Ubik's comments
(member since Oct 19, 2008)
Ubik's comments from the SciFi and Fantasy Book Club group.
(showing 1-20 of 42)
You all might consider me boring or whatever, but I would go back to right about the 1890s and just......live.For as much as Im curious about the future (terraforming other planets, inventions, etc) not if the human culture is going to be what it is now or worse. My only wish would be that I could bring my Magic cards with me and the music, books, and movies that I love. I guess theyd have to just live on in my memory...
You all might consider me boring or whatever, but I would go back to right about the 1890s and just......live.
For as much as Im curious about the future (terraforming other planets, inventions, etc) not if the human culture is going to be what it is now or worse. My only wish would be that I could bring my Magic cards with me and the music, books, and movies that I love. I guess theyd have to just live on in my memory...
Just saw this on Yahoo News. I find it rather uncanny that its only one number off from
IQ 83. IQ83 was an OK book by the way...better concept than novel if you ask me...
Does anyone have any further information on this?
pete wrote: "by the way, ubik, did you choose your moniker from a certain Philip K Dick novel?"
Indeed!
Im really undecided on that. I just know I loved the visual feel of the end where he is completely in the dark and stepping on squishy rotten bodies. Maybe the ground devours them. Maybe the source is under the Earth's surface and if we only dug a hole big enough we could find it and it would emanate the desire to commit suicide...
Yeah, both Brad and Marian bring up really good questions that I hadnt thought of (msgs 26 & 27). That never bothered me before and now Im wondering why it didnt. Its either because the answer is there and we just arent thinking of it or its because there really is no reason and we are supposed to accept it...
David, can you help us out here?
I kinda imagined that it didnt have the "power" to physically manifest itself and get rid of people, but that once everyone was gone, it would start up a new civilization of beings/entities. I figured it to be something alien/supernatural (not necessarily aliens from Venus or something goofy, but alien in the true sense of the word)
Barbara wrote: "And why didn't Norman kill himself that first night in Seattle? C'mon, in search of a cure you cross the entire country, lose everyone you care about along the way, are ready to sacrifice yourself to a bear, then upon learning that your effort was in vain, you're OK with that? Your anguish is expressed with an abortive punch and a shower? Why did Norman stick around? Why didn't he march right back out of that facility and into the sunset? And why was he left alone that first night? If ever there was a candidate for round-the-clock suicide watch, he's it.."In response to that, check the post I wrote regarding people who seemingly should have absolutely no reason to kill themselves and yet do as compared to the thousands/millions of homeless people who somehow seem to keep on going every day... They dont take a bath, have no sense of accomplishment, no family, constant worries about where theyre going to sleep or where their next meal (or beer as it were) is going to come from, what other bum is going to steal their shopping cart full of goodies, etc etc...of all people on the planet it would make the most sense (purely logically speaking that is) for those people to put an end to it all, and yet....they dont.
Based on that, I dont have a problem with Norman wanting to keep on keeping on...
I do agree however that if anyone should have been a candidate for suicide-watch its him. What makes you think they werent watching him though?
Wow, this is perhaps the one time where I will join the majority and say......Rorschach. Being the kind of person who is always very black/white, objective, logical, always wanting to make sure the right thing is done no matter what, etc etc....he is definitely who I would have been if I were one of the Watchmen.
I agree about that, but she not only seemed like an adult she seemed like she was middle-aged...like way further matured that I could wrap my head around... Ive nitpicked a lot, but overall I really liked the book. I also look forward to more from the author.
Im not sure I wish it was one way or the other. I kinda liked the way that it ended (sad of course). I didnt understand the physics of the grenade though...was hand-delivering it *really* the only way? And what level of confidence does he have (other than the humming) that he really is killing the source of The Despair?Another thing that really bugged me...and this might just be me being incredibly nitpicky, but Zero really didnt seem 11. I mean yeah I understand the circumstances and the fact that she is very mature for her age, but she in fact is written like an adult...did that bug anyone else?
LOL. You got the novelization. That sucks. Although I cant say that I hated the movie. Of course not having read the book I dont have a reference point for it either so...
Well I didnt have a problem with Norman connecting with Maria. I started to because I thought they were going to jump immediately in the sack together, but he reflected on Jordan and kept his integrity there so that was OK plus they really didnt end up doing anything anyway. I just have a hard time, especially since Maria *was* a Collector so why exactly didnt the government people try to do anything before seeing as they knew all this inside information? And like Brooke I too wondered why it seemed like they were waiting for Norman. Was he *really* the *only* one ever to kill a Collector? And I just cant seem to understand why exactly that makes him such a "hero" to everyone. Oh well. Im now the one behind so I better get to reading the rest now...
Youre not alone in feeling that. I felt like right after he got to the compound, all character motivations were thrown out the window and it went up to 200% speed. He didnt question anyone when he first got there...they could have been The Collectors for all he knew.Then he goes out on this mission that he knows nothing about (or maybe he does, but that scene was edited for content). Just by sheer luck he breaks out of the body bag, no one is around, he utilizes all these goofy contraptions that actually work (a chapstick signal messer-upper?...really?) and he finds Zero immediately. Now Im at the part where they are going through this train tunnel (I fell asleep right as the train safely passed them)
Soooo...I will be reading the rest tonight and report back tomorrow...
I left off on page 252 last night. It was going great for a while and then just turned into one convenience/coincidence after another. And I was rolling my eyes at all the James Bond devices and the fact that it took about 2 seconds for Norman to accept his "mission". Im still engaged in the book enough to finish it and enjoy it though. I just hope the ending is satisfying.
So, not to sound ignorant, but is that the exact edition we should be reading? Ive never read any of the Robot stories (and never any Asimov either if you can believe it). I know there are many. Is there any particular order they go in (if I were to pick up another edition for example)?
Im not *quite* done yet. Im on page 178 and should be done by tonight or tomorrow night. Youll find me hanging out in "Coastland' for now...
I left off on page 178 last night. I found it interesting, cool, and kinda sad that Kurt Cobain was mentioned. Great novel, but I just hope *I* dont commit suicide by the time its over. Page 103 was just about the most depressing thing Ive ever read...Do you guys think Zero is alive? Do you think Norman is walking into a trap?
I think it poses some very interesting questions just in general. Like, ever wonder why someone who is depressed over something in their life commits suicide, but in the whole scheme of things *really* doesnt have it that bad, but then we see homeless people every day and we wonder "why are they still alive"? I really think that people are hardwired from birth to have a propensity for certain things (like suicide, murder, etc) and I think this is presented very realistically in the book whether it was the author's intention or not...
It took me a while to accept that out of all these remaining people, that no one *was* fighting or further questioning The Collectors. Not just so much the culture of wanting to bury our dead, but just the fact that these people are here out of nowhere and so far no one has tried too hard to figure out their purpose...
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