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Summary: The Matrix and the Return of the Living Dead
Review: Millions of humans on this planet are right now eagerly waiting for the premiere of the second installment in the Wachowsky brothers' pop stew of Hong Kong fight movies, Berkeley idealism, techno-trance music, gadgetry culture and Adams Family attire -- known as "The Matrix". Decades ago, a tormented American author was already exploring idealism through science fiction; and you know who I am talking about. It seems the central problem in PK Dick's literature is the definition of a character's identity when he discovers himself a dweller of a false (or, as we would say nowadays, "virtual") reality. "Ubik" is no exception and here you will find a very interesting blend of the Matrix and more saturnine themes, such as life after death, solitude and the ubiquity of commercial interest in modern society (my personal take at the book's title).Unfortunately, Dick spends much less energy in character development than in the exploration of his main mystical insights. So don't expect Dostoievsky, but Wachowsky: entertaining pulp fiction written by a born (gnostic?) philosopher. If you liked the first Matrix movie, try PK Dick's novels for a more serious literary survey of the same themes. And when you are finally ready for the real thing, go for Bishop Berkeley and Ramana Maharshi.
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Summary: Another Great PKD Novel
Review: After reading "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said" and being blown away by it, I decided to give Philip K. Dick another try. Could he have written another novel as impressive, I wondered? In short, yes. "Ubik" is thoroughly engaging, and even though it shares an underlying theme with "Flow My Tears" (i.e. shifting reality), the author manages to explore that theme in a totally different way. Granted, I did not find the characters to be as deep or compelling, and there was a brief slow spot in the middle of the story, but for the most part I was glued to this book as firmly as I was to "Tears". In addition, the tone of this story was somewhat lighter, with a lead character who has trouble managing his finances in a world where everything is coin operated, and this may appeal to some more than the dark and gritty style of "Tears". I would definitely recommend this - it's a great read!
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Summary: Time Unstuck Beyond the Grave
Review: From about the mid-60's to mid-70's PKD was really in his element, delivering his greatest novels of bizarre mind-expanding futures. While some of his earlier and later works are bogged down by preachiness or a lack of focus, *Ubik* is one of PKD's sure classics, along with *A Scanner Darkly* and others from around the same time. Here we have a world in which psychic and anti-psychic people battle for supremacy in a cutthroat corporate environment, and this battle extends to the world of death as well. Characters try to determine if they're alive or dead while time collapses around them. Holding everything together in its own weird way is a strange product called Ubik, which is clearly PKD's commentary on brand name products and saturation marketing. The uncommon term "entropic fiction" applies to this novel and a few other of its ilk by a variety of writers, in which time and society degenerate into disorder - but not necessarily chaos, just a different state of reality. Like the best of PKD's mindbending works, just read this and then spend some time removing the entropy from your thoughts.
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Summary: Metaphysics and commercialism in a convenient aerosol spray
Review: As much a mystery-style thriller as science-fiction novel, "Ubik" projects a future (1992, but no matter) in which telepathic citizens, or "psis," are hired to invade privacy and spy on businesses, while "inertials" are employed to neutralize these insidious forces. In this new world, technological advances maintain recently departed citizens in "half life," a temporary state of suspended animation, and commercial moratoriums provide access to loved ones until they eventually pass on to their next full life. Glen Runciter is co-owner, with his half-dead (or half-alive) wife, of the leading anti-psi firm. He and his assistant, Joe Chip, find themselves challenged by new, even more sinister forces they don't quite understand. Some of the members of their firm seem to have died in an act of sabotage, but which ones? Who's responsible? What is Ubik, the aerosol spray that claims to do everything (when used as directed)? And why is time regressing to 1939? Every clue seems to be a red herring, and the "truth" isn't revealed until the very end--or is it? As others have noted, Dick's writing is characteristically featureless (a minimalist, almost pulp-fiction style), but the intricacies of the page-turning plot more than compensate for the pedestrianism. Published in 1969, "Ubik" still entertains while it scrutinizes (and lampoons) both crass commercialism and metaphysics. On the one hand, the omnipresence of advertising and pay-per-use dispensers is dead-on satire in a century where we've become seemingly immune to paying a couple of bucks for a bottle of water with a fancy label on it. (Perpetually in debt, Joe Chip has to pay every time he opens his refrigerator, uses the shower, and enters--or leaves--his apartment, which leads to some pretty hilarious dilemmas.) On the other hand, how seriously you take the "philosophy" presented in this book might depend on your beliefs in the afterlife and/or reincarnation (not for nothing does Dick refer twice to the "Tibetan Book of the Dead"). But even if such metaphysical concepts aren't your thing, you can still sit back and enjoy the ride.
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Summary: Loved it even though I didn't "get" the ending at all!
Review: I hate to admit this but after finishing Ubik I have no idea what point Philip K. Dick was making with the conclusion of this story. (Though I've since then learned that he himself considered it one of his most important works.) Ubik contains many very interesting developments and some tangents you know no one but Philip K. Dick would explore. My favorites include the idea that death can be defeated entirely and society may someday spin the pay-per-view mentality ridiculously out of control. Written in 1969, Ubik is just another example of Mr. Dick's advanced insight. There is suspense right up until the end, and the hope of finally understanding "what's really going on" is tantalizing; if only I understood the ending this would be one of my favorites. As always, reading any Philip K. Dick novel is truly an eye-opening and unique experience. If you like them hilarious and bizarre, you'll enjoy reading Ubik much more than once.
