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Ubik
EntityQ617357· pop 30· linked from 228 articles

Ubik ( ) 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. 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. This work expands upon characters and concepts previously introduced in the vignette "What the Dead Men Say".

Book · Open Library

Author
Philip K. Dick
First published
1969
Editions
68
Subjects
Fiction, Death, Businessmen, Explosions, Science Fiction, Fiction, science fiction, general, Iowa, fiction, Fiction, humorous

via Open Library

Key facts

Book.name
Ubik
Book.image
Ubik (1969) front cover, first edition.jpg
Book.caption
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
Book.author
Philip K. Dick
Book.country
United States
Book.genre
Science fiction, paranoid fiction, philosophical fiction
Book.publisher
Doubleday
Book.release_date
1969
Book.media_type
Print (hardback & paperback)
Book.pages
202
Book.isbn
978-0-575-07921-2
Book.oclc
67871286

via Wikipedia infobox

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

15 sections
Contents
  • Plot
  • Interpretation and analysis
  • Adaptations and cultural influences
  • Video game
  • Planned film adaptations
  • Original attempt – Gorin
  • Dick's screenplay
  • Pallotta and Celluloid Dreams
  • Failed Gondry production
  • Audiobook
  • Music
  • See also
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

Ubik ( ) 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. 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. 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".

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ubik” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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