The Lathe of Heaven

Reading these type of books will increase your creativity and thinking. Great book not only sci fi but also great novel.

This is a fascinating and relentlessly brilliant SF novel which is completely different from Ursula K. LeGuin's other works. Set in the near future on earth, it's the story of a man whose dreams change reality.The 'if' world scenarios are a favourite of Science Fiction writiers. Some other classics are Philip K. Dick's 'The Man in the High Castle' and 'the Zap Gun', the Asimov and Arthur C Clarke short stories of people going back to the past and changing the future, and more recently Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy. In film there's 'Twelve Monkeys' and for TV there's the much underrated early Dr Who classic 'Inferno'.The Lathe of Heaven, however, is a completely different take and a very original and compelling solution. In this story, the man's dreams are bizarrely transmitted into new realities. This is just a disturbing personal experience, until he falls into the hands of an unscrupulous psychotherapist.The ensuing catalogue of disastrous choices — similar to genie-wish stories — opens the door for LeGuin to explore philosophical themes with much greater depth and precision than her Ekumen scenarios do. For example, a dream aspiring to end race hatred results in everyone having the same grey skin colour.I enjoyed this book immensely. Even if you aren't a fan of LeGuin, the Lathe of Heaven should be a cracking good read.

La novela tiene todo el sello Le Guin. Una historia de ciencia ficción con muy buenos argumentos, tejidos de forma maravillosa. Es una historia llena de reflexiones, interacción humana, sueños y pesadillas, mostrando que aún los más nobles motivos tienen sus fallas.George Orr es un hombre que tiene la capacidad de convertir sus sueños en algo tangible; asustado por este don, toda una serie de sucesos lo lleva a conocer al Dr. Harber, un psiquiatra que está interesado en comprender los sueños. Aprovechándose de George Orr comienza a utilizar su don mediante sugerencias en sus sueños para fines "buenos", sin considerar lo dañino de los medios utilizados. Esta novela me sorprendió y me agradó, la prosa de Le Guin es pausada, amable y de mucho significado.El libro lo compré a un excelente precio pero llegó con una etiqueta pegada en la portada, la logré quitar pero, debido a que es de material delicado, lastimé un poco la parte frontal del libro.

Whilst this wasn't what I would call a page-turner, I have to give it five stars for the immense ideas it throws at you. One man's dreams can change reality but initially only he is aware.I'm late to the game with Ursula K Le Guin and feel like I have a great deal of catching-up to do now. Such a powerful intellect and the extraordinary ability to portray such incredible notions in a way that is understandable to a layman like myself.Le Guin also creates some powerful lines like the following: "He had grown up in a country run by politicians who sent the pilots to man the bombers to kill the babies to make the world safe for children to grow up in." Makes me think of the absurdity in Joseph Heller's Catch-22.And then this line that probes deep into a fundamental part of our existence: "Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone: it has to be made, like bread; re-made all the time, made new."It strikes me as one of those books everyone should read. It gets your mind whirring away on dreams, the course of history, morals, individual desires and what a utopia should be/could be/would be.An excellent work.

This is a story about a man - George Orr - whose dreams can change reality, and the psychiatrist who sets out to cure him but, having realised he can control George's dreams through hypnosis, then decides to change the world using his ideas of how things should be. It's a great idea - although George's ability is never really explained, as a starting point it's brilliant. At the start, George is a mess. Le Guin's idea of a future world (the book was written in 1971) that is overpopulated, over-industrialised and polluted is all too real. George has realised that his nightmares are making the world worse, and has been taking drugs to try and prevent sleep. When it's discovered that he has been obtaining the medication illegally he is forced to see a psychiatrist. In steps Dr Haber, who quickly becomes obsessed with the possibilities and the power George's ability provides him with. As the story progresses, Haber uses George to change the world. At first the changes are small, and only noticeable to the two of them. But, as Haber's lust for power begins to take over ... well, that would be spoiling it.I really liked the way Le Guin wove the changes into the narrative in such a natural way. From the start, she throws in little details about the existing world then - without whacking you around the head with a big sign saying "THIS HAS CHANGED!" - you find you're reading about the same people and places, but they are different. I also liked that, once George's dreams altered things, they also changed history, so people around him remembered events going back years that had formed the new world as they saw it now.A very interesting and enjoyable read, and it doesn't overstay its welcome.