A Scanner Darkly
“The most dangerous kind of person...is one who is afraid of his own shadow.”
Substance D isn't known as Death for nothing. The most toxic drug to ever find its way on to the streets of Los Angeles destroys the links between the brain's two hemispheres, causing, first, disorientation and then complete and irreversible brain damage.
Undercover narcotics agent, Fred, (or is it Bob Arctor?) has been tasked to discover the ultimate source of the Substance D supply. But to find any kind of lead he has to pose as a user and, inevitably, without realizing that it has happened, Arctor is soon as addicted as the junkies he has been investigating.
British Science Fiction Association Award for Novel (1979),
John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (1978), Graoully d'Or for Roman étranger (1979), Tähtivaeltaja Award (1991)
The OC Weekly wrote about Philip K. Dick's writing of A Scanner Darkly when Richard Linklater's film adaptation of the book premiered in 2006:
"Truly, Madly, Darkly: Richard Linklater's Scanner is a Rotoscoped Feast for Freaks, 2006
