If there is such thing as a holy day for science fiction fans, Philip K. Dick’s birthday is it. Born 85 years ago today in 1928, the author (who died in 1982) has attracted the sort of diehard followers who consider him a prophet, predicting and problematizing the future in stories whose common threads include totalitarian governments, religion, and — maybe most famously — robots.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? continues to be Dick’s most famous work, due in large part to the book’s major influence on Ridley Scott’s classic film Blade Runner. The novel has been republished numerous times since its debut in 1968, meaning the cover has been reinterpreted by designers to reflect their own ideas and the changing times.
While the colors and images may vary, the artists who have been charged with designing covers for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Dick’s other books, have created some of the most striking book art that literature has ever seen. Here are some highlights.
Solar Lottery
The Man in the High Castle
Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb
The Crack in Space
A Scanner Darkly
Eye in the Sky
The Simulacra
Ubik
Galactic Pot-Healer
Vulcan’s Hammer
The Man in the High Castle
The World Jones Made
The Zap Gun
A Maze of Death