Quoting from the second page. “’…among all the known telepaths [only Melipone] can produce [that telepathic aura].’ The technician finished, ‘So that’s where we stuck Melipone’s identflag on the map. And now he – it – is gone.’ ‘Did you look on the floor? Behind the map?’ ‘It’s gone electronically. The man it represents is no longer on Earth or, as far as we can make out, on a colony world either.’ Runciter said, ‘I’ll consult my dead wife.’”

Second page of the book, and there’s already a conglomeration of ideas – none of them particularly shocking for science fiction – that are juxtaposed in way that make you wonder, “How is the author going to get out of this?” Such is the skill of Philip K. Dick that he has only begun to make you wonder “What the heck was that?”

Ubik is surely a Philip K. Dick novel because of that constant mix of concepts and ideas that keep the reader entranced. But it is also surely a Philip K. Dick novel because, as he so often does, it explores reality (what is reality, which reality is real, and do we even know if our reality is the real one). It is what Dick is best at, and this book is a fine example. In typical fashion, Dick sucks you into believing one thing, then twists your perceptions (without stretching your credulity), then twists them again.

I had forgotten I had read this book before, but quickly recognized it. More importantly, I quickly remembered why I shouldn’t wait so long between Dick novels, and remembered that I should be going back and reading them all. ( )

This was a very chaotic read. Many of the concepts from Dick's short stories make their way into this book. Precogs (ESP), cold pac (like cryonic freezing except you can talk to the person, they are called half-lifers), and more.Spoilers belowGlen runciter is the head of runciter associates, an inertial group formed to thwart those with precog talents. Is someone reading your mind? Call runciter associates.Runciter and his group are given an assignment on Luna. It ends up being a trap when an android bomb explodes apparently killing glen runciterThe group of eleven soon find out that they are actually dead and in coldpac. They must find out why their world is reverting to 1939. And who is responsible for turning their compatriots to withered dust one by one. Will joe chirp figure out the source before it's too late. What is ubik? Does it have the answer to reverse what is happening to him, and save his half-life? ( )

I just finished Philip K. Dick's novel Ubik. It was awesome! If you want to read mind-bending, reality-questioning, science fiction/horror (in the end, really, Dick leaves it up to the reader to decide - is it SF or horror? There is a difference between the two genres.), check it out! I want to write a more thorough review, but I'm going to need some more time to let this book sink in before I do so. ( )

Joe Chip is a lead technician of an anti-psi team working for the one of the so called “prudence organizations”. Joe, his boss Glen Runciter and eleven hand-picked telepath-blockers embark on a mission to Luna in order to prevent ESPs (psi’s and precogs among others) from succeeding in industrial espionage undertaking.
But soon they will realize it was all a trap set by their rival (leader of the psi organization). But instead dodging bullets and bombs they will find themselves caught in a time-warp, traveling back in time and being sucked-out of life by that very travel, one at the time. Until they realize what is happening (or do they :))

Great one. Recommended. ( )

Ubik presents the problem of reality couched in one of the most entertaining science fiction plots I have ever read: Glen Runciter runs a company that specializes in providing other companies or private individuals one or more “inertials”: individuals who display a skill for canceling out the talents of particular futuristic (but in the novel commonplace) people, such as precogs and telepaths. Ray Hollis is Runciter’s chief competition, as he employs the majority of the people possessing such talents. A company such as Runciter’s plays a large role in protecting the privacy and in some cases the safety of customers. Pat is Runciter’s newest inertial. She displays one of the most interesting anti-talents discovered so far, and potentially could be extremely beneficial to the company, but she may be dangerous. Along with Joe Chip (who really is the novel’s central character), Runciter takes a team of inertials to Luna when an enormous business opportunity opens itself up there. However, it would seem that Runciter and his employees are merely being lured to their demise when an explosion occurs soon after their getting there and discovering their purpose in coming to be false. I only say so much about the plot because after this point it is hard to say anything for sure. The problem that picks up at this point is: Who is alive and who is dead? This is a tricky question to answer, as individuals who are placed in “cold-pac” quickly enough after dying can enter into “half-life” for a limited amount of time. In half-life a person can communicate with those within reality, although they are in fact no longer in that reality, so it is not difficult to see the blurred line that emerges. Dead or alive, only Ubik (salvation in a spray can) can restore order, and time and space are rapidly disintegrating. This is one of my favorite Philip K. Dick books I have read to date. Important questions raised in clever ways, and a story that entertains from page one to the end. ( )