Book Review: Counterfeit Worlds: The Cinematic Universes of Philip K. Dick by Brian J. Robb

 

Counterfeit Worlds: The Cinematic Universes of Philip K. Dick by Brian J. Robb

288 pages, Paperback

Polaris Books Expected publication October 3, 2023

As the co-host of the Dickheads podcast and the author of my own forthcoming book that will be added to the massive canon of Philip K Dick studies I can't read this book like any civilian. I held off getting the 2006 edition of this book knowing that Brian J. Robb was working on a new updated edition.  

I admit this book was not a high priority in my PKD studies, because the films based on his work have recently felt less important to me. The reality is that the movies play a role in his popularity but they often take his ideas and go in action movie or paranoid thriller directions. There is a reason long-time Dickheads who have been with Phil and his books since he was alive roll their eyes at the movies.

All that said we would not have Phil Dick the 21st-century pre-cog, a prophet with libraries of books if not the tortured path through Hollywood development hell that twisted his ideas into blockbusters, cult movies, and TV  shows. Brian Robb is the perfect researcher and writer for this project as he has written books on the production and history of Doctor Who, Star Wars and the films of Wes Craven (I want the DW and Wes Craven ones yesterday)

As someone who has spent the last five years researching Phil I was ready to nitpick the facts, but the book is really well-researched and there was only one super deep cut related to my corner of research that I found inaccurate. I really liked that Robb went into the shitty sequels of Screamers, the TV shows of total recall and Minority Report.   One of the things that makes this book awesome is that Robb leaves no stone unturned when it comes to PKD adaptations including those B-movies and TV shows, Radio dramas etc.

The parts of the book on Blade Runner through A Scanner Darkly were from the 2006 edition and were VERY detailed. The stuff in the new edition is GREAT and well researched but Robb didn't do as many interviews for the new material. Maybe he did and that is my perception. The material out there on Total Recall and Blade Runner is vast, and the information on the newer shows like Man in the High Castle is not nearly as intense, so that is kind of natural.

I think the most important thing I can assure Dickheads of is the fact that Robb is one of us. He clearly understands the themes and concerns of Phil's novels. He understands Phil's life and greater work that has not become films. A book like this COULD be frustrating if it only focused on or understood the movies. Nope,  Brian Rob is clearly a reader of PKD. He understands him and his biographical history.

Counterfeit Worlds in 2023 edition is a Must have for any serious Philip K. Dick researcher if you want to understand how his work went through the Hollywood grind, and that is important to Phil's afterlife 21st-century literary resurrection.  Keep your eyes peeled for A Brian Robb appearance on the Dickheads podcast.