The Adjustment Bureau is a major motion picture based on Philip K. Dick's classic paranoid story, "The Adjustment Team." This is the short story, "The Adjustment Team," which asks the question—Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us?
Ed Fletcher is a real estate agent with a normal life, until one day he leaves the house for work a few minutes later than he should have. He arrives at a terrifying, grey, ash world. Ed rushes home and tells his wife, Ruth, who goes back to the office with him. When they return, everything is normal. But he soon realizes people and objects have subtly changed. Panic-stricken, he runs to a public phone to warn the police, only to have the phone booth ascend heavenward with Fletcher inside.…
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"This is the second of five volumes of the complete short stories of Philip K. Dick. His writing has clearly matured, and many of the stories here touch on the familiar PKD themes of what it means to be human, and is the reality we perceive actually real at all? Cosmic, man!"
— Rob (4 out of 5 stars)
" This was a great find!! Everytime a movie comes out that was from I book I HAVE to read the book before I see the movie. I saw this for free on Kindle and picked it up. It was original and engrossing. I love the 50's mystery genre and this did not disappoint. "
— Leslie, 1/23/2014" The movie (renamed "The adjustment bureau") was far far better. "
— Nate, 1/11/2014" Interesting idea rolled into a short story. "
— mookie, 12/13/2013" This was a cute short story. I think the reason that it didn't get a higher rating is because there really was no ending. Still, it was a nice change of pace. "
— Cindysnitily, 11/16/2013" It's hard to rate this one - because I've just seen the movie and am still under the influence of it - to be objective, but the whole idea of the adjustment team is very close to my liking. "
— Sofia, 11/2/2013" Reading it after watching move Adjustment Bureau makes it truly short, but still holds a thrilling theme and story. "
— Garrett, 11/1/2013" Short interesting story. "
— Cynthia, 10/12/2013" Really intriguing premise. Well-fleshed out, especially for how short a story this short story is. "
— Kate, 10/6/2013" Great concept, thought-provoking. Not a lot happened. Would have been fabulous as a full-length book. "
— Jessica, 10/5/2013" Quite typical for Dick, I'd say. "
— Jezier, 10/2/2013" alright; very short. ending left a bit to be desired. "
— Zep, 7/29/2013" I read this story because I just saw the new movie based on it, and I quite liked it. I've always been impressed with PKD's stories, because they're brilliant, but in a very short and punchy way. "
— Steven, 6/6/2013" Very interesting! I just LOVE short stories and I haven't read any in quite some time. I am not much for science fiction, but I found this story to be very palatable. "
— Bernie, 4/5/2013" After watching The Adjustment Bureau I picked the short story it was based on up from Amazon for 99 cents. I was intrigued by how a short story could be woven into such an intricate movie plot. "
— Terri, 1/10/2013" You know, the most compelling thing about this was how rich a world the people who did The Adjustment Bureau were able to create from thin material. Liked the ending on this. Classic Dick. "
— SA, 11/11/2012" People seem to expect that this short story will be identical to the Matt Damon/Emily Blunt movie. Only the theme is the same - and that's fine. Take it for what it is and enjoy the inimitable writing style of Philip Dick. A quick and satisfying read! "
— Sandra, 9/5/2012" Eh. This was just kind of strange. And I actually didn't really care for Phil Gigante's audio version. I normally enjoy his stuff, but this short story just didn't do it for me. "
— Mickey, 7/21/2012" Went through this one after I saw The Adjustment Bureau. Obviously the movie is loosely based on this short story but I liked the way they took the ideas as basis and worked on the movie script from there. The story itself is worth checking out but it isn't something Dick will be remembered by. "
— Joro, 4/17/2012" I read this in preparation for the film. I found it fun, and a little weird. I still left wanting a little bit more though. "
— Danny, 3/31/2012" The inspiration for "The Adjustment Bureau". Short story "
— Barbara, 11/27/2011" First line is "It was a bright morning" and badly misogynistic (so bad it's not funny). Firmly of its time. Blessedly short. "
— Emma, 11/6/2011" I decided to read the story after seeing the movie (which I really liked) to see how much difference there is between the two. In many ways I found the story less satisfying than the movie but It was interesting to see where the kernel of the idea for the movie came from "
— Perri, 7/8/2011" The basic premise is that our world is constantly being manipulated by mysterious entities in the sky. Very well written. Quite a ride all the way up until the end, at which point it was a bit anti-climactic. That's why four stars instead of five. It's definitely worth taking a half-hour to read. "
— Adi, 4/9/2011Philip K. Dick (1928–1982) published thirty-six science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned toward deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2007 the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.
Phil Gigante has narrated more than two hundred audiobooks, earning ten AudioFile Earphones Awards and three of the prestigious Audie Awards for best narration. An actor, director, and producer with over twenty years of experience in theater, film, television, and radio, he is currently the artistic director of Gigantic Productions and Little Giant Children’s Theatre.