This was the basis for the film Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford. The novel not only stands alone, but only the bare bones, the starting ideas, were used by the filmmakers to create a new story.
In 2021, World War Terminus has decimated the planet, filling it with toxic air. The residents who could pass screening have left for Mars colonies, where they are provided with realistic android replicants to tend to their needs. It turns out it is not the fantasy most had thought of, and there is a healthy black market for pre-colonial fiction - speculative science fiction that portrays the fantasy wonderland of space exploration.
No human androids are allowed on earth, but since the war there was a demand for any living creature, indeed a societal duty to tend and keep animals. This is costly, and if you cannot afford the real thing, incredibly realistic electric animals can be bought and no one will know the difference - except yourself.
Fearful of the havoc replicants could cause they were banned from Earth. Rick Deckard is an officially sanctioned bounty hunter hired to track down and 'retire' suspected androids. They become dangerous as they lack empathy, even towards each other. They aren't unaware they are androids, and when they are discovered either fight back violently, or simply accept they must be retired. There is a new model available with a Nexus-6 brain unit, and they are getting closer to passing the Voight-Kampff empathy test used to distinguish between humans and androids. Rick travels to the manufacturer to learn more about them and meets Rachael, the owner's daughter.
Meanwhile, 5 Nexus-6 androids (including Roy Baty and Pris) have escaped Mars and are hiding out in an abandoned apartment building. During Rick's search for them, he uncovers the disturbing fact there are many more replicants hiding in plain sight.
While this sounds quite like Blade Runner in many ways, there is less action and much more emphasis on what it means to be human, and what it means to know you are an android. There are many societal pressures without the money to ease them. Many people spend their time watching the innocuous Buster Friendly and his Friendly Friends, or dialling into a new mood with a Penfield artificial brain stimulator. Much time is spent by Rick on a plan to upgrade from a sheep to a goat, and how they could afford such an idea.
I found Do Androids thought provoking as it presented a far richer future landscape. Like reading 2001: A Space Odyssey, I was impressed by the vision Philip K. Dick. It was published in 1968, and even today it's a masterpiece ahead of its time.
A thoroughly enjoyable classic of science fiction.
1968 / Tradeback / 244 pages
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