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Ubik
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
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Publisher's Summary
A mind-bending, classic Philip K. Dick novel about the perception of reality.
Named as one of Time's 100 best books.
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-life," a dreamlike state of suspended animation. Soon, though, the surviving members of the team begin experiencing some strange phenomena, such as Runciter's face appearing on coins and the world seeming to move backward in time. As consumables deteriorate and technology gets ever more primitive, the group needs to find out what is causing the shifts and what a mysterious product called Ubik has to do with it all.
What the critics say
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What listeners say about Ubik
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Austin Fusilier
- 2019-06-28
Reality Bending
Well, this one's a mindfreak. Of course, if you're familiar with Dick's _oeuvre_, you have a grip on what to expect, but Ubik is (arguably) his pinnacle. Be ready to have your perceptions challenged.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Brianfowler
- 2022-03-10
An incoherent mess, even before the end
The narrator was fine. The recording was fine. The story was a mess.
Ubick feels like a Neil Stephenson book to me. It starts off with a creative idea that it completely abandons halfway through. In this case the book started with organizations of psychics and anti psychics going to the mattresses. But once the first twist happens, that's all out the window.
The commercials for Ubik in the beginning of each chapter were amusing. So there is that.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- David A Grad
- 2021-09-22
Story is good - voice acting is grating
Good story, but the voice acting for several key characters is grating. It is physically painful at times to listen to the loud, over-the-top voices. Some are overly raspy and literally make me wince. Some are so loud, goofy, and intense - it hurts to listen too. It was a struggle to get through the narration of this book.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Caroline
- 2018-08-23
Stellar performance of a great book.
I loved it and was surprised that it ended so soon. It's a great story and I would like to hear more from Mr. Dick.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Heather
- 2022-08-27
so good
great narrator, he does an excellent job with many different voices. phenomenal book. highly recommend, try UBIK today!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mike Reiter
- 2022-08-08
If you like Dick you will like this
A team of anti-psychic's get ambushed on the moon and are thrown into a realm where things deteriorate into older time periods and evolve into never actualized futures.
I know my description sounds weird, but listen to the book and you will get it.
Like all books by Dick he goes to great length to explore his central tenet but also the rest of the science part of the science fiction is weak and might as well be magic. I have read this is the pinnacle of his works but for me I preferred The Zap Gun, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Time out of Joint to this one.
I think the narrator was good and did well with the material.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-06-24
Outstanding performance
Interesting premise and engaging story. Absolutely amazing performance by the narrator. I will look for titles narrated by him in the future!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-12-15
Oddly good
Ubik is an interesting book. You may find it confusing at first listen, hence I have to listen some chapters twice to grasp the story. However, later on, you will appreciate its uniqueness and peculiarity but amazing storyline.
The performance of voice actor is fantastic. Lots of characters were introduced but main ones can be easily recognizable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brian White
- 2021-04-12
Excellent
Definitely worth a listen. I came across this book by chance and I'm so glad I found it!
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- CKH Vancouver
- 2021-03-16
Reality defying sexist universe
This book is the forerunner of Matrix or the Adjustment Bureau, extremely clever and the ending was quietly brilliant.
However, the overt sexism was not a plot point. I was mistaken in thinking that there had to be a reason that the female characters were all wives or potential wives (where Joe was chided for not having the status of a caring mistress), or for thinking there had to be reason for the casual objectiviation of the younger females especially of the time warping character. That irritated then infuriated me so much that although the premise of the novel was amazing and spectacular, I will doubt I will be purchasing anything else by this author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2017-03-17
Holy sh*t
Was listening to this book on a trip from California and let me tell you it is one of the most nail biting adventures I have ever listen. to Philip K Dick is a master at suspense and deception a must read. Just wait to the ending it's worth the whole ride
58 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jim "The Impatient"
- 2016-06-10
AVOID PROLONG USE
MADE IN CLEVELAND
I just could not get into this. I am sure PKD fans will love it. Dick has a kind of cult following. I like his short work and the movies made from his books are usually pretty good. Every time I have tried his longer works I have been bored off my A. Often the movies are Totally different from his books, if I Recall. Parts of this are funny and makes you wonder if Larry Coreia is a PKD fan.
SAFE WHEN TAKEN AS DIRECTED
58 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joe
- 2016-06-12
Fantastic Performance
I read this book 24 years ago as a teenager. I grew up a Philip K Dick fan and truly loved this book. I hadn't read it again, until recently, when audible offered it on sale, I thought it would be fun to listen to.
Wow! The narration of Luke Daniels makes this book so much fun to hear performed. Daniels brings the different characters to life with cleverly rendered voices. The book is as playful as it is mind-blowing.
I wish Philip K Dick were still around to hear his own work performed like this. I bet he would love it.
