A Scanner Darkly

What Hacker News says

1. johncoltraneOct 2026
   J.R.R. Tolkien: The lord of the Rings (lost count)

   Philip K. Dick: Ubik, Flow My Tears The Policeman Said, A Scanner Darkly, etc. too many to count (many more than twice)

   William Gibson: everything at least twice

   Neal Stephenson: Snow crash (three times, I think)

   Clifford D. Simak: City

   H. P. Lovecraft: everything at least twice. There is a French compilation of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, The Silver Key, and Through the Gates of the Silver Key that I've read countless times. I've used two editions and I'm at my third.

   Maurice G. Dantec: Babylon Babies (three times)

   Possibly many others.

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2. johncoltraneMay 2026
   A bunch of William Gibsons.

   Philip K. Dick's Ubik, A Scanner Darkly, and Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said.

   Clifford D. Simak's City.

   Classics.

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3. piltdownmanApr 2026
   If you want the druggy, high-concept, ersatz-reality version go with Philip K. Dick - namely The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, A Scanner Darkly, VALIS.

   If you want the intellectual take go with A Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller), Oryx and Crake (Atwood) or Solaris (Lem).

   If you want the 60s hard-science rooted societal outlook from an ex-Naval Engineer with strong views on gender roles, it's all about Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers etc..

   If you want something to share with the young adults in your life, or simply some of the finest writing in the contemporary British YA canon, then Philip Pulman's magnificent homage to 'Paradise Lost' - the 'His Dark Materials trilogy' - cannot come more highly recommended. Usually categorised as 'fantasy', and heavily indebted to Milton and Blake, this represents a master-class in parallel-universe world building with its own take on a Steampunk Oxford and a number of other science fiction tropes.

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4. selfsimilarFeb 2026
   I know nothing about this author, but this reads to me a lot like late Philip K Dick but without the "what is real" element. After his religious event in 1974, he wrote some real bangers - A Scanner Darkly, Valis, The Divine Invasion - alongside his religious exegesis. This feels a bit like an alternate timeline where PKD saw even more drugs as the way to chase this feeling, but somehow came out the other side.
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5. zabzonkFeb 2026
   > a lot like late Philip K Dick

   Except that (for e.g.) "Scanner Darkly" is tragic (it's always made me cry) and very funny.

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6. ndsipa_pomuApr 2025
   I'm a big fan of PKD and also Blade Runner. You've got a point about the film being so very different, but I think it's subsequent success (it wasn't that successful at the time) justifies the approach to the subject matter.

   However I do wish that Mercerism (the religion in the book) was included in the film. Maybe someone should attempt to film a more literal adaptation.

   Edit: thinking about the difference between the novel and the film makes me think of The Shining and I'm very much in the Kubrick camp - the film being a work of art by itself and so doesn't have to follow the source material.

   However, I also really like A Scanner Darkly which is arguably the closest PKD adaptation.

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