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    The Skull
    The Skull
    The Skull
    Ebook51 pages38 minutes

    The Skull

    By Philip K. Dick

    3.5/5

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateJun 1, 2007
    Author

    Philip K. Dick

    Over a writing career that spanned three decades, PHILIP K. DICK (1928–1982) published 36 science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned to deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly, as well as television's The Man in the High Castle. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, including the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and between 2007 and 2009, the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

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    Reviews for The Skull

    3.5/5

    66 ratings7 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Not one of Philip K. Dicks best stories but it keeps your attention and manages to seem fresh rather than old.
    • 5/5
      A nice, yet predictable, twist in this one. While it was predictable, I was still "forced" to keep reading to see just how things played out.

      Another enjoyable story from Philip K. Dick.
    • 3/5
      Poor Yurick, did I not know who thy was... is the question posed in this Novella. or Short Story.
    • 4/5
      Synopsis: Conger has been removed from jail to do a job. He is to murder someone; however, this person has been dead for hundreds of years. The man to be killed had ended war; this wasn't good for the future because it allowed an increase in population, along with an increase in social issues. He goes back in time, but can't seem to find who he's looking for; he realizes that he is The Founder.Review: Written in September 1952 for World of Science Fiction, this interesting story that harkens back to the 'clothes make the man' stories.
    • 3/5
      After releasing a murderer name Conger from prison, government agents steal the skeletal remains of the long-dead founder of a pacifist religion. Providing Conger with a time machine and the man's skull for identification, the agents order him to travel back two centuries and kill the enigmatic founder before he starts his pacifist movement.
    • 4/5
      I love a good short story and this is a really fine one by a great short story writer. I just love this quote from the story "Those who take lives will lose their own. Those who kill, will die. But he who gives his own life away will live again!"
    • 4/5
      The Skull is a short story with a simple premise, as told in the first few pages: send a convict back in time to assassinate the progenitor of a cult named the First Church. The story follows Conger, our convict, through time as he tracks down his target.The plot develops quickly without sacrificing pertinent details. Time travel is known for its mind-bending qualities, and this story is no exception, which uses those qualities to good effect.Recommended if you enjoy speculative fiction with a hint of paradoxes.

    Book preview

    The Skull - Philip K. Dick

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