“Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human,” by K. W. Jeter

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 8
          2. Prose 7
          3. Plot 7
          4. Characters 8
          5. Overall 8

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Written as a sequel to “Blade Runner,” the movie, in turn based on the book “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick, this one really is, oddly, more a sequel of the movie than the book.  One could make the case that the movie is more influential than the book, if not as esthetically brilliant.  The movie has achieved what might be termed “cult status,” along the lines of Pink Floyd’s music album, “The Dark Side of the Moon.”  In the “About the Author” paragraph on the last page of this book, it says, “The Edge of Human resolves many discrepancies between the movie Blade Runner and the novel…”  Maybe so.  It has been a long time since I read the book, but I do remember that it emphasized the existential ennui that would occur in a culture that had killed off almost all species of animals, replacing them with mechanical replicas, much more so than the movie did.  In fact, I felt that was the main underlying premise of the book – hence, the odd title.  There is one scene in the book that depicts the android Pris finding an actual living spider and – criminally – picking the legs off of it one by one.  The movie on the other hand made much more of the characters and the events taking place in their lives; and so does this book.  This book is plotted so tightly that it feels as if each scene is an extension of the introduction – we are kept in suspense as to the nature of the Premise, as are most of the main characters, that we don’t really get a grasp of just what the Premise is until near the end.  This may be considered a smart novelty by some; I found it rather unsettling.  The Prose was possibly an attempt to imitate the prose style of Philip K. Dick.  I’m not familiar enough with Jeter’s work to make comparisons, but if that was the intention, it was ill-advised.  Dick’s prose has a beautifully deceptive simplicity to it that would be almost impossible to mimic.  Deckard, the protagonist, seems like an attempt to capture the superb screen presence of Harrison Ford.  It comes across as overly surly and mopey; even boring.  The other characters are portrayed much better, especially Roy Batty, who displays the brilliantly manic personality displayed by Rutger Hauer in the movie; perhaps a precursor to Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker.  I would recommend this book only to those already familiar with the movie and, perhaps, the original novel, largely based on the futuristic atmosphere, which is quite tastefully rendered.