This five-volume set is a truly colossal compendium of 97 stories, long and short, running to nearly 900,000 words. The stories are arranged chronologically according to the date of writing, from the unpublished "Stability" ("1947 or earlier") to "The Alien Mind" (1981), though Dick's output dwindled to a mere handful after the mid 1960's, and in many cases include notes by the author. Dick's main themes, tackled with zest, ironically and idiosyncratically styled, never fail to challenge the reader: messianism, existentialism, identity confusion, different levels of reality, and reality control. Curiously, Dick (1928-82), who also produced a whopping 37 novels, has long been highly rated by European critics, while being neglected here; but that is changing. In any event, this would be a useful acquisition for any serious sf library or collection.
