Glenn Russell's Reviews > Ubik

“He felt all at once like an ineffectual moth, fluttering at the windowpane of reality, dimly seeing it from outside.”
― Philip K. Dick, Ubik

Over-the-top zany madness, Philip K. Dick’s 1969 acclaimed work of science fiction opens in the year 1992, by which time humanity has colonized the Moon aka Luna and individuals having various psychic powers are commonplace, so much so some companies hire men and women (called “telepaths” or “precogs”) based on their power to predict the future and other companies hire individuals (called inertials) who have the psychic clout to block the future-telling capacities of those telepaths and precogs.

If all this sounds wild, you are absolutely right – novel as sheer craziness, a book defying any straightforward synopsis. To share a glimpse into the world of Ubik, here's a round of zaps from PKD's outlandish fictional zippy zap gun:

Glen Runciter – Crusty, lovable head of Runciter Associates, a “prudence organization” which employs inertials to counter evildoing telepaths and precogs who go about snooping into other people’s stream-of-consciousness in order to predict the future. Glen is a man of integrity, forever attempting to uphold individual freedom and dignity, the kind of guy you would always want around even if he were murdered. Yes, that’s what I said – to better understand the dynamics of the novel’s unique cycle of life and death, please read on.

Ella Runciter – Glen’s deceased wife kept in a form of cryonic suspension, a state of "half-life” enabling the dearly departed a degree of awareness sufficient to communicate with their loved ones left behind and other half-lifers. Ella is kept at the Beloved Brethren Moratorium in Zurich since the Swiss have developed a superior method to effectively extend life beyond the grave. Considering the Swiss mastery in manufacturing timepieces, their superiority in cryonic technology makes perfect sense. Ah, leave it to the Swiss!

Joe Chip - Debt-ridden Runciter Assocation technician loyal to Glen, Ella, the Association, truth and justice. An All-American Joe, you might say and you gotta love the name Chip as in potato chip or chocolate chip. As it turns out, Joe takes center stage as main character when he is propelled into the role of an Indiana Jones-style American hero and leader in a unique time travel adventure that could only be concocted from the fertile psychedelic imagination of the incomparable PKD.


Joe Chip is the prototypical All-American Joe

Inertials – Don, Al, Wendy are among Glen Runciter’s top inertials chosen for a special mission to Luna. If they only knew the challenges they will be forced to confront once catastrophe hits - time warps enough to confuse, blur, muddle and cloud the most perceptive minds. What those inertials really need is leadership and guidance from none other than down-to-earth Joe Chip.

Pat Conley – An enigmatic, cagey dark beauty with the unique psychic ability to undo events by changing the past. Having such a unique ability, Glen Runciter decides to include Pat in the critically important mission to Luna. As events transpire, Pat might even be judged a femme fatale along the lines of Phyllis from James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity in the sense that she not only deals with death and dying, she loves death and dying in all its grim, deadly detail. Just the kind of gal you want along when your group starts dying off one at a time in mysterious ways.

Beyond Pay Toilets - The author’s futuristic society includes speaking doors, speaking refrigerators and speaking coffee machines that demand money to be used – one aspect of future technology we can only hope never becomes a reality. I wonder if PKD’s personal experience with the appearance of pay toilet back in 1960s America prompted him to include these obnoxious speaking objects requiring money to operate.

Boom! - From the moment of the explosion on Luna, the group begins to experience strange shifts in reality and time, including a number of chapters in their adventure covering the United States back in 1939. One of the more humorous parts has Joe Chip flying in one of those newly invented two-person single prop airplanes from New York to Des Moines, Iowa. Wow! Now that's a dedicated hero!



Gnostic Cosmology – The further and deeper Joe and the group progress in their odyssey, the more they become aware they are living in a universe where the forces of light battles the forces of darkness. But then the question arises: Who or what is the ultimate source of light on one hand and darkness on the other? Enough PKD unexpected twists to keep any fan of science fiction or speculate fiction going right up til the last page.

UBIK – “Perk up pouting household surfaces with new miracle Ubik, the easy-to-apply, extra-shiny, nonstick plastic coating. Entirely harmless if used as directed. Saves endless scrubbing, glides right out of the kitchen!” Oh, yes, short advertisements for Ubik like this one precede every chapter. And please keep in mind that any cosmology, even a dualistic cosmology, might be held together by a unifying underlying metaphysical principle. What is meant by this quizzical statement? You will have to read Ubik for yourself to find out – proceed with caution and take only as directed.





“Wake up to a hearty, lip-smacking bowlful of nutritious, nourishing Ubik toasted flakes, the adult cereal that’s more crunchy, more tasty, more ummmish. Ubik breakfast cereal, the whole-bowl taste treat!”
― Philip K. Dick, Ubik