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Ubik Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Ubik


UBIK is a book written by Philip K. Dick in 1969.

1992. There is a latent war going on between Glen Runciter, head of Runciter associates, an organization that tries to discover people able to see the future and Ray Hollis who employs such people. Runciter and a dozen of his best hunters are hired by Stanley Mick, a wealthy businessman, and must fly to Earth's Moon in order to find Hollis's men working amidst his employees. But this is a trap and Runciter is killed by a bomb. Joe Chip takes the leadership of the group and brings back Runciter to a moratorium. It's possible to communicate with dead people in such places ; they are maintained in a semi-life during years and are regularly awakened by their relatives as long as there is a brain activity in the corpse. But, from the moment Joe Chip and his companions have arrived on Earth on, reality seems to change, it seems to them that they have travelled time backwards until year 1939. Joe Chip will have to discover who is playing this mortal game with them. Soon his companions die one by one from exhaustion and Chip is contacted by Glen Runciter himself who informs Chip that he's alive and that, in fact, only the members of the group have died in the bombing. But is this really true ?
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By far, the best Philip K. Dick book.
The review of this Book prepared by Daniel Staebler



Chapter Analysis of Ubik

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Plot & Themes

Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence 10%planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives 30%Feelings, relationships, character bio/development 30%Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places 30% Tone of book    -   depressing/sad FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?    -   science fiction story Time Travel:    -   largely backwards/past Spying & Investigations    -   Yes What is main char. doing?    -   finding a spy/saboteur Time Travel story?    -   Yes Story largely takes place in    -   1900-1960's

Main Character

Identity:    -   Male Profession/status:    -   engineer Age:    -   20's-30's

Setting

Which planet?    -   Earth's Moon Earth setting:    -   20th century Takes place on Earth?    -   Yes Not Earth, in Solar System?    -   Yes

Writing Style

Accounts of torture and death?    -   explicit references to deaths scientific jargon? (SF only)    -   some scientific explanation How much dialogue?    -   significantly more descript than dialog

Books with storylines, themes & endings like Ubik

Philip K. Dick Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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