Ubik

Ubik
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
AuthorPhilip K. Dick
GenreScience fiction, paranoid fiction, philosophical fiction
PublisherDoubleday
Publication date
1969
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages202
ISBN978-0-575-07921-2
OCLC67871286

Ubik (/ˈjuːbɪk/ YOO-bik) is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story is set in a future 1992 where psychic powers are utilized in corporate espionage, while cryonic technology allows recently deceased people to be maintained in a lengthy state of hibernation.[1] It follows Joe Chip, a technician at a psychic agency who begins to experience strange alterations in reality that can be temporarily reversed by a mysterious store-bought substance called Ubik.[2] This work expands upon characters and concepts previously introduced in the vignette "What the Dead Men Say".

Ubik is one of Dick's most acclaimed novels. In 2009, it was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 greatest novels since 1923. In his review for Time, critic Lev Grossman described it as "a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you'll never be sure you've woken up from".[2]

  1. ^ Jordison, Sam (March 18, 2014). "Philip K Dick's Ubik: a masterpiece of malleability". The Guardian. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Grossman, Lev. "Ubik–All-Time 100 Novels". Time. Retrieved on May 2, 2009.