Ursula K. Le Guin has been in the vanguard of science fiction since the publication of her first novel in 1966. Her essays and criticism, short stories and novels, have won numerous literary prizes--including the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Tiptree, and National Book Awards--reverent critical acclaim, and a vast, devoted readership that reaches far beyond the genre. But out of all she has produced--all the brilliant speculations advanced and wondrous new worlds imagined--this is the work which perhaps best endures in the mind, the heart and the conscience.
The Lathe of Heaven is George Orr's story--a man who dreams things into being, for better or for worse. It is a dark vision and a warning--a fable of power uncontrolled and uncontrollable--a truly prescient and startling view of humanity, and the consequences of God-playing. It is, quite simply, a masterpiece.
Ursula K. Le Guin is one of science fiction's greatest writers. She is also an acclaimed author of powerful and perceptive nonfiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. She has received many honors, including six Nebula and five Hugo Awards, the National Book Award, the Pushcart Prize, the Newbery, the Pilgrim, the Tiptree, and citations by the American Library Association. She has written over a dozen highly regarded novels and story collections. Her SF masterworks are The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), The Dispossessed (1974), and The Lathe of Heaven (1971).
George Orr has dreams that come true--dreams that change reality. He dreams that the aunt who is sexually harassing him is killed in a car crash, and wakes to find that she died in a wreck six weeks ago, in another part of the country. But a far darker dream drives George into the care of a psychotherapist--a dream researcher who doesn't share George's ambivalence about altering reality.
The Lathe of Heaven is set in the sort of worlds that one would associate with Philip K. Dick, but Ms. Le Guin's treatment of the material, her plot and characterization and concerns, are more akin to the humanistic, ethically engaged, psychologically nuanced fiction of Theodore Sturgeon. The Lathe of Heaven is an insightful and chilling examination of total power, of war and injustice and other age-old problems, of changing the world, of playing God. --Cynthia Ward
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Still a classic:
Re-read the Lathe of Heaven after many years -- and it's still a classic. Great quote from Michael Chabon prefaces this edition. A must read.
Not a book to be read before bedtime:
A coworker recommended I read some of Le Guin's work, and with how many books I recommend, I feel generally compelled to read recommendations. This novel started out following my normal fiction interests-dystopias. It seemed like this was going to be a good psychiatrist dystopia, which was great because aside from 12 Monkeys, I don't think I've ever seen or read a psychiatric dystopia. Haber was an interesting character, a typical researcher who convinces himself that what he's doing is fo the good of... more info
Sci-fi with a humanistic purpose:
A someone who claims to not be a fan of sci-fi, Le Guin manages to keep me in the fold. Having read Walking Away from Omelas in grad school and more recently The New Atlantis, I was intrigued by Le Guin's approach to writing. She infuses sci-fi with a strong literary syle and an interest in ethics and humanism. The result in The Lathe of Heaven is a book that offers a sci-fi, dystopian theme as well as an intelligent comment on the human condition. Fans of the genre, as well as others, will be entertained... more info
Accessible, wide-ranging, and opens the doors to many new topics and genres. Very highly recommended:
George Orr has the ability to dream things into being, changing reality smoothly and seamlessly into what he creates in his dreams. Scared by this power, he takes drugs to stop his dreams and soon ends up in mandatory sessions with a dream-specialist therapist who promises to help him--yet reveals that he has his own plans for George and his effective dreams. Unlike George, who did not want to change reality, the psychiatrist Haber has no qualms changing reality to serve what he views as the greatest good.... more info
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