Philip K. Dick was a prolific writer whose books were almost always skewed critiques of the present world, yet they presented with enough of a freaky sci-fi high concept that they could be enjoyed devoid of their social messaging. So it makes sense that different cultures would have different takes not just on the tone of Dick’s books but also on how to sell them to the masses. Now interested readers can look at more than 600 different covers from worldwide reprintings of the author’s novels.
An Internet Wayback Machine archive of an official Philip K. Dick website is the portal to a staggering number of different cover designs from Dick’s oeuvre, including 29 different versions of Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? alone. The art provides a varied insight into the interpretation and marketing of the books. Dick often saw himself as simply a paperback writer of sci-fi stories (aside from the late stage of his career, when he had his religious awakening with books like Valis), so it makes sense that some of these covers reflect that pulpy nature. Others attempt an artier, more abstract approach to the work. All 600-plus covers can be found on the Internet archive page, and below are a few highlights: