4 ms·

Ubik spoilers ahead. I read Ubik, it was a wild ride. I was not sure what to make of it. The story, especially the end, is logically inconsistent even if you t

by anyfoo 5y ago

Ubik spoilers ahead. I read Ubik, it was a wild ride. I was not sure what to make of it. The story, especially the end, is logically inconsistent even if you take its wild premises into account (though what the premises are is itself a bit of a guess); but that's part of the charm of course. The whole thing is so bizarre overall that it was also impossible for me to relate to any characters, and it was more like reading a dream diary than a story. Anyway, one thing that I often think about is something not directly intended by the author. In the book, the perceived world around the protagonist regresses more and more into the past, taking the form of the 50s, 40s, 30s... one example that stuck with me (and I think the moment where this regression became apparent) was when a modern elevator suddenly took the appearance of a 50s style lift. With visible cage, cables, maybe even an attendant controlling the lift using a lever... This old elevator struck me as a beautiful way to describe the distant past when I read it about 10 years ago. But the book was written in 1969. So for the author, that was maybe 15 years ago. Even the 30s were about 35 years ago from when the book was written, from today that would merely be the 80s! And yet the world was being described as so massively transforming (including for example a scene of an old pharmacy with intricate wood and brass decors[1]), and technology regressing at a rapid rate... it made me feel that from some point of view, the world was changing much faster back then. [1] Like this one: https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/19/fa/fb/99/the-old-pharmacy-store.jpg https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/19/fa/fb/99/...

rantwasp 5y ago
if you liked Ubik, give VALIS and The Three Stigmata a try. Ubik is a good “introduction” into the PKD universe. But it’s almost like there are two PKDs: one trying his hand at SF and another one that has transcended space and time. You want the 2nd flavor :)
- pmoriarty 5y ago
  Having read virtually every scifi book that PKD wrote, and some straight fiction by him as well, I'd have to say that for my taste he was at his best when he was writing straight scifi, and the more scifi there is in what he wrote the better it's likely to be. While I'd agree that Ubik is a great introduction to the PKD universe, I would also classify it as his best book. I also love many of his other books, but to me none of them are as strong or consistently good as Ubik. Some of them have great parts, though, so I definitely wouldn't stop at Ubik, but I've yet to read a better book by him, or even one that was just as good.
  - anyfoo 5y ago
    I want to add, while my first paragraph may have made it sound that I didn't particularly care about the book, I am very glad that I read it. It was a weird experience, but one of the most interesting ones reading a book. It made me continue to think about it, obviously.
- QuesnayJr 5y ago
  VALIS is probably the most interesting book on religious experience I've ever read, fiction or non-fiction.
MomoXenosaga 5y ago
I had to get medicine for my mom and the pharmacy was replaced by a vending machine. Scan a QR code and the robot does the rest. I felt like I was in Japan! The world is still changing.
- anyfoo 5y ago
  I did a poor job describing it, but it was not just the technological side that struck me. I'll try again (and might still fail): If I look at the 70s, e.g. watch a movie or a TV show that takes place in the 70s, or is even from the 70s, it feels like... the modern world for me. Yeah, fashion is whacky, technology was primitive, but overall it's actually "the modern world with whacky fashion and primitive technology". When I read Ubik and the various decades before the 60s were described, it felt like different ages. The point about the pharmacy is not just the wood and brass and the medicine in jars, it's that the wood and the brass was made into intricate decor, including ornaments and statues, and that the pharmacist looked extraordinarily official.
  - jessaustin 5y ago
    This feeling depends on when one was born. That is, it is contingent on the circumstances of the reader, and is not a fact about the books themselves.
    - anyfoo 5y ago
      Maybe? Everything I said about this aspect is subjective.
nearbuy 5y ago
I was disappointed with Ubik. (Some spoilers ahead.) I was excited to read it after seeing a humorous excerpt of the protagonist arguing with his front door, trying to convince it to open. As you said, the book is bizarre. The central premise is more fantasy than sci-fi (meaning, an adventure involving magic and monsters instead of starting from a premise and exploring it somewhat realistically using logic and science). Most of the book is written (deliberately) like a dream diary, with bits of reality shifting and changing. I found the characters bizarre, and as you said, impossible to relate to. I'd describe them even worse than that: they're badly written characters that lack personality and consistency. Characters behave in seemingly random ways that leave you scratching your head. For example, Pat (a character) decides to strip naked and move in with the messy and penniless protagonist just minutes after meeting him for the first time for a job interview. This happens over a couple pages with little explanation. Many people enjoyed the book, so you can take my opinion with a grain of salt.
- anyfoo 5y ago
  I actually share a lot of your experience, even going so far that I would say that I was also disappointed in the same sense. But I don’t regret reading it, quite the opposite, because it certainly left a lasting memory. The book is bizarre, illogical, confusing, and I was often trying to get a grasp of what I am supposed to make of what’s happening, if that makes sense. With that, I don’t think I seriously contemplated the scene that you describe as much as you did, since if I recall correctly, by the time it happened the book already had lost its grip on rationality. (Or was it when I still thought the story could make perfect sense, and only retroactively realized it was already going off the rails much earlier?) Wasn’t there a “human bomb” that was essentially a weird caricature of a balloonish clown person floating into the air or something? But I agree, it would be hard for me to say that I “liked” the book, I think it was one of the books where I was happy when it was over. Even though I’d have missed a rather complex experience that I still think about, had I not read it.
  - nearbuy 5y ago
    The scene with Pat is early in the book, when she is first introduced, before they're in a dream world (half-life). Of course, Pat's power lets her change reality (in the real world). Still, I think creating (imo) poorly written characters and falling back on the explanation, "we don't know what's real; everything might have been manipulated" is a crutch. Throughout the novel, I couldn't see any of the characters as real people. I certainly won't fault you for being glad to have read the book. It's definitely an unusual book.

by anyfoo 5y ago

rantwasp 5y ago

if you liked Ubik, give VALIS and The Three Stigmata a try. Ubik is a good “introduction” into the PKD universe. But it’s almost like there are two PKDs: one trying his hand at SF and another one that has transcended space and time. You want the 2nd flavor :)

pmoriarty 5y ago
Having read virtually every scifi book that PKD wrote, and some straight fiction by him as well, I'd have to say that for my taste he was at his best when he was writing straight scifi, and the more scifi there is in what he wrote the better it's likely to be. While I'd agree that Ubik is a great introduction to the PKD universe, I would also classify it as his best book. I also love many of his other books, but to me none of them are as strong or consistently good as Ubik. Some of them have great parts, though, so I definitely wouldn't stop at Ubik, but I've yet to read a better book by him, or even one that was just as good.
- anyfoo 5y ago
  I want to add, while my first paragraph may have made it sound that I didn't particularly care about the book, I am very glad that I read it. It was a weird experience, but one of the most interesting ones reading a book. It made me continue to think about it, obviously.
QuesnayJr 5y ago
VALIS is probably the most interesting book on religious experience I've ever read, fiction or non-fiction.

MomoXenosaga 5y ago

I had to get medicine for my mom and the pharmacy was replaced by a vending machine. Scan a QR code and the robot does the rest. I felt like I was in Japan! The world is still changing.

anyfoo 5y ago
I did a poor job describing it, but it was not just the technological side that struck me. I'll try again (and might still fail): If I look at the 70s, e.g. watch a movie or a TV show that takes place in the 70s, or is even from the 70s, it feels like... the modern world for me. Yeah, fashion is whacky, technology was primitive, but overall it's actually "the modern world with whacky fashion and primitive technology". When I read Ubik and the various decades before the 60s were described, it felt like different ages. The point about the pharmacy is not just the wood and brass and the medicine in jars, it's that the wood and the brass was made into intricate decor, including ornaments and statues, and that the pharmacist looked extraordinarily official.
- jessaustin 5y ago
  This feeling depends on when one was born. That is, it is contingent on the circumstances of the reader, and is not a fact about the books themselves.
  - anyfoo 5y ago
    Maybe? Everything I said about this aspect is subjective.

nearbuy 5y ago

I was disappointed with Ubik. (Some spoilers ahead.) I was excited to read it after seeing a humorous excerpt of the protagonist arguing with his front door, trying to convince it to open. As you said, the book is bizarre. The central premise is more fantasy than sci-fi (meaning, an adventure involving magic and monsters instead of starting from a premise and exploring it somewhat realistically using logic and science). Most of the book is written (deliberately) like a dream diary, with bits of reality shifting and changing. I found the characters bizarre, and as you said, impossible to relate to. I'd describe them even worse than that: they're badly written characters that lack personality and consistency. Characters behave in seemingly random ways that leave you scratching your head. For example, Pat (a character) decides to strip naked and move in with the messy and penniless protagonist just minutes after meeting him for the first time for a job interview. This happens over a couple pages with little explanation. Many people enjoyed the book, so you can take my opinion with a grain of salt.

anyfoo 5y ago
I actually share a lot of your experience, even going so far that I would say that I was also disappointed in the same sense. But I don’t regret reading it, quite the opposite, because it certainly left a lasting memory. The book is bizarre, illogical, confusing, and I was often trying to get a grasp of what I am supposed to make of what’s happening, if that makes sense. With that, I don’t think I seriously contemplated the scene that you describe as much as you did, since if I recall correctly, by the time it happened the book already had lost its grip on rationality. (Or was it when I still thought the story could make perfect sense, and only retroactively realized it was already going off the rails much earlier?) Wasn’t there a “human bomb” that was essentially a weird caricature of a balloonish clown person floating into the air or something? But I agree, it would be hard for me to say that I “liked” the book, I think it was one of the books where I was happy when it was over. Even though I’d have missed a rather complex experience that I still think about, had I not read it.
- nearbuy 5y ago
  The scene with Pat is early in the book, when she is first introduced, before they're in a dream world (half-life). Of course, Pat's power lets her change reality (in the real world). Still, I think creating (imo) poorly written characters and falling back on the explanation, "we don't know what's real; everything might have been manipulated" is a crutch. Throughout the novel, I couldn't see any of the characters as real people. I certainly won't fault you for being glad to have read the book. It's definitely an unusual book.