Philip K. Dick (PKD to fans) is one of the twentieth century’s greatest science fiction writers, writing more than 40 novels and 120 stories, not to mention a deeply personal work of philosophy in his final years. Since his death in 1982, several previously unpublished novels have been published for the first time, reflecting the continued demand for his books.

Nonetheless, PKD is a name that is rarely heard in popular discourse. This is more ironic given that his books and stories have inspired many popular adaptations, including most famously Blade Runner and Minority Report but also including Next (starring Nicholas Cage, Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel) and Paycheck (starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman).

The influence of Dick’s work on popular film has resulted in the publishing of new editions of his work, with his works relatively easy to find in a well-stocked bookshop science fiction section. While this has helped PKD fanatics to collect his lesser-known works, it has also made it more difficult for newcomers to Dick’s work to find a good introduction to it.

This is because PKD’s novels are extremely idiosyncratic - a troubled vision of an often mediocre future filled with disappointed and weary characters subjects to the world-changing effects of time-travel, telepathy or robots in human disguise (often all three at once!). These retro-futuristic landscapes can be fairly disorienting for the first-time PKD reader.

PKD wrote many of his early novels under the influence of speed, writing several books a year (he published five in 1963 and six in 1964!) to pay the rent. PKD himself referred to some of his books as ‘pot-boilers’, works created mainly to keep the money coming in! This is why it’s important to choose a book which reflects the best of his work so as not to be discouraged.

The following list is a suggestion for what books to read first if you are new to PKD:

1. Now Wait For Last Year: First, a disclaimer. This is the first PKD book I read so I am a little biased on this one! Still it is a great novel featuring a time-travel inducing drug, alien occupation and an enigmatic global dictator. For both these reasons I highly recommend this as a great introduction to Dick’s commanding genius.

2. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: This fantastic novel was the inspiration for the movie ‘Blade Runner.’ While this book features significant differences from the film there is a reason that Ridley Scott chose this book as the basis for his masterpiece. This novel explores what it means to be human and what distinguishes us from machines, all in Dick’s characteristic style.

3. Time Out of Joint: A great book following the fortunes of Ragle Gumm as his world begins to unravel around him. The book deals with themes of reality and perception and contains similar themes to the 1998 Jim Carrey film, ‘The Truman Show.’

4. The Man in the High Castle: This award-winning novel explores an alternate timeline where the Nazis won WW2. The USA is now divided by the Japanese who control the West Coast and the Nazis who control the East Coast, with a small collaborationist US puppet regime in the Midwest. Within this horrific scenario the book explores the concepts of true and false realities.

5. Eye in the Sky: This novel, first published in 1955 follows eight individuals as they are stuck in a series of shifting realities following a scientific experiment gone wrong. This setup gives PKD free reign to explore the idea that reality is mainly a creation of individual perception.

Once you are used to the way in which PKD writes and his key themes, I’m sure you’ll want to check out his most famous and widely-celebrated works (and there are many!). However, the above is a good selection of accessible and well-written works perfect for the newcomer to the wonderful and weird world of PKD.