American short story writer novelist and essayist Dick has been hailed as one of the most original and thoughtprovoking writers of science fiction He is regarded as one of the most prolific writers of the form during the midtwentieth century Since his death Dicks work has been the subject of numerous critical studies and cinematic adaptations Critics praise his short stories as innovative and provocative contending that Dicks fiction cleverly explores scientific social and metaphysical issues of concern to postWorld War II America