Philip K. Dick's "UBIK"

Book review by Dennis D. McDonald

I vaguely remember reading this science-fiction novel over 40 years ago. My only memory of that experience was how weird it was. I also remember thinking it would be very difficult to film.

Rereading it now, it isn’t as mind blowing as it seemed back then. Various story elements have become somewhat common place in science fiction books and movies, examples being: playing around with multiple timelines; communicating electronically with the “dead” or people in suspended animation; and the dissolution of society based on rampant consumerism.

Still, I enjoyed the novel immensely chiefly because of it is so imaginative, even though technology and electronics have evolved differently from what the author envisioned.

I have learned that rereading older science-fiction can be very fulfilling especially if you value imagination and good storytelling. UBIK is a good example of this and it is helped along by Dick’s playfulness and irreverence. It’s very different from something like Arthur C. Clarke’s “hard” science fiction but I firmly believe that variety is a good thing!

Rerview copyright (c) 2022 by dnenis D. McDonald