Ubik
by Philip K. Dick · first published 1969
41% recommend58% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Mind-bending, reality-questioning sci-fi that readers call a favorite Philip K. Dick novel. Funny, plot-driven, with a pay-per-use door gag, and suggested as a good starting point for Dick newcomers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Named one of Time's 100 Best Books, Ubik is a mind-bending, classic novel about the perception of reality from Philip K. Dick, the Hugo Award-winning author of The Man in the High Castle. “From the stuff of space opera, Dick spins a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you’ll never be sure you’ve woken up from.”—Lev Grossman, Time Glen Runciter runs a lucrative business — deploying his teams of anti-psychics to corporate clients who want privacy and security from psychic spies. But when he and his top team are ambushed by a rival, he is gravely injured and placed in “half-li
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I will pick more than 1: Ubik by Philip K. Dick (it's hard to cherry pick his best work though, ask me a different day and I will choose The Three Stigmata or Do Androids Dream or something else) The Stars My Destination by Alfred…
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite Science Fiction book?” ↗Solaris by Stanislaw Lem Permutation City by Greg Egan Ubik by Philip K. Dick
on “Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?” ↗…Story of your life. La Peau de Chagrin (The Wild Ass's Skin) - Balzac. Beautifully written novel about desire and health, with verbose descriptions that I personally loved. Some nice quotes here [0] Ubik by Philip K. Dick - Pretty mindbending and interesting twist on the whole "(distorted) perception of reality (what even is reality?)" theme. (9/10) [scifi] [0]: https://knowledge.uzpg.me/dataobj/2771/#quotes
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗Ubik by Philip K Dick.
on “Ask HN: What's your favourite sci-fi/fantasy book?” ↗Neuromancer by William Gibson Ubik by Philip K. Dick
on “Ask HN: What book have you re-read 3x or more?” ↗PKD is one of my favorite sci-fi writers and I recommend Ubik if you're a new reader, although like the article mentions, you definitely need to be in a certain mindset to "get it." The Man in the High Castle has an interesting concept but I don't think it's particularly…
on “The Essential Philip K. Dick” ↗I'd add Ubik to this as well, and would personally rate it higher than the Three Stigmata. For me, Ubik is PKD's greatest and most accessible book. 1st rank - Ubik, The Three Stigmata, A Martian Time Slip, Faith…
on “How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later, Philip K. Dick” ↗I strongly recommend reading Ubik. To me it is his strongest and most consistently good book. I used to love The Three Stigmata too, but when I tried to read it again recently I couldn't get in to it either. I do think you have to…
on “Philip K. Dick: A Visionary Among the Charlatans (1975)” ↗…just because they've been made in to movies doesn't make the original book good, much less great. As far as PKD books go (which is quite far, as he is one of my favorite authors), I would recommend "Ubik", "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch", and "Martian Time Slip". And of his short stories, I'd recommend "Beyond Lies the Wub" and "Woof". Gibson's "Neuromancer" is alright, but "Count Zero" is better.…
on “Sci-Fi Novels You Should Read” ↗Philip K. Dick (Ubik, Man in the high castle, Flow my tears the police man said) Frederik Pohl (Gateway, the Space Merchants) Ursula K. Le Guin (The Dispossessed, Left Hand of Darkness) Iain M. Banks (Culture novels) You…
on “What are your favourite sci-fi books?” ↗…full list: https://gitlab.com/rlease/Books My list lines up with a lot of books that people have recommended here, so I'll try to add a few favorites that haven't been mentioned so far. Fiction: 1. Ubik - I read a bunch of Philip K. Dick this year, but this was my favorite. It's delightfully mind bending and left me thinking about it long after the book was done. 2. All the Pretty Horses - Beautifully…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?” ↗No book has made me question the reality of my surroundings like Ubik by Philip K Dick.
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗…also some awful ones. The Martian is probably one of the worst popular and hyped books I've ever read, together with Ready Player One. If I had to pick one PK Dick book it wouldn't be Scanner Darkly but Ubik or Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. Also I think some important non-English fiction is missing. Yevgeny Zamyatin's We is a foundational dystopian book, Roadside Picnic is great, 20000 Leagues under…
on “Science Fiction Books Everyone Should Read” ↗I consider Ubik to be Dick's best work... so if you found it only "somewhat intriguing", I doubt you'll be any more pleased with anything else he wrote. That said, if you are interested in reading more by him, of his…
on “The Essential Philip K. Dick” ↗Philip K Dick was a visionary. In Ubik there are AI doors that do not open or close without paying them, for each use.
on “HP bricking printers remotely if the client's credit card expires” ↗