October 1, 2025 by A.S. Van Dorston

Favorite book #8. PKD’s most influential SF novel inspires a rapidly growing franchise.

Blade Runner (1982) is my favorite SF movie of all time, one that was so great, it had William Gibson crippled in self-doubt, delaying the publication of his debut novel Neuromancer by two years because he had to rewrite most of it so it didn’t come off as a pale imitation of Blade Runner, and in turn, PKD’s original book, published 14 years previously. 14 years sounds like nothing nowadays, but it was an eternity back then, with the hyper-capitalist machine accelerating cultural change and technology to a disorientating climax in the 80s. The movie is a relatively loose adaptation of the book, which in it’s own right, is just as brilliant, but for quite different reasons. Rather than the noir atmospherics and Harrison Ford’s gritty performance, the book is more philosophical, with more dry humor and social satire. For example, the ability to afford and keep rare live animals (like Deckard wanting a sheep) as a status symbol is an absurd commentary on consumerism. In the sparsely populated post-World War Terminus, most people have emigrated to Mars, and the conflict between technology-driven mood organs and a religion called Mercerism centered around empathy. While the movie fine-tunes some thing for the better, using the sexier term replicants over androids, a more romanticized plot over PKD’s cynicism, they remain two completely different works, yet both one of the best of the genre.

“You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation; this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.”

In 2009, Tony Parker illustrated Dick’s novel, keeping it true to the original word for word, turning it into an epic graphic novel that enhances the experience of arguably PKD’s best work even more. It was just the beginning of an expanded franchise as younger audiences were drawn into the Blade Runner universe, with K.W. Jeter writing a trilogy of sequels, Mike Johnson, Kianna Shore and Nancy Collins writing multiple comic series, Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 (2017), animated shorts and an TV show Black Lotus 2029 on Adult Swim. Prime announced a new series, Blade Runner 2099 for 2026.

Blade Runner Timeline

Mike Johnson – Blade Runner Origins (2009) comic
Kianna Shore – Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus (2015) comic
Blade Runner (2019) 1982 movie, Ridley Scott
Mike Johnson – Blade Runner 2019 comic
K.W. Jeter – Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human (2020) 1995 novel
K.W. Jeter – Blade Runner 3: Replicant Night (2021) 1996 novel
Philip K. Dick – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (2021) 1968 novel
Blackout 2022 (short)
K.W. Jeter – Blade Runner 4: Eye and Talon (2023) 1997 novel
Mike Johnson – Blade Runner 2029 comic
Black Lotus 2029 (S01 Adult Swim)
Nancy Collins – Blade Runner Black Lotus: Los Angeles (2032) comic
Soldier 2036 (1998, Kurt Russell)
2036 Nexus Dawn (short)
Mike Johnson – Blade Runner 2039 comic
2048 Nowhere to Run (short)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017 Denis Villeneuve movie)
Nancy Collins – Blade Runner Black Lotus: Las Vegas (2049) comic — coming late 2025
Blade Runner 2099: Prime, coming 2026