Rating: 
Summary: The man can't write?
Review: After scanning some reviews of 'Ubik' I was appalled. There are people who believe Philip K Dick couldn't write, couldn't plot a story!!!! Now I don't claim to be a technical purist in these matters but I can certainly tell great writing when I read it. Here are two things to look out forin 'Ubik'(page numbers from the Panther edition of 1973). Firstly there is a character description of the Wendy Wright that starts 'As always, when the opportunity arose, Joe took a long astute look at the girl whom, if he could have managed it, he would have had as his mistress, or even better, his wife.' and ends with '...... She had too much control over herself and outside reality for that.' And then there is the chilling collapse of Joe Chip at the start of Chapter 13, watched by an apparently unsympathetic Pat Conley.I recommend those who have not yet experienced 'Ubik' to read it with an open mind and a preparedness to let the plot take you for a ride - whatever you do, don't try to make your 'solution' to the twists and turns as they unfold THE only possible resolution. Philip Dick will almost certainly take you another direction.
Rating: 
Summary: ELIXIR OF UBLIQUE
Review: I read Ubik in one sitting during a 10 hour transatlantic flight. It certainly provided a unique atmosphere to the plane journey! As is common in Dick's books, Ubik takes the reader through one of PKD's many nightmarish distopian worlds. I was pretty disorientated by the time I got off the plane, which is one of the things which makes his writing so special. I think an element of truth lies in the statement that structure-wise, much of Dick's work can be sloppy and disjointed, but I think those statements only really apply to the 'structure' of his novels. His stories are so rich with ideas and themes, and the reader is never left to feel 'secure', constantly being flung from one nightmarish pseudo-reality to another. I dislike strategically-structured novels, which can often appear stale and too thought-out. Dicks stuff is fast-paced and at times overwhelming which is why its so wonderful. I dare the reader to read something like Ubik in a single sitting and then try and find their way around Chicago airport ;)
Rating:
Summary: Ubik pops up again
Review: I read this book about a month ago and it keeps coming back to mind over and over - a sign of a good read! I was reminded this evening by various Internet popup ads how commercial messages can make their way into the semi-conscious. This particular book was interesting but not as gripping as some other PKD books - perhaps the effect was more subtle (and that's not entirely bad). I managed to put this one down once, whereas other PKD books I read in one sitting. I wish I'd read this before seeing "The Sixth Sense" - it may have effected my take on the book, which shared a couple basic twists.
Rating:
Summary: A Mind-Dazzling Read
Review: I'm not usually a fan of science fiction (fantasy is more my thing), but I'm taking a course in it this year, and one of the novels we were assigned was _Ubik_. I picked it up this evening with a sense of reluctant duty... and put it down about four hours later, finished and wondering, "What *was* that?" I mean this in a positive sense! _Ubik_ reminded me, in some ways, of a very good mystery novel: something is fishy in Denmark, and you're constantly tantalized with hints of just what it is and who is at fault. This kept me entirely hooked into the book, and I was left dazzled by the possible meanings of the ending. Sure, the prose might not be flawless, but who really notices when the plot keeps you turning the pages like mad? I don't know a thing about the rest of PKD's work, but I'd certainly recommend _Ubik_, even for those who aren't enamoured of the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't get it.
Review: Ubik is the first and only PKD book that I've read. I read it because I've heard so much about him being one of the great and influenttial sci-fi writers of the century, that his writing was philosophical and made you think, and because my favorite author, Kim Stanley robinson, did his doctoral thesis on him. I chose this book in particular because I've always heard that it's one of his best. I was very suprised and disappointed; none of these things that I've heard about PKD manifested itself in this book. The plotting was a sloppy mess, the characters were undeveloped, the prose was bland and hollow, but I could live with all of these things if this book had had any of the great ideas and philosophy that Dick books, espeically this one, are alleged to have. Instead, what I found myself reading was like a cross between a "young adult" novel and a cheesy comic book. Where are the ideas? Where is the philosophy? This book didn't make me think about anything excpet for the ... three or four hours of reading time that I wasted on it. This book was thoroughly disappointing, though I may have given it a better review when I was twelve. To others who have not read Dick: if you're looking for something that will make you think, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the best Phil Dick novel to start with; a classic
Review: Although "Ubik" wasn't the first Philip K. Dick novel I read (having read just about all of them now, it's hard to remember which was first, but I think it was "Martian Time-Slip"), I would recommend it as the best starting point for someone trying to decide if PKD is your cup of tea. "Ubik" has all of the major elements of the typical PKD novel (to the extent there is any typicality): (1) questioning of the meaning of reality; (2) an almost pathetic sense of humor in the face of the unraveling of reality; (3) an everyman protagonist; and (4) extreme readability despite a somewhat pedestrian writing style. The plot can be summed up like this: some humans have psychic powers, but rather than being seen as heroes (as is the case in most sci-fi), they're possible sources of invasions of your privacy. Never fear, however, because some humans have developed anti-psychic powers -- they block the powers of the others. A bunch of anti-psychics go on a mission, but something goes wrong and they barely get away with their lives. Almost immediately, they notice that something is not right. Phone directories are out of date, coffee is disgustingly stale, and so on. Time, it seems, is flowing backwards! For readers who aren't aware, PKD was one of the most influential sci-fi writers, with his reality-warping stories. His interest in this topic can be traced, no doubt, to his youthful experimentation with narcotics -- an experience recounted largely in "A Scanner Darkly." PKD was an incredibly prolific writer; he wrote something like 16 novels in a five year stretch in the late-1960s, including "Ubik." Many of his best novels were written during that stretch. If you like "Ubik," I would suggest in no particular order: "The Gameplayers of Titan," "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch," "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (made into the movie "Bladerunner"), "Dr. Bloodmoney," and "The Man in the High Castle." By the 1970's, PKD stopped writing as many novels, and they became more thematically complex, with increasing emphasis on religious spirituality.
