Blade Runner is loosely based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Some of the later editions are named as Blade Runner. I am not sure if that is a good idea. I know movie is popular. Depending on day it is my favorite or second favorite movie. But if you start reading/listening Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep with Blade Runner in mind you will get quite a surprise. In first chapter Deckard has wife. Both of them use mood altering technology. People have living animals they keep alive in post apocalyptic world they live in. Some don’t have money to get living animals so they get artificial animals instead. Deckard has electric sheep since his real sheep died. I have seen Blade Runner quite a few times but I can’t remember any of this.
It will get more familiar later. Not exactly like the movie but much closer to it. Four year lifespan is there but it is not driving the story like in the movie. Androids are not trying to expand it. Fight with Roy Batty is not as epic as in movie and Deckard is more competent. In movie he almost dies in every encounter. Rachel has much smaller role. Androids are actually mass-produced. Rachel and Pris are same model which is one plot point. Androids’ lack of empathy is shown more than only failing Voight-Kampff test.
In book androids are produced by Rosen Association who have some contact with escaped androids. Androids are more infiltrated to society probably thanks to Rosen Association’s help. Deckard meets another bounty hunter who used different android tests. In book blade runners are called bounty hunters and there is bounty for killed androids. Movie dropped two competing pseudo-religious shows. Other pseudo-religious show makes ending really weird as Deckard start to lose it. Deckard’s arrest around halfway point starts as weird before making almost no sense. Not going to spoil it but it goes to questioning what is real territory.
Blade Runner picked correct parts from the book. There wasn’t anything else from the book I wanted to have in movie. Maybe all changes weren’t necessary. I start to think how Blade Runner would have worked without love story with Rachel. While not without flaws Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was still engaging. I could have done without is this real moments because those didn’t make any sense when you started to think about them. Mood altering technology is there but it is not used anything else except part of dialog.