Another classic reissue, but this time for fiction fans, is Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly (Voyager, £5.99) Often marginalised by being categorised as a science fiction author, this is his dark account of drug addiction and dissolving personalities. Dick’s books have been turned into hit films (Blade Runner, Total Recall), and another writer is about to get the same treatment. William Gibsom, one of the fathers of cyberpunk, has turned his short and sharp story “Johnny Mnemonic” into a film script of the same name. His cyberhero, played by Keanu Reeves, carries data files – in this case stolen – downloaded into his brain, and is pursued for the files. Mayhem and gore splatter a dystopic future. You can also buy the book of the screenplay of the short story – by Terry Bisson. It’s published by HarperCollins (£4.99, ISBN 0 00 648046 2).
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