When I was much, much ... much younger, I discovered the works of Philip K. Dick -- and nothing has been quite the same since in my literary world since. Like most pre-teens and teens in the 80's, I was (and still am) an avid sci-fi fan, spending much of my youth getting lost in the worlds created by the Holy Sci-Fi Quaternity of Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov and, of course, PKD.
Now, this particular novelette has always been one of my favorites. How can you not like the story that was the basis for the movie Total Recall, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the height of his Hollywood career? That is, of course, assuming you are old enough to remember those times.
For those of you who are maybe just slightly younger than me, do yourself a favor: read this story. If you like it, try another PKD title such as "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" -- which was the inspiration for the classic sci-fi film Blade Runner (1982). Then keep going. PKD's works have been the inspiration for at least 12 movies, including other notables like Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, and The Adjustment Bureau. It's no coincidence that PKD's works are so beloved today.
It's only too bad that he didn't live long enough to realize just how famous his works would become.
