Ubik

   
Ubik
by Philip K. Dick
read: 2011
Time 100 Novels

After surviving an explosion, the characters in Philip K. Dick's novel Ubik find themselves dealing with an unknown threat disintegrating them one-by-one, and a world that seems to be crumbling around them. Or maybe they didn't survive the explosion at all? Dick is considered a science fiction writer, but I think he's as much a horror writer. Dick's brand of horror is insidious. Obviously we know there's no Freddy Krueger and there aren't zombies running around. But when Dick asks, "How do you know that reality actually exists and this isn't just in your head?," it's a horrifying sentiment that's more difficult to dismiss.