite of film makers。

Zeke Coady ，

It’s a very good book。 Underneath Dick’s usual science fiction elements， the double crosses and the questions of identity and knowledge， there’s a very personal tale of addiction and uncertainty that Dick himself apparently lived。

Melda ，

“What does a scanner see？ he asked himself。 I mean， really see？ Into the head？ Down into the heart？ Does a passive infrared scanner like they used to use or a cube-type holo-scanner like they use these days， the latest thing， see into me - into us - clearly or darkly？ I hope it does， he thought， see clearly， because I can't any longer these days see into myself。 I see only murk。 Murk outside; murk inside。 I hope， for everyone's sake， the scanners do better。 Because， he thought， if the scanner se “What does a scanner see？ he asked himself。 I mean， really see？ Into the head？ Down into the heart？ Does a passive infrared scanner like they used to use or a cube-type holo-scanner like they use these days， the latest thing， see into me - into us - clearly or darkly？ I hope it does， he thought， see clearly， because I can't any longer these days see into myself。 I see only murk。 Murk outside; murk inside。 I hope， for everyone's sake， the scanners do better。 Because， he thought， if the scanner sees only darkly， the way I myself do， then we are cursed， cursed again and like we have been continually， and we'll wind up dead this way， knowing very little and getting that little fragment wrong too。” 。。。more

Ale Gachuz ，

Qué denso。。。

Jeff Lacy ，

WeightyThis is a weighty novel on the issues of criminal justice， addiction， metaphysics， the dangers of centralized government。 There are some very funny scenes scenes too。 Listen to the Audible while reading this novel。 It gives it a deeper dimension of entertainment and meaningfulness。

Wendel ，

As another review said: this book makes you realize how PKD came up with all these trippy and over-the-top concepts in his works。 The story begins as hazy as its characters， and while it unfolds for your eyes so does it become more hazy for its characters。The book is set in California and follows a drug addict called Bob Arctor。 Bob is actually an undercover narc， spying on his roommates and through eventual paranoia， himself。 In the future undercover agents are in so deep that even their bosses As another review said: this book makes you realize how PKD came up with all these trippy and over-the-top concepts in his works。 The story begins as hazy as its characters， and while it unfolds for your eyes so does it become more hazy for its characters。The book is set in California and follows a drug addict called Bob Arctor。 Bob is actually an undercover narc， spying on his roommates and through eventual paranoia， himself。 In the future undercover agents are in so deep that even their bosses don't know their identity。 When Bob meets with his superiors， he wears a scramble suit。 The scramble suit is a futuristic device that blurs the wearer and his voice like a modernistic painting of man。As the story develops it becomes clear that Bob is slowly losing his mind。 While he builds a case and reports to his superiors about his drugged up housmates he loses his touch in reality， reporting on himself， seeing himself in the surveillance scanners unaware of it being him。PKD spent some time with the drug scene of California， and this book is a sort of autobiographical account of the time。 This becomes evident in the beautiful and （I'm using the word again because it describes so perfectly） hazy atmosphere of drugs and drug habbit。 The user starts of losing their touch with reality when they want to， to get away from it all。 But when the substance conquers them， and they become addicts， they see glitches and bugs everywhere。 Reality fades away into a tripped out world。 Apart from sketching this estranged feeling the writer also fabricates these fragmented conversations between addicts really well。 All in all the scene couldn't be set better。The novel is ended on a note that the novel indeed is autobiographical， but that Dick feels like he is the novel， not just some character。 All the characters were his friends， some he lost， most he lost to permanent damage in some way。 He said it best: "Their sin was in wanting to play all the time but the penalty was far harsher then they deserved。" 。。。more

Wesley Reads ，

I enjoy Dickies， but this one was hard to follow。 Maybe I read it during a time in my life when I had too many distractions and wasn't getting enough sleep。。 actually， I read it in rehab， so。。 I'll try to read it again some time， but， for now， three stars for being an interesting book by one of my favorite writers that didn't really hold my interest very well。 I enjoy Dickies， but this one was hard to follow。 Maybe I read it during a time in my life when I had too many distractions and wasn't getting enough sleep。。 actually， I read it in rehab， so。。 I'll try to read it again some time， but， for now， three stars for being an interesting book by one of my favorite writers that didn't really hold my interest very well。 。。。more

Iranita ，

Al principio se me figuro que estaba leyendo algo de Bukowski o de Hunter S。 Thompson， luego vi que no era eso y me empezó a costar mucho se me hizo tedioso por las platicas sin sentido de los personajes a mi parecer en bastantes momentos， pero ya casi al al final me gusto， y el epilogo me gusto más y compenso todo el largo tramo que pase para llegar。A la distancia lo considero mejor de lo que pase leyéndolo no entendía que la acción ocurriera en los diálogos que estos individuos tienen， contand Al principio se me figuro que estaba leyendo algo de Bukowski o de Hunter S。 Thompson， luego vi que no era eso y me empezó a costar mucho se me hizo tedioso por las platicas sin sentido de los personajes a mi parecer en bastantes momentos， pero ya casi al al final me gusto， y el epilogo me gusto más y compenso todo el largo tramo que pase para llegar。A la distancia lo considero mejor de lo que pase leyéndolo no entendía que la acción ocurriera en los diálogos que estos individuos tienen， contando SU mundo， y ese final trágico y triste ¿pero esperanzador para el día de acción de gracias？ me encanto 。Drogadicción no romantizada， paranoias， esquizofrenia， libre elección y un "castigo" en exceso al que el autor se refiere en su epilogo。 Calificación real 3。5 。。。more

Jeremy ，

I don’t get the hype， it’s really not that great of a book unless you get off on the whole drug counterculture， Requiem for a Dream， man eating fridge mind f**k。 Not something I’d be likely to recommend。

Lukasz Dygon ，

Very weird and very human。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Scanner Darkly

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Scanner Darkly&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Scanner Darkly&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0