Tony and the Beetles

Tony and the Beetles is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick, first published in 1953.

Tony and the Beetles takes place far in the future when Earth's enormous colonial empire is well established but the question is, how long can it last?

Tony Rossi lives with his father Joseph Rossi and mother Leah Rossi in the Sun of Betelguese. Meanwhile at Orion, the earthlings are waging a fierce battle for power with the beetle fleet. When the tide of hostilities turn against the colonisers from earth, Toni's world begins taking a turn for the worse.

Tony and the Beetles was first published in Orbit volume 1 number 2, 1953.

Total Running Time (TRT): 34 min.

Philip Kendrick Dick (1928-1982) was an American science fiction author. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states.

In addition to 44 published novels, Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime.

Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, ten popular films based on his works have been produced, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, and The Adjustment Bureau.

In 2005, Time magazine named Dick one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.