Ubik

Joe Chip is a tester of psionic/telepathic powers for a firm that employs people with anti-psionic powers; these individuals are used to cancel out the abilities of those with the 'positive' powers. Glen Runciter (the CEO of said firm) consults his deceased wife on major business decisions, only able to do so because of a form of cold storage that lengthens the half-life of her consciousness. It is within this space between life and death that Dick explores the most in Ubik, as Joe Chip struggles to unravel the mystery of his own surroundings. In this quest for clarity, he is urged towards seeking an ever evolving and devolving symbol of divinity and consumerism: a spray/cream/salve called Ubik, which prevents a withering away of his consciousness.

As my muddled and confusing synopsis can attest, it's hard to encapsulate the plot of Ubik concisely. Suffice it to say that it's fast-paced, hallucinogenic, creative, and fun. This is the type of work you can shoot directly into your veins in an afternoon, but can also linger in your mind for awhile afterwards as you tease apart the many twists, turns, and loose ends. Having only read a handful of Dick's oeuvre, I haven't found myself yet tired of his religious themes or over-the-top plotting. Dick's writing is at its best when describing the labyrinthine puzzle that Chip finds himself in, and time editing powers that Pat Conely has. Chip's apartment door that requires change to open and close is highly memorable, and goes up in lights next to Dick's mood organ and electric pets from Androids.

For all of its positives, though, I was left with a slightly hollow taste in mouth after finishing. Ubik is skeletal in a lot of ways, in no small part because of its cardboard characters and its clunky dialogue. Despite all of its creativeness, my experience was like seeing a very broad, inviting pool, only to discover that it's only a few inches deep. Dick was certainly an inventive and original writer, but it's my opinion that readers should approach his work with tempered expectations to avoid being let down by his immense reputation.