Review of The Adjustment Bureau by Philip K. Dick

SFFaudio Review

BRILLIANCE AUDIO - The Adjustment Bureau by Philip K. DickThe Adjustment Bureau (aka Adjustment Team)
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Phil Gigante
1 CD – Approx. 1 Hour [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: March 4, 2011
ISBN: 9781441894694
Sample |MP3|
Themes: / Science Fiction / Horror / Freezing Time / Adventure /

The Adjustment Bureau is a major motion picture based on Philip K. Dick’s classic paranoid story, The Adjustment Team. This is the short story, The Adjustment Team, which asks the question – Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? Ed Fletcher is a real estate agent with a normal life, until one day he leaves the house for work a few minutes later than he should have. He arrives at a terrifying, grey, ash world. Ed rushes home and tells his wife, Ruth, who goes back to the office with him. When they return, everything is normal. But he soon realizes people and objects have subtly changed. Panic-stricken, he runs to a public phone to warn the police, only to have the phone booth ascend heavenward with Fletcher inside…

The short story Adjustment Team, was written by Philip K. Dick in 1953 and published in 1954. This story makes us re-consider why any chain of events happens. Is it we who construct our destinies or is there an agency that controls us? Dick, as illustrated in the story, suggests that beings of high mentality control the world. Also, there is a group of men who control time and make sure everything is working as they intend. They are called “The Adjustment Team.”

The main character in the story is Ed. He is a business man working for the Douglas and Blake Company. One day, a clerk from “The Adjustment Team,” was supposed to interrupt Ed’s chain of events – to make him arrive at his work before the team starts controlling that area called “Sector T310.” However, the clerk fails and makes a timing mistake. This eventually leads Ed to arrive at his company on time, and he sees “The Adjustment Team.” And, for the first time in his life Ed sees something that people shouldn’t ever see.

Phil Gigante narrated this short story with a strong voice, making the book more interesting than I had expected. His accent is American, with a low tone. At least a couple of short stories, by Dick, contain dogs that talk. A talking dog can be found in this story as well. In fact, Gigante narrated it as as a lazy hound. I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who loves Dick.

Posted by Jay