Deal Me In Challenge: Explorers We by Philip K. Dick (1959)

Card Drawn:

"We're back! We're back!"

There really isn't a whole lot to say about this one other than it is your typical run-of-the-mill space travel short-story that one expects to find published in science-fiction pulp magazines of the mid 1950's to the late 1960's--entertaining enough for what it sets out to accomplish but similar to other pulp fiction from this era, fairly disposable. This is not a slight against Explorers We by Philip K. Dick or 'the pulps' in general, which is not often taken seriously as a distinguished literary art form. These stories appeal to a mass audience; they are concerned with adventure and excitement as opposed to edifying the reader with profound insights or imparting scientific knowledge. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Any literary work should be able to stand on its own merits, regardless of genre.

Philip K. Dick was a very prolific writer and his influence on the science-fiction genre cannot be overstated. He still remains one of my favorite writers and is usually quite reliable whenever I need my fix for science-fiction. I chose Explorers We at random from Volume 4 of his Collected Stories and while the story was enjoyable enough for the most part, it did not leave any lasting impression and will quickly fade from memory. Recently, I have been reading the excellent Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury that was released almost 10 years prior and deals with similar subject matter of space-travel to Mars. There is no doubt in my mind that Philip K. Dick's story is influenced by Bradbury's work but he falls short of successfully paying homage to one of the landmarks in the genre. The premise feels very Bradburyesque and would fit right in with the Martian Chronicles: a group of astronauts crash back to Earth after their mission to Mars only to discover that they are not celebrated as heroes by the local townspeople. They cannot understand why everyone runs away from them in horror until they are confronted by the FBI...

Again, the overall narrative provides just enough intrigue to be entertaining but there is not much else to reflect upon once it is all said and done. Philip K. Dick has written countless better short-stories that are far more provocative and compelling.