Philip K. Dick

Set in the future or in an imaginary present, on Terra or on distant planets, this collection of classic short stories is about war, aliens, governments, space and time travel, reality and the imagination, industrialization, human ambition and intelligent robots. From moral dilemmas in "Beyond Lies the Wub" to mysterious investigations in "Piper in the Woods" and post-apocalyptic revelations in "The Defenders," these stories are both a vision of the modern era and timeless science fiction stories. Most of the stories in this collection are from Philip Dick's earlier publications in magazines such as Planet Stories, Imagination, Orbit Science Fiction, Space Science Fiction, Science Fiction Adventures, Fantastic Universe, Galaxy Science Fiction, and other popular science fiction magazines of his day.

Written in the late 1950s but unpublished until after his death, this is one of Dick's greatest realistic novels When Roger and Virginia Lindhal enrol their son Gregg in Mrs Alt's Los Padres Valley School in the mountains of Southern California, their marriage is already in deep trouble. Then the Lindhals meet Chic and Liz Bonner, whose two sons also board at Mrs Alt's school. The meeting is a catalyst for a complicated series of emotions and traumas, set against the backdrop of suburban Los Angeles in the early 1950s. As Roger, Virginia, Chic and Liz orbit each other in ever-decaying circles, their lives threaten to run out of control. This is a realistic novel filled with details of everyday life and skilfully told from three points of view. It is powerful, eloquent, and gripping.

'A joy to read' Washington Post 'Dick is one of the ten best American writers of the twentieth century, which is saying a lot. Dick was a kind of Kafka steeped in LSD and rage' Roberto Bolaño 'Remember: Philip K Dick got there first' Terry Gilliam It began with a blinding light, a divine revelation from a mysterious intelligence that called itself VALIS (Vast Active Living Intelligence System). And with that, the fabric of reality was torn apart and laid bare so that anything seemed possible, but nothing seemed quite right. It was madness, pure and simple. But what if it were true?

'The most brilliant SF mind on the planet' Rolling Stone Magazine 'One of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction' Sunday Times 'The most consistently brilliant SF writer in the world' John Brunner Substance D - otherwise known as Death - 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 first to disorientation and then to complete and irreversible 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, and soon, without knowing what is happening to him, he is as dependent as any of the addicts he is monitoring.

'One of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction' Sunday Times Imagine a future where crimes can be detected before they are committed, and criminals are convicted and sentenced for crimes before committing them. This is the scenario of Philip K. Dick's classic story, which was also a major Hollywood blockbuster filmed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise. In addition to MINORITY REPORT this exclusive collection includes nine other superb short stories by the twentieth century's outstanding SF master, three of which have been made into feature films.

'A funny, horribly accurate portrait of a life in California in the Fifties' Rolling Stone Jack Isidore is a 'crap artist', a collector of crackpot ideas and worthless objects. His beliefs make him a man apparently unsuited for real life and so his sister, an edgy and aggressive woman, and his brother-in-law, a crass and foul-mouthed businessman, feel compelled to rescue him from it. But, observed through Jack's murderously innocent gaze, Fay and Charley Hume are seen to be just as obsessed as Jack. Their obsessions may be a little more acceptable than Jack's but they are uglier. And, in the end and thanks to Jack's intervention, theirs lead to tragedy ...

Ragle Gumm is an ordinary man leading an ordinary life, except that he makes his living by entering a newspaper contest every day - and winning, every day. But he gradually begins to suspect that his life - indeed his whole world - is an illusion, constructed around him for the express purpose of keeping him docile and happy. But if that is the case, what is his real world like, and what is he actually doing every day when he thinks he is guessing 'Where Will The Little Green Man Be Next?'