The Collected Short Stories (P. K. Dick)

1st volume: From the previously unpublished "Stability" (1947) to "Nanny" (1952), these are science-fiction stories, fantasies, unique gimmicks and oddities. "Roog" is a dog's-eye view of refuge collectors, "The Preserving Machine" a chill allegory on the nature of change, while the title story concerns a psychic Martian with a remarkable survival mechanism.

Inevitably some of the SF elements have dated, but it doesn't matter: Dick wasn't predicting the future, but shining a bright, sometimes mordant light on the baffling nature of reality. Dick, who said he wrote about "The shock of dysrecognition", was a true original, a writer who expanded to possibilities of fiction. This collection is essential reading for anyone who wants to stretch the horizons of their universe.

2nd volume: 27 stories from August 1952 to April 1953. In this extraordinarily creative period Dick produced a seemingly endless stream of breathtakingly audacious ideas, delving ever deeper into what would become major themes of his career: alienation and the nature of humanity. In "Second Variety" Hendricks and the Russian soldier Tasso fight a desperate battle for survival in a relentless future war against machine foes. The story is a taut, Cold-War-era ancestor of The Terminator. In 1976 Dick wrote "For me 'Human Is' is my credo". Lester is an emotionless workaholic devoted to making poisons for the military. When he returns from Rexor IV a literally changed man his wife faces a unique decision. The final story "Prominent Author" is an ingenious tale of instantaneous transport with strange repercussions in time.

3rd volume: The 23 stories here were written in 1953-4 and show one of science fiction's finest writers in prolific mastery of his craft. While Dick's deep concerns with perception, reality and the nature of humanity frequently recur he rarely fails to bring a fresh idea, a new perspective, a different twist to these very varied stories. Humour is never far away, reflecting his compassion for ordinary people battling often bizarre cosmic conundrums. "Upon the Dull Earth" glitters with dark poetry, a chilling fantasy about a woman who summon angels and changes the world. "The Golden Man", a compelling thriller about a mutant on the run, caused controversy on original publication, the implication that evolution will leave us behind provoking genuine anger. The title of one story, "A World of Talent", is an apt description of the brilliance Dick poured into these amazing stories.

4th volume: This volume covers a wide span, from late 1954 through to 1963, the years during which Dick began writing novels prolifically and his short story output lessened. The title story of this collection has been made into the Steven Spielberg-directed movie of the same name, while "The Days of Perky Pat" inspired one of Dick's greatest works, the novel The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch; The Penultimate Truth grew from "The Mold of Yancy".

5th volume: 25 stories written between 1963 and 1981, just a few months before he died, which include two stories which have been turned into films: the title story, filmed as "Total Recall", and "The Little Black Box", which grew into his masterpiece "Blade Runner".