Question: is rick deckard an android in the book

Answer: No, Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter who becomes a specialist plainclothes police officer with the San Francisco Police Department in the early 21st century, responsible for killing (euphemistically, ``retiring'') androids that escape from off-world colonies. In the film adaptation, he was/is with the Replicant Detection Division (i.e. Blade Runner unit) of the Los Angeles Police Department. In both novel and film versions, he begins the story as a selfish, self-involved cop who seemingly sees no value in android life. In the novel, his experiences cause him to develop empathy toward androids and all living things. It is implied in the film that he had already begun to undergo this change prior to the start of the film, causing his original resignation some time (around May 2019) before its opening.