A Scanner Darkly
by Philip K. Dick · first published 1977
43% recommend51% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Semi-autobiographical novel of drug-fueled mental breakdown, praised as a haunting, honest, darkly funny portrayal of addiction and a good entry point to Dick's weirder work, alongside Ubik and Androids.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
see https://openlibrary.org/works/OL2172516W/A_Scanner_Darkly
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…and are completely honest about them, but they are very few. It is very hard for a drug user to be honest about drugs. I would recommend Philip K Dick. If anyone wants to try hard drugs, please read "A scanner darkly", and then read a Philip K Dick biography to see that he knew what he was talking about.
on “Drugs and the Meaning of Life (2011)” ↗…actions. This is why people who take too many dopamine recreational drugs who get leaky dopaminE vesicles tend to easily believe any thought that occurs to them and do all kinds of psychotic things. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick had some great portrayals of what this looks like. Opioid are the pleasure chemicals and that's why exogenous opioids destroy people. There's nothing that an opioid high can't fix,…
on “Origins of the myth of dopamine as the ‘pleasure chemical’” ↗Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep is really good book. The movie is also nice, but it is almost independent masterpiece in itself. These dresses of Rachel, these rainy streets. Never mind. Btw, A Scanner Darkly is also good novel by Philip K. Dick, but it never appear in any such ratings. It is almost that dark and depressive as Electric Sheep. ^_^ http://www.amazon.com/Scanner-Darkly-Philip-K-Dick/dp/067973...…
on “The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit)” ↗Consider the lobster - David f. Wallace (good) Brief Interview with Hideous Men - David f Wallace (better) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep -Philip K. Dick (better than I expected) A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick (even better) The Goal, It's Not Luck, Critical Chain - Goldratt (OK, easy read) The Phoenix Project - (bad prose, not inspired) Grimus - Rushdie - (Amazing) Autobiography of Mark…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗…Dubliner, Ulysses & Finnegans Wake. Cervantes' Don Quixote. Borges. Dashiell Hammet. William Burroughs. Bukowski. Faulkner. Jim Thompson. Stewart O'Nan. Nabakov. Philip K Dick's more schizophrenic works ( Scanner Darkly, Do Andriods Dream of Electric Sheep, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale ). Henry Miller. Gogol. Mary Karr's The Liars' Club. Flannery O'Connor. Denis Johnson. Hunter S. Thompson. Italo Calvino. T Coraghessan…
on “Do Hackers read *other* books?” ↗…and are completely honest about them, but they are very few. It is very hard for a drug user to be honest about drugs. I would recommend Philip K Dick. If anyone wants to try hard drugs, please read "A scanner darkly", and then read a Philip K Dick biography to see that he knew what he was talking about. PKD and his friends were indeed into all sorts of things, and got into all sorts of trouble. His main complaint…
on “Drugs and the Meaning of Life (2011)” ↗A Scanner Darkly - Philip K Dick Neuromancer - William Gibson Expanded Universe - Robert A. Heinlein
on “Ask HN: Sci-Fi novels?” ↗…dystopian cyberpunk universes, but I want that to be the starting point, not the ending point. (Conversely, by way of making a positive contrast with something in a similar genre that , I really enjoyed A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick). To be totally clear, I think Neuromancer is probably a thoroughly enjoyable read and I'd recommend it to someone looking for what it is without hesitation. It's just pretty easy to…
on “Goodreads Is Broken” ↗…#1. 1. Adventures of Huckelberry Finn 2. Little, Big 3. Winter's Tale 4. Titus Groan 5. Gormenghast 6. Titus Alone 7. Dune 8. The manuscript found in saragossa 9. The Three Musketeers 10. A Scanner Darkly 11. The Man in the High Castle 12. Do Androids dream of Electronic Sheep 13. Ubik 14. Valis, basically almost every book by Phil Dick. 15. Life on the Mississippi. 16. The Garden of Forking Paths…
on “Ask HN: What is your favorite fiction book?” ↗…I wouldn't call myself a religious person, but classical music is for me the closest thing to a spiritual experience. That tends to be helpful in the depths of despair. Also, Philip K. Dick's book "A Scanner Darkly" made me reflect on my drug use and helped me to confront who I was and how I was with other people when I was using, which helped kick it (though I'm still kind of an alcoholic).
on “What has kept you going during a personal crisis?” ↗It's a bit of a spoiler but you may like the film "The Accountant" starring Ben Affleck. Also the Book "A Scanner Darkly" by Philip K Dick which (no spoiler) explores the consequences of deep undercover.
on “Former NSA Employee Arrested on Espionage-Related Charges” ↗…(Asimov) Stainless Steel Rat series (Harrison - a bit juvenile, but fun) Dune (Herbert) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Heinlein) Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein) Starship Troopers (Heinlein) A Scanner Darkly (Dick) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Dick) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Adams) Childhood's End (Clarke) Robot series (Asimov) Bicentennial Man (Asimov) Brave New World (Huxley)
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite sci-fi books?” ↗…interesting book, https://www.amazon.com/Leonardo-Vinci-Walter-Isaacson/dp/150... - one to my collegue, one to my former colleague. A stunningly beautiful edition of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? & A Scanner Darkly" by Philip K. Dick http://www.foliosociety.com/book/PKD/scanner-androids - to a friend of mine, a big PKD fun. I love giving great books as a gift :)
on “Ask HN: What books have you given as a present in 2017?” ↗"A Scanner Darkly" by Philip K. Dick (there is also a nice movie after the book, with the same title)
on “Ask HN: What are some deep, mentality changing books?” ↗Evidently someone read Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly and thought it contained some good ideas for a business, rather than a dire warning of a ghastly dystopia
on “They thought they were going to rehab but ended up in chicken plants (2017)” ↗