54 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve
- 2016-07-10
A great performance of an SF classic
What made the experience of listening to Ubik the most enjoyable?
I first read UBIK nearly thirty years ago, and while I remembered a lot of the plot (including the final reveal), what I didn't remember (or hadn't noticed) is how well constructed the novel was. Dick took great pains to "play fair" and leave enough bread crumbs to figure out what was going on if you paid attention. I was also interested in how "dated" the technological references might seem, since UBIK takes place in a 1996 with a Lunar Colony established (and others implied); there are a few moments in which the tech references show their age, but they don't detract.
What other book might you compare Ubik to and why?
In some ways this novel seems to have been a response (or even a commentary) on Kornbluth and Pohl's "The Space Merchants," while also involving some stylistic similarities to Bester's "The Stars My Destination" and Fritz Lieber's short story "Coming Attraction." But that's probably only me; UBIK is a legit, one of a kind original.
Which scene was your favorite?
The first time that Pat uses her power to change the past with Joe Chip and his boss Runciter.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I don't have seven-hour sittings available, but it did well in big chunks of an hour or so at a time while I was driving.
Any additional comments?
Luke Daniels' narration is a real plus, and made the character of Al much more central in my listening than he was way back when I read the novel the first time. I thought he also caught the sadistic/playful nuances in the character Pat much better than I would have imagined. But, then, Luke Daniels is one of my favorite narrators.
53 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Kennedy
- 2016-11-24
Incredible voice acting
This story is classic Philip K Dick. Definitely Philip K Dick at his weirdest. The voice acting in this performance is some of the best I have ever heard. The number of voices and characters in his repertoire is incredible. The wide variety of voices was particularly suitable for this story and it's whimsical, esoteric, and quirky details. This book is worth listening to for the voice acting alone, even though the story is a bit on the odd side.
50 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Nothing really matters
- 2016-07-21
Confusing. Convoluted. Too clever.
Ubik makes it onto some lists of recommended sci-fi novels so I was keen to finally read it. I enjoyed the beginning and was looking forward to a good sci-fi yarn. Despite the promising beginning the story just kept getting more and more and then even more convoluted.
Things hadn't cleared up significantly by the end, though I still had high hopes. Unfortunately, I found the ending was as mystifying as it was unsatisfying. I'm not a fan of deep and meaningful endings.
If you love high brow sci-fi you may like this book. Personally, I value a satisfying and engaging story over literary panache. If you are like-minded, you may want to consider giving this book a pass.
Luke Daniels does a fine job narrating, though.
38 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Sensible Shopper
- 2017-07-01
I Wanted to Like It
This is one of those books that is either genius or well... not genius. Maybe I am just not smart enough to "get" it. I can admit that, no harm. In the beginning I wanted to like it, hell by the middle I just wanted to understand it. By the end I figured I must have somehow missed an important bit of narration that was the necessary key to unlocking the meaning of the book. It was confusing, emotionally fragmented and just downright baffling. I would give you a short synopsis of the story, but I never did figure out what the story was. Don't get me wrong... there were moments of sheer brilliance, glimpses of shining insight and a breath of deep and profound vision. And then, I was just back to being confused. Can't recommend this one.
37 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- T. McCloskey
- 2017-02-15
Unfinished themes
Would you try another book from Philip K. Dick and/or Luke Daniels?
They are both very talented, I have never been disappointed with Luke Daniels, Iron Druid, Marko Kloos stories, and many more. PKD improved with time and his short stories seem more fleshed out.
Any additional comments?
This book started with some interest and humor. but by midway through it seemed to wander and ended rather abruptly leaving the reader to either do some serious linking of ideas or simply saying meh. I chose the latter.
36 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Alan
- 2016-08-29
I liked it, but I haven't figured everything out..
I liked the story, but it was very confusing as to why certain things were happening, and when it ended I thought it was rather abrupt and didn't understand. I used to enjoy sci-fi quite a bit in my younger days, maybe age has dulled my abilities to figure stuff like this out... Anyway, it was entertaining and engaging, but to my ears an old fashioned sci-fi novel. Its primary goal is to make you think, entertainment is just a by- product.
31 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Sarah Ishida
- 2017-07-15
Confusing
Just like the characters were unsure about what's happening to them, I was confused listening. Unlike a murder mystery or something of that sort, they were in a sci-fi then parallel world of people with varying/unknown skills and I had trouble keeping up. The last few chapter where everything was being explained was interesting.
25 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Charles
- 2019-04-18
Great classic SF story, excellent interpretation
Great classic SF story, well-written and entreintaining as expected with PK Dick.
I was surprised for the excellent performance of the reader. Probably the best I have heard with a large number of characters very well interpreted. I was bluffed.
1 person found this helpful