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Summary: Pleasurable excursion of the mind
Review: I think I have to say that the only people who can truly read a P.K.D. book from start to finish without becoming disheartened are people who enjoy and take pleasure out of intellectual activities and exercising the brain that his books always present. This means, I think, that only certain people will truly enjoy his books. It's just like how someone who does not take pleasure out of reading sports novels or detective fiction will simply not be able to read those kinds of books. The characters are usually pretty flat in his books, although I would definitely have to say that sometimes I wish they were better. Then again, adding 10-20 pages of character development in the beginning of his books might simply confuse the reader and bore the intellectuals who love reading his books. All told, I think he executes his style perfectly. Ubik is a perfect example of a classic P.K.D. book. Having read some of his other books, I found some of the characters and plotlines to be similar but nonetheless still a love to read. If you like reading because of the exercise it gives your brain or like good ideas or brilliant prose you'll certainly find Ubik very fun to read.
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Summary: Classic PKD
Review: I finished reading Ubik and I couldn't even start any other books for a week because I had to sit and think about everything that had just happened. I've read several other books by Mr. Dick and, while they are all excellent, this is the best. So far. It has everything that I have come to expect from him. You never quite know where reality is. Then you figure it out only to find that you are wrong. Then another twist comes. It has excellent pacing, a good bit of humour, and - of course - loads of wild ideas about life, death, the future, consumerism, dreams, drugs, psychic abilities, and the human condition. The first few pages set up the stage for the story in a way that an average author would have required 100 pages of descriptions and explanations. And it all made sense. This is a good book if you have never been introduced to PKD's work, since it is very accessible and well written. It is required reading for any PKD fans who have not yet gotten around to it. Just remember- it is safe when taken as directed.
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Summary: The Ideas Outshine the Weak Prose
Review: I first read this novel in 1965 when I was an undergraduate majoring in English. I was put off by the sometimes amateurish use of the Language Dick demonstrated. But when I had finished reading the book I realized my dislike of the prose was based more on the snobbery of an undergraduate English major than on anything substantive, and that the ideas stay with you forever. I just finished reading the book again, and it is as mind-bending in the twenty-first century as it was in the mid twentieth century. Dick writes about the tentative nature of reality, the persistence of the human spirit and the ambiguity of Life itself. He does it with good humor on the one hand, and frighteningly accurate logic on the other. I look at _Ubik_ as Dick's search for God through Joe Chip, his _everyman_ protagonist. Whether Joe Chip finds God, or simply creates his own God is a question that may or may not be answered for the reader, but the beautiful audacity of the asking might be enough.
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Summary: What a good book
Review: I started to read this novel and just couldn't put it down. Dick is the master of suspense, of all things surreal, and of all things SF. This book, simply put, is awesome. To try to describe it in 1,000 words is useless. Go read it now.
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Summary: Half-life Wanderings; or, the Memory-Glutton Gobbles On
Review: If Phillip K. Dick were to rise from his grave today, he would probably peruse the current state of 'alternative entertainment' with a knowing smirk. The dominant themes Dick mined in his thirty-year career - including alien invasions, time/reality distortion, psychoactive illness, drug abuse, paranoia, metaphysical yearning - have been used and reused so much in the last decade that 'alternative entertainment' now has a solid niche in the mainstream. Note the recent success (in theater or video) of Momento, The Matrix, Mulholland Drive, Fight Club, etc. Dick's own work has been drafted for the mainstream buck from time to time, as well, though usually in clipped or totally reworked format, _Total Recall_ being a good example of the former, _Blade Runner_ of the latter. I state the above because it helps to read some of Dick's sci-fi with strong hindsight; to realize that when Dick was writing it, there was nothing else like it. Such is the case with _Ubik_. For though this book suffers from some typical Dick sloppiness (two dimensional characters, lazy grammar, a meandering plot that almost made me throw the book down in disgust - ) the core ideas Dick introduces and uses were undoubtedly radical for its time, far beyond cliché or contrived conflict. The specifics: Glen Runciter is the owner of an 'anti-psi' organization, which roots out errant telepaths and protects the 'unevolved' layman from mental sabotage. After Runciter is slain by a business competitor, his gifted employees scramble to keep the company afloat...then scramble to stay alive, for reality itself seems to be disintegrating before their very eyes. Stranger still, Runciter's face appears on money; he (or his ghost, perhaps?) leaves surreal messages on the walls of bathroom stalls. Is Runciter dead? Or is everyone else? And how does the universal panacea Ubik figure into all of this? _Ubik_ is not one of Dick's better novels. The characters are dull; many interesting ideas are quickly introduced and just as quickly discarded; the whole middle section of the book is a bit of a slog. But the ending redeems the effort spent, as everything falls into place - almost. All in all, a good mind-bender for a summer afternoon. Four stars.
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