Rating:
Summary: The best PKD novel, aside from in execution
Review: Ubik has probably got the best ideas within of all PKD's books, and, after a lame beginning that deals with the typical large corporate empires and pre-cogs telepaths etc, the book really gets going when they go to the Moon and Runciter gets blown up. At this stage, the book begins, and the next sections, while hastily written, are some of the best chapters in the PKD canon. I assert that PKD was much better at dealing the past or present(in this case, USA 1939) than he was at sketching the future. He has had many prophetic inventions (like the homeopape, which is soon to be reality) but he had a genuine interest in the past, see what type of books he read, his interest in classical music and classical cultures. PKD's 1939 is brilliant, and the story matches. The concept of Ubik, in its varying incarnations, is excellent, as is the uncertainty with half-life etc, and those little rhyming verses... very good. There are a couple of brilliant metaphors that have stayed with me, one where something is compared to a primitive creature using its own skin as a sail, and the other I have forgotten. No matter. The beginning of the book means that Ubik, while likely to be a favourite on the first read, is not quite up to the standard of Three Stigmata, which I believe is the best PKD, but still...
Rating:
Summary: One of PKD's Absolute Best
Review: Anyone who watches modern capitalism can see just how much we are on track with PKD's distopic vision of the future: Coffeemakers, refigerators and other appliances that extort money for services rendered, 'flies' that are really just small advertising automata that fly into your car, land on your ear, and pester you with whining imprecations to buy things. In all of it's witty facets, the Dick universe is a belly laugh at capitalism run amok, eating its own tail. On top of that is one of Dick's other great themes: the plasticity, and unreliability of 'reality' - i.e. that what we call reality is a cruel illusion at best. Tack on 'homeopapes' (print-to-order newspapers that only contain user-specified content) and several other prescient inventions and you have the totality of the PKD experience: A febrile, paranoid, witty mind seeing the future with chilling clarity and expressing it with a lethal black wit. Of course the writing contain's PKD's trademark sloppiness but it also contains his trademark multi-character-viewpoint plots and a billion fascinating ideas. Who cares that he was sloppy; he was in too much of a hurry creating to be a perfectionist, and I, for one, am thankful.
Rating:
Summary: Best EVER of PKD.
Review: Some PKD books are failures and some are not. This is not. The use of technologies and backgrounds keep you wide awake (interested) to read the first bit of the book. There is one major twist from there. After that particular explosive twist (you'll know when) you're hooked. The first thing some of you may know is that "Ubik" is short for the latin word that means "everything". You will encounter some major twists and turns in the book that captivate you rather than confuse you. The uses of the beginnings of each chapter are unique and innovative and Joe Chip (from the major explosive twist onwards) is always hanging on the edge, guaranteeing that you'll swallow it in one 4-hour gulp. The use of words make you want to read it again and again. The elements just mentioned here make it the best SF ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Fluid reality , psichodellic descriptions.
Review: As in any PKD book (but in this one espescialy ) I had while reading a drugged feeling. He's making me feel as if the world around me becomes fluid , moving gently , colors all mixed-up. PKD is just able to take apart with a few words your grasp of reality , you ca'nt tell if the protagonist is awake , asleep , or drugged-almost-to-death. combined with his extrodinary gripping writing style - It's a lethal dosage of excellent literature - almost poetry. My English is not good enough for me to write fully what I think of this particular masterpiece. very recommended.
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