UBIK

It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you. Actor Anthony Heald delivers a gifted performance of all the characters in Philip K. Dick's prophetic 1969 short story. The "future" of 1992 is a scary place, where people with telepathic and psychic abilities are common and must be kept in check by power-dampening people called "interials." Heald is called on to portray more than a dozen characters, including a screeching being, a brain-damaged youth, and an assortment of damaged people. UBIK is a fascinating look at the excesses of science and how easily morality can be forgotten in the name of profit. Heald is the glue that holds the somewhat confusing story together—right up to the shocking climax. M.S. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2008]