Two of these short stories have been made into films; Minority Report, and Total Recall. The screenplays take the plot line and give them flesh and action more palatable for the general public. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed most of the stories. I'm not really a short story person, as I like more depth than short stories provide, but these were good. A couple were even thouht provoking. Enjoyable "read".

I picked this up because I really liked The Minority Report movie. I’m not upset the stories were largely different, but I found the movie more compelling.

I’m glad there were other stories included in this edition. But in the end, while Phillip’s concepts are interesting, unique, and worthy of their reputation, the writing was middle of the road. Not bad, not great. However, I do have to give him props for keeping me guessing.

I didn’t really like his representation of women and I wouldn’t call his character’s likable. They were gruff and entitled and I didn’t necessarily root for them, although the latter is more of an observation than a critique.

I would consider reading more.

This was a mixed bag. I liked the Total Recall and Minority Report stories (maybe because I also liked the movies); a couple of the others were mildly boring.

This collection is the author's short stories that have been turned into movies. I've watched three out of the four movies and enjoyed most of them, so I was quite keen to read the 'source material' and compare the two (or three as in the case of the Total Recall movie and its reboot).

As you'd expect from short stories from an influential author, the core ideas behind all the stories are really clever and creative. It was fun seeing how those ideas were used pretty much verbatim and then built upon to create screenplays. Some of the worlds built up in such a short space of time were beautifully vivid and compelling, making me sad that they weren't explored more in written format. However, most of the stories were let down with rushed plotting, boring characters, stale dialogue and disappointing endings.

On that note though, you do have to consider these were written in the 1950s, so one should take those criticisms with a grain of salt. The ideas behind the stories have actually held up remarkably well. This collection is well worth a read, especially if you've seen the Minority Report, Total Recall and Paycheck movies.

Reviews to individual stories below
The Minority Report
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale
Paycheck
Second Variety
The Eyes Have It (This is a super-short short story, with no movie adaptation or plot really, so I didn't consider it in the main review)

Great narrator.
We listened to this on the way between San Diego and Mammoth Lakes, California.

These are some classic short stories by PKD and mostly from the 1950s.
Very easy to follow over audio.

Total Recall was great as was Second Variety. Paycheck was a close third favorite.

Citações! Spoiler, porque né.

But he liked to ask; he was pleased by the stability of the answer. He liked having it always the same. - pág.59

“You know the primitive rule-of-thumb test,” Eckmund said wryly. “I loafed around on a slum street corner until I got in a conversation with some people waiting for a bus. I started knocking the authorities: complaining about the bus service, the sewage disposal, taxes, everything. They chimed right in. Heartily. No hesitation. And no fear.” - pág.85

[...] perhaps it’s the parapsychological power of having the bad luck to make up ballads about people who really exist. - pág.498

I guess that is the story of life: what you most fear never happens, but what you most yearn for never happens either. - pág.543

This is the difference between life and fiction. I suppose it’s a good trade-off. But I’m not sure. - pág.543

[...] how a war forces you to become like your enemy. - pág.544

Very good stories!