Too Cool For School: This book is awesome. Very PKD if you like his style. The book cover is not glassy smooth, there is a texture to it... Like silly smooth sandpaper. A very pleasing texture. Although "A scanner Darkly" has a slightly more coarse cover that has an even better tactile quality.
Canada on Mar 03, 2022
Timothy Haugh: I love science fiction—today perhaps not in the way I loved it back in the 1980’s and early 90’s, when I devoured so much of it—but those authors—Heinlein, Bradbury, Clarke, and, especially, Asimov—were the core of my reading until my tastes expanded as I got older. Dick was not one of my favorites; still, I had read and enjoyed The Man in the High Castle and a few others, and I knew he was the mind behind some of my favorite movies: Total Recall, Minority Report, and, especially, Blade Runner. Ubik was a story with which I was not familiar; however, I decided to give it a read and it took me back to a younger self.
This novel is a mishmash of ideas, which is why I like it. In this world there are people with mental powers like mind-reading, telepathy, and precognition, as well as people who have the ability to counter these powers. Also, people have the ability to communicate with the recently dead, whose personalities live on in an accessible “half-life” for a certain period. Even better is the setting, which shows a world where everything costs, from paying your stove to cook and your front door to open.
The story takes place among a group of...
United States on Jun 03, 2021
F. Bertrand: Ubik is an experiment by Dick. Some people love Ubik. I think it's interesting, but unfinished.
Canada on Mar 15, 2021
Tiera: WONDERFUL READ
Canada on Jan 25, 2019
Ana: Uno dei migliori libri della letteratura scifi cyberpunk, accattivante, dialoghi ben scritti e personaggi come non si sono mai visti. E uno dei libri da leggere nella vita.
Italy on Dec 17, 2018
Athelas: I am finding in a lot of my recent reviews that my main gripe has to do with not caring about the characters. Sadly that trend continues with the science fiction novel "Ubik". I bought it upon a multitude of positive recommendations and reviews, most of which lauded this classic work by a well-established writer of science fiction.
Perhaps it is the era in which the novel was written - which coincides with the year of my birth. I read a lot of books like this as a kid and was perhaps more easily impressed by clever plot devices and exotic ideas. As a more experienced reader, however, I want to care about the characters. I want to feel upset when something bad happens to them and I want to shed a few tears when something sad or heartwarming occurs.
Don't get me wrong - I still like clever plot devices, which in the case of this novel involves the characters losing touch with the reality of what is present and what is past. And I love reading about imagined futures that I have already lived through, which in the case of this novel involves a 1960s author speculating on what technology and society would be like in the 90s. (They got hover cars and moon bases, but no...
United States on Mar 20, 2015
Scott Holstad: Wow! Ubik was a wild ride, even by Philip K. Dick's standards. Or perhaps a better way of putting it is the book meets the high standards he creates for his works, and then some!
As the book begins, we meet Glen Runciter, head of the world's top anti-psi agency (to combat all of the psi organizations that have arisen now that it is 1992 -- heh!), located in New York City. He confers with his late wife, Ella, who is dead and buried in a Swiss moratorium, where she is in a suspended state of "half life," through "cold-pac" --- something like our cryogenics. The world's top psi's are disappearing, and Runciter wants his wife's opinion on what to do. She thinks they should advertise more.
We then go off to met Joe Chip, Runciter's top man, who is dirt poor and in debt. A Runciter scout has brought a young woman named Pat by to meet Joe. Pat has an unusual ability to nullify events before they even happen. Her psi tests are off the charts, and Joe marks on her report that she should be watched, that she could be dangerous.
Runciter has a visitor from a businessman with a business on Luna (the moon?), in need of immediate anti-psi help. Runciter agrees to overlook...
United States on Jun 18, 2013
Raiko M: Wer neben Science Fiction auch das Absurde sucht, sollte Ubik lesen. Die Werke Philip K Dicks gelten zu Recht als einer der wesentlichsten Einflüsse in der Science Fiction Literatur.
Germany on Dec 15, 2012
| Philip K. Dick's Ubik: A Sci-Fi Masterpiece | Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary: A Thrilling Sci-Fi Adventure | Destiny: Union Station - Original Film Score and Soundtrack | |
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| B2B Rating |
73
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98
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95
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| Sale off | $4 OFF | $13 OFF | |
| Total Reviews | 36 reviews | 4 reviews | 74 reviews |
| Item Weight | 6.7 ounces | 1.72 pounds | 13.1 ounces |
| Literary Fiction (Books) | Literary Fiction | ||
| Dimensions | 5.31 x 0.56 x 8 inches | 6.44 x 1.45 x 9.52 inches | 6 x 0.57 x 9 inches |
| Language | English | English | English |
| Hard Science Fiction (Books) | Hard Science Fiction | Hard Science Fiction | |
| Space Operas | Space Operas | ||
| ISBN-10 | 0547572298 | 0593135202 | 1948691337 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0547572291 | 978-0593135204 | 978-1948691338 |
| Paperback | 240 pages | 250 pages | |
| Best Sellers Rank | #126 in Hard Science Fiction #260 in Space Operas#1,097 in Literary Fiction | #4 in Hard Science Fiction #14 in Science Fiction Adventures#131 in Suspense Thrillers | #2,048 in Humorous Science Fiction #3,176 in Galactic Empire Science Fiction#7,013 in First Contact Science Fiction |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4/5 stars of 3,120 ratings | 4.7/5 stars of 111,932 ratings | 4.6/5 stars of 1,087 ratings |
| Publisher | Mariner Books; Reprint edition | Ballantine Books; First Edition | Foner Books |
United States on Oct 21, 2023