Hundred Book Challenge #4: "Ubik" by Philip K. Dick

Ah... Ubik. Ubik, Ubik, Ubik. Just saying it, or writing it, is...well... kind of fun.

This is another one I went into completely blind. I didn't even read the back of the book this time. I know I know, I'm pretty much a wild man. Even the title offers no clue as to anything that lies within.

I've read a few books by Phillip K. Dick before. “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” is one of my favorite sci fi things.

Dick's books are a great mix of crazy, mind bending business and easy reading and... OK... I can't keep going on here...

It's the ending! What on earth did I just read?! It's like the whole book is mixed up and rewritten thanks to the last two paragraphs.

OK, got that off my chest.

I had a lot of fun reading this book, which is different than other books I've read recently. I don't think I could consider “Lolita” or “A Clockwork Orange” fun. Other books, though intellectually fulfilling and emotionally complex, they aren't fun. That's OK, not everything should be fun. In fact, that was one of the problems I had that prompted this whole hundred book challenge in the first place, I realized everything I was reading was just “fun” and while that sounds like a lot of fun, it's ultimately unfulfilling.

Anyway, back to Ubik.

This story is pretty straight forward, especially when you consider the fact that it deals with psychic powers and an almost-dead state that allows the, well, almost-dead to communicate with the living for, you know, business matters and so forth.

To recount the story of Ubik would be to give something away... as if I didn't already do that by talking about the last two paragraphs changing everything.

Seriously though. THAT ENDING! What the hell?!

So, I'm being pretty light with this write up I know. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to go deep with what lies within this book. There's some pretty interesting stuff but in comparison to the other stuff I'm reading it was just fun.

I'm also currently reading “The Big Sleep”, another genre fiction, this time a hard-boiled detective novel, and I'm finding the same thing. These book are good and I am having a ball, but it's not challenging or, I don't know, as fulfilling.

Still, if you haven't read it yet you should. And remember, when used according to the manufacturer's instruction, Ubik can be used for nearly everything with minimal harmful effects.