Ubik

Dick, Philip K. Ubik. In Four Novels of the 1960s. New York: Library of America, 1997. 189 pages (for Ubik, which is pages 609-798)

Overall Rating: **** (out of five)

"Ubik (1969), with its future world of psychic espionage agents and cryonically frozen patients inhabiting an illusory 'half-life,' pursues Dick's theme of simulated realities and false perceptions to ever more disturbing conclusions, as time collapses on itself and characters stranded in past eras search desperately for the elusive, constantly shape-shifting panacea Ubik." (description from book jacket)

Strengths:

• Premise. The idea of putting people who are dead, but not entirely dead (insert Princess Bride joke about being mostly dead here) being put in stasis where they live in an alternate world, but can be communicated with once and awhile is interesting. Particularly once the worlds start bleeding into each other.
• Writing Style. Dick's style is descriptive and simple, which suits the complexity of the plot well.

Weaknesses:

• Complexity of Plot.  Dick's plot can be convoluted, and the futuristic world of 1992 that he created can be a little hard to follow. At times it has a hallucinogenic quality that might not be to everybody's taste.

Strange Wine

Ellison, Harlan. Strange Wine. Kilimanjaro Corporation, 2008. 252 pages.

"From Harlan Ellison, whom the Washington Post regards as a 'lyric poet, satirist, explorer of odd psychological corners, and purveyor of pure horror and black comedy,' comes Strange Wine. Discover among these tales  the spirits of executed Nazi criminals who walk Manhattan streets; the damned soul of a murderess escaped from Hell; gremlins writing the fantasies of a gone-dry writer; and the exquisite Dr. D'arque Angel, who deals patients doses of death..." (description from the book cover)

Overall review: **** (four stars)

Strengths:

• Variety of Tone.  This collection of short stories provides a little bit of everything.  It ranges from the lighthearted ("Working with the Little People"), to the bleak ("Croatoan), to the whimsical ("From A to Z in the Chocolate Alphabet"), to the cautionary ("In Fear of K").  Being short stories, the reader can choose to read what tickles his/her fancy.
• Variety of Genre.  Ellison is a master of transcending genre.  This work contains a fairly straightforward ghost story, as well as stories of pure science fiction, stories of fantasy, and stories that go just beyond the possible.  The variety helps to keep the reader interested throughout.
• The Introductions.  Not only did Ellison write an introduction to the whole collection, but he also wrote intros to each individual story.  As these stories were originally written and published in magazines, he had time to reflect on them before they were collected.  His comments often add insight, not only into the stories, but into the person who created them.

Weaknesses:

• Subject Matter.  Harlan Ellison is a man of strong opinions who does not apologize for them.  The contents of some of these stories might very well make readers uncomfortable.  The first story, for example, deals not only quite bluntly with abortion (and this was first published in 1975, mind you), but with some unintended consequences thereof.  
• Format.  The stories in the collection are in no way related.  There is no connecting thread among them.  As not everyone is a fan of short stories, this collection might not please everyone.

Favorite Stories:

• "Working with the Little People"
• "Hitler Painted Roses"
• "From A to Z in the Chocolate Alphabet"
• "Seeing"