As I said in my post about Neverwhere, this weekend I visited Florence for a second time. I read A Scanner Darkly, which I bought in Stockholm, on the train from Zürich.
In A Scanner Darkly, Dick takes a stab at the effects that drug abuse have on human's perception and, as it affects our ability to think clearly, our identity. I like how many of his works have strong connections with current social issues. This is true of many science fiction authors and novels: they are all about social issues. However, I still find Dick's way of approaching them head on special. It does feel that he is just writting about our current society, that science fiction is really just a means of talking about the processes that we're currently experiencing.
Maybe it's a bit too dark? Certainly the topic he's exploring is a dark one. In some parts I couldn't stop thinking about the contrast with The Fan Man, which is also all about drug abuse (though with a completely different intention).
I liked it. It's not my favorite book by Dick, but I'd recommend it.
DiscussionLast update: 2009-07-28 (Rev 15886)