A Scanner Darkly

This was my first PKD novel and I must say, I am very impressed. This book was written in the sixties, and takes place in the nineties. The main protagonist is an undercover narcotics agent who becomes dangerously addicted to a fictional drug called Substance D. Substance D is described as having similar effects to meth, opiatesand other hardcore drugs from that era but with a twist: long term side effects include a splitting of the hemispheres in the brain. This causes the user of the drug to have split-personality issues and severe brain damage.

Here's where things get really interesting: Robert Arctor, the undercover agent addicted to substance D, wears a costume that is designed to hide his identity by projecting thousands of different physical features at once. This is described perfectly in the book, and I think the subsequent film's art style matches the description pretty well. Arctor has been given the task of spying on himself, because his department does not know who he is. If that sounds confusing, I promise that the book does a deliberate job at obfuscating reality to the point where even the reader begins to feel a brain fog similar to the main protagonist.

I won't get into more detail as that would involve spoiling the book. However, I can tell you that this was a very personal novel for its author, who had many friends destroy their minds and bodies to addiction and drug-induced psychosis. The book is also a critique on the war on drugs, mass surveillance, and I suppose in a more subtle way, the American dream.

I give this book a solid 9/10 stars. This is because 10/10 is reserved only for my absolute favorites that have seroisly altered my life. That notwithstanding, I implore any fan of science fiction or the 60s drug scene to read it.