UBIK by Philip K. Dick
01/09/2002 . Source: Sue Davies 
Pub: Gollancz. 224 page paperback. Price: £ 6.99(UK). ISBN 1 85798 853. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. Check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk
Joe Chip is the chief psi-tester for a major
prudence organisation run by Glen Runciter.
 When
Joe witnesses his boss die as a result of a humanoid bomb on Luna
he does everything in his power to get him to cold-pac fast and
save his half-life.
However, Joe's return to Earth and the subsequent events raise
questions of what actually happened on Luna.
Reality is changing for Joe Chip. The world is decaying and regressing
around him. He has to find some answers before it's too late. Compounding
his problem is the insistent reappearance of ‘dead’ Glen Runciter
on all forms of media, including television, advertising the new
wonder cure-all Ubik that Joe is unable to get hold of.
Philip K. Dick presents us with a world many will be familiar with
through his other novels or recent big-screen interpretations. The
dialogue is rich and the description of the environment is complex
and tactile.
There are fridges that demand payment for milk and doors that only
open for a fee. The gradual disintegration of the Joe's world is
documented with a fine eye for detail and period.
You can never be quite sure where you are in ‘Ubik’ and it constantly
addresses the question of ‘just what is reality anyway?’ It was
written in the late 1960's but feels surprisingly modern with its
paranoid futuristic visions.
This quality has been emphasised in film adaptations of other Philip
K. Dick novels. It makes you consider that perhaps the ‘K’ is for
Kafka. (It's Kindred by the way.)
I enjoyed ‘Ubik’ and I am on my third time now. I read it first
as a teenager - that's how enduring it is. The best thing about
this book is the realisation that there are at least forty more
Philip K. Dick novels for you to discover.
‘Don't delay, dip in today. Use ‘Ubik’, the novel way to read.
Not to be taken internally. Use with caution.’
Sue Davies
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