Where are all the Dicks?

[gully_foyle]

No, it's not a rude thread.

I was in a secondhand bookshop in Melbourne recently (Sybers in Glenhuntly) where they have a vast number of SF paperbacks. David Syber and his wife Penny have two shops. He runs the one in Glenhuntly, she runs the one in Prahran (pronounce that one dear non-antipodeans). Between them they have a pretty good selection and I managed to pick up a few books on my list (see book hauls). But I noticed that they didn't have a single Philip K Dick between them. I have been looking for Man in the High Castle for nearly a year now, and only saw it once and thought it was overpriced for a poor condition paperback. But, generally I have noticed that there were very few Dicks available. I asked David about this and he advised me, in his deadpan voice, that "People like you won't sell them."

How true.

 

[GOLLUM]

Ah yes I know David and Penny. Slightly eccentric but a lot of fun. Penny is particularly knowledgeable w.r.t. Fantasy Genre and I have enjoyed my chats with her.

Sybers is a great SFF second hand shop(s) for anyone visiting Melbourne. I have got several things from them both.

 

[Rothgar]

I've noticed the lack of used Philip K Dick novels where I live too. I've only picked up three or four novels by him so far just because if I want to read one of the stories I have to buy a new copy, and they are not cheap. I think most run between $15 and $20. I was looking on eBay and it seems like a good way to pick up his novels. Some people are selling several of them in a group.

 

[GOLLUM]

PKD is quality and highly regarded within the Genre, so I'm not surprised at all. All you need to do is look at how often he is represented in VG's SF Masterwork series or the films made from his work.

PKD is a visionary IMO.

 

[Fried Egg]

Same story in my local second hand book shop. I've never seen any PKD there.

I was also told by a book seller on a market stall that SF was very difficult to come by because SF lovers don't tend to part with their books. But surely that's true of any genre? You do tend to see lots from some authors, very few from others. I wonder why...

 

[Connavar]

These days you can find most of his work novel and short stories in print and im glad cause he is a big fav of mine.

I would never get a second hand book of his when i can get brand new versions of his work.


So it must be wierd not to find him in second hand but it would be much worse IMO if he wasnt in print like some other famous classic SF and you only had second hand books.

 

[K. Riehl]

In the US Dick is getting reprinted in the large trade paperback format. You don't see much PKD in second hand stores because the self proclaimed "Dick-Heads" buy him up.
If you check Ebay the DAW paperback 1st edition of Flow my Tears, the Policeman Said can sell for as much as $60. It used to be $150 until they finally reprinted it in 2001.

I like him as an author but I don't see him as that much of a visionary. A lot of fans talk about his original ideas being so new and cutting edge. When I read him I saw a few new things but I was also saying to myself, "that's from a Cordwainer Smith story or that's from a M. John Harrison story"

He's good but not on a pedestal by himself like many of his more rabid fans place him.

 

[Connavar]

Its not his visionary that makes him great IMO. Its how he writes tales around his ideas and his exceptional way of writing characters.


Its not about new things its about the stories. Everyone is inspired and takes after other writers.

Rabid fans will always be around any famous writer. You cant blame the writer for that.

 

[GOLLUM]

I like him as an author but I don't see him as that much of a visionary. A lot of fans talk about his original ideas being so new and cutting edge. When I read him I saw a few new things but I was also saying to myself, "that's from a Cordwainer Smith story or that's from a M. John Harrison story"

That's what I meant. Some of his stuff is refreshingly original not all but I agree with what Conn said about the way he writes.

 

[Quokka]

Gotta admit the only PKD I ever see in the second hand bookstores are the Masterworks and similar releases I don't think I've ever seen a novel of his as it was released at the time.

 

[clovis-man]

If you are only looking for one or two specific PKD titles, then I suspect that Half.com would be one of the best places to pick them up at a bargain price. Most are available for from 3 to 5 dollars, some more and some less.

Jim

 

[Connavar]

Same story in my local second hand book shop. I've never seen any PKD there.

I was also told by a book seller on a market stall that SF was very difficult to come by because SF lovers don't tend to part with their books. But surely that's true of any genre? You do tend to see lots from some authors, very few from others. I wonder why...

Its not true of any genre.

Atleast not for me.

I tend to hold on most of my SF books. While i give away books in crime fiction and other genres that i liked but not likely to reread.

While in SF i keep every SF book i like even if the author isnt among my fav authors. There are alot of things to get attached to in SF story.

Also cause i have seen how rare its to see older SF books still being in print, cause SF is pretty small compared to other genres that i have been annoyed many times having to buy books in second hand stores or have to order them from the web 3,4 times the normal price.

 

[panopticon]

As a bookseller in the UK, I don't get too many PKD books in for resale. People do tend to hold onto them! I don't often find nice copies second hand for my own collection either - most of mine are from FIL who keeps digging out nice copied from his (extensive!) SF collection. I can't believe some of the prices - maybe I am selling some of my stock too cheap!!

Shame you guys aren't UK - I'm sure I could find reasnobly priced copies of anything you're looking for, but shipping costs can be prohibitive these days.

 

[Stenevor]

Ive got about 20 PKD books on my shelf. Picked up a dozen or so in the last year from a charity shop who inherited a haul of great sci-fi for £1.50ish each. Got a couple more from a car boot for £0.50 each. The rest Ive had for years. I still havent read them all and to be honest ive no plans to read them any time soon. For every one of his books that I really like theres one that I havent enjoyed at all.

 

[murphy]

Here's a copy of Man in a High Castle on ebay.

 

[K. Riehl]

A collected volume of PKD's work is going to be brought out by the Library of America series next year. It is a small surprise since LOA is often seen as a "literary only" publishing house. Dick will in there with Dickens, Jefferson, Steinbeck...

The only other SF/Fantasy author I remember them printing is H.P. Lovecraft.

Connavar- you are correct about him not being responsible for his fans. I was always surprised he could write as well as he did considering a lifetime of Paranoid Schizophrenia, LSD and Amphetamines. I believed he used his life experiences to write A Scanner Darkly and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.

 

[Grimward]

Small but significant spoiler.....

















Just agreeing, K.R; the epilogue in A Scanner Darkly reveals exactly that, and includes a memorial page to friends and acquaintances who succumbed to their addictions and as a result are now either deceased, clinically insane or permanently impaired. For me (as noted elsewhere in these hallowed halls), it was a rather unique way of establishing perspective (the author's, at least!) at the end of a book.

 

[Connavar]

K. Riehl:

Of course Dick belongs among those authors. He is the most literary of SF writers imo.

His rep might not have been as big under his lifetime but he gets his due these days.