Dreams of an Unseen Planet

by Teresa Plowright

1st Grafton 1990 edition paperback fine condition. In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Science Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Minerva B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hmm, it was a bit hard to get into this book at first. There's something about the way it's written that didn't flow as well as other authors' writings, say Madeline Miller, for example. And there were quite a few typos in the edition I read. Some of the descriptions were confusing, and I wasn't sure what some of it meant.

I also thought the name of the book did not reflect the story that well. It sets it up as if a woman on Earth dreams of this distant planet that's better suited for humans' needs after Earth becomes devastated from pollution and whatnot, but the book begins with the colony already arrived at the planet. The dreams are actually calling to the main character Miera, because it's alive. There's a line in the book that said "sins from a distant colony" that I think could've been a cooler name for the title of the book.

The book isn't heavy on any science, so some of the technical things about space travel don't make sense or are not explored/accurate. Like it was hard to know if the ship was in orbit, or farther away, because the main character kept describing seeing trees on the surface, and I couldn't understand if those were just illusions from the surface (even from orbit, you wouldn't be able to see trees clearly). The book focuses more on the idea of telepathy, mind-linking and connecting to this planet.

Nonetheless, I appreciate many of the elements and themes in the book. It definitely started to get better halfway through. You can tell it was written by a woman, and Plowright wasn't afraid to discuss taboo elements that have, for a long time, not been found in classical sci-fi except in Le Guin's works. There is a big focus on feminity, female-related issues, menstruation, fertility, conception, sexuality, and even homoerotic elements relationships women (which is what made the book a lot more interesting, though I wish it would've been explored more).

I also wish that the reason for the Ventura project would've been explained more at the beginning (i.e. what pushed humans to seek a new planet). It's only briefly addressed at the end of the book (third act). One of the main things they said had ravaged Earth was a series of manmade pandemics, which was an interesting topic to discuss way back in 89 (biological warfare).

All that being said, the message of the book is clear: as a human race, we have to reconnect with our planet and listen to its needs. Only then can we persevere.


Edit: August 29, 2025. Upon rereading the book a second time, I understand the book better, and I've come to appreciate it more. I give a 5/5 from my initial 3/5

[Raj · Rating 3 out of 5]

On a distant planet, the birth rate is effectively zero and the colonists are getting worried about their viability. One woman, Miera, dreams of red: is the planet outside trying to contact her telepathically?

The first third or so of this book annoyed me as the protogonist was so passive. Things happened to her but she never initiated anything. It wasn't until about a third the way through that something happened to give her a kick up the backside and she started acting. It was about then that I started to enjoy the book. The book definitely has a feminine touch, something I might call touchy-feely, which isn't something that I read that often, but I quite enjoyed.

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a rather mediocre first try by novelist Teresa Plowright.