Philip Kindred Dick, often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer and novelist. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. His fiction explored varied philosophical and social questions such as the nature of reality, perception, human nature, and identity, and commonly featured characters struggling against elements such as alternate realities, illusory environments, monopolistic corporations, drug abuse, authoritarian governments, and altered states of consciousness. He is considered one of the most important figures in 20th century science fiction.
Philip K. Dick (c. 1953, age 24)
Dick's novelette "The Defenders" was the cover story for the January 1953 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction, illustrated by Ed Emshwiller.
Dick's short story "The World She Wanted" took the cover of the May 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly.
Dick's novel The Cosmic Puppets originally appeared in the December 1956 issue of Satellite Science Fiction as "A Glass of Darkness".
Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers.
The alien invasion featured in H. G. Wells' 1897 novel The War of the Worlds, as illustrated by Henrique Alvim Corrêa
Space exploration, as predicted in August 1958 by the science fiction magazine Imagination
H. G. Wells
Somnium by Johannes Kepler