The Puppet Masters vs Ubik: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Iowa, Science Fiction, Fiction

The Puppet Masters Robert A. Heinlein · 1951 ★★★★☆ 3.8 175 pages · ≈ 3 h 14 m · Moderate

First came the news that a flying saucer had landed in Iowa. Then came the announcement that the whole thing was a hoax. End of story. Case closed. Except that two agents of the most secret intelligence agency in the…

1 film adaptation

Invasion Human-alien encounters Extraterrestrial beings

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Ubik Philip K. Dick · 1969 ★★★★☆ 4.1 304 pages · ≈ 5 h 38 m · Moderate

“At three-thirty A.M. on the night of June 5, 1992, the top telepath in the Sol System fell off the map in the offices of Runciter Associates in New York City.”

Named one of Time's 100 Best Books, Ubik is a mind-bending, classic novel about the perception of reality from Philip K. Dick, the Hugo Award-winning author of The Man in the High Castle. “From the stuff of space opera,…

Murder victims Motion picture plays Time Businessmen

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Ubik highest: Ubik 4.1 · The Puppet Masters 3.8.
The Puppet Masters is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 5 for Ubik.
Ubik has the widest readership — 128415 ratings behind its score.
Ubik runs the darker storyline; The Puppet Masters stays the lighter read.

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How to choose

Want a one-evening read? The Puppet Masters ≈ 3h vs 5h for Ubik In the mood for something dark? Ubik a darker storyline than The Puppet Masters Want something lighter? The Puppet Masters an easier tone than Ubik

Scores by source

	The Puppet Masters	Ubik
Goodreads	—	4.1 (128415)
Hardcover	3.6 (96)	4.1 (684)
Apple Books	4.5 (26)	—
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Reception

	The Puppet Masters	Ubik
Ratings	96	128415
Editions	45	68
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	—	113258
Reading it now	—	4162
Written reviews	—	8473
Wikipedia attention	1978	13653
Pages	175	304
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: The Puppet Masters or Ubik?

Ubik has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Ubik 4.1/5, The Puppet Masters 3.8/5).

Which is shorter to read: The Puppet Masters or Ubik?

The Puppet Masters is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Puppet Masters (175 pages, ≈ 3 h 14 m); Ubik (304 pages, ≈ 5 h 38 m).

Which is harder to read: The Puppet Masters or Ubik?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Puppet Masters: Moderate; Ubik: Moderate.

Have both books been made into films?

The Puppet Masters: 3 film adaptations; Ubik: no film adaptation on record.