From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

The Lathe of Heaven

Ursula K. Le Guin

Start date: April 1, 2013

Finish date: April 30, 2013

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Discussion leader: Vera M.

Why we're reading this: Group Classic Novel discussion for April 2013
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What Members Thought

Jun 02, 2013 Alicja rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, dystopian, female-author, sff, favorites, speculative-fiction, classic-sci-fi, sci-fi-fantasy-challenge

rating: 5.5/5

*I don't think there are any overt spoilers below, but my discussion of concepts may be a bit spoilery.*

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I picked up this sci-fi classic, but I ended up loving it!

The feel of the prose reminds me a bit of Philip K. Dick (or maybe that was just the style for that time period?). The story was fascinating! George Orr has dreams, sometimes these dreams change reality. He's a bit freaked out about it and ends up taking others' prescribed meds to rating: 5.5/5

*I don't think there are any overt spoilers below, but my discussion of concepts may be a bit spoilery.*

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I picked up this sci-fi classic, but I ended up loving it!

The feel of the prose reminds me a bit of Philip K. Dick (or maybe that was just the style for that time period?). The story was fascinating! George Orr has dreams, sometimes these dreams change reality. He's a bit freaked out about it and ends up taking others' prescribed meds to help him sleep without dreaming. That gets him into trouble with the law, and straight onto a psychiatrist's chair. Oh, and did I mention Orr lives in a dystopian future where everything has gone wrong?

When reading something written in the past, I try not to evaluate it based on what's been written since. Yes, the dystopian elements within this work these days are considered pretty generic (climate change, massive wars, starvation, limited resources, etc.). But such concepts in the 70s weren't overdone yet, and Le Guin's presentation is fresh and innovative, even when compared to the bombardment of dystopian literature currently flooding our bookshelves.

The psychological content also seems a bit dated, the field has moved on from hypnosis and in a different direction than Le Guin's imagine future. Despite her errors of prediction, the advances in psychology she comes up with are imaginative in a field that is probably one of the hardest to predict its future (like the neuro-cognitive hybrid that Haber uses with Orr).

Regarding the Orr/Haber dynamic, Haber refers to Orr as passive (even though he scored a balance between the passive/aggressive scales). This led to me think of power dynamics in relations. Of how those finding themselves in a position of power are also in a position to impose their interpretations onto others. For Haber, this extends to imposing his will onto the world through Orr.

As a wise (comic book) man once said, "With great power comes great responsibility." What we have are two individuals. One with a great power he can't control and has no desires to use. And another with the tools for control. Through Orr Haber has the power to change the world, and he does playing God with the best intentions. But Orr is an imperfect power source, so very human with human dreams and human interpretations. It's fascinating to watch their dynamic, and even more fascinating to watch reality change (for the better? for worse? or just different?).

It may be a cautionary tale about wielding of power. But it doesn't rely on good/evil dynamics, but blurs the line where good intentions in action can meet disastrous results, but where inaction is just a deplorable. In the end, I wasn't sure whether Orr or Haber's actions was the right thing to do (or neither). Either way, people would suffer. Is inaction in the face of suffering better than action with disastrous results? Does the abuse of power, the abuse (rape/torture) of others justify actions for the greater good? We live in our minds, defining the world around us through our own biases. Good and evil are just words, they can be redefined, modified, twisted, skewed. They can describes the same situation at the same time and both be accurate. It's all perception.

In the end, this is a tale of power, control, humanity, abuse, saving the world... and of alien turtles.
...more

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May 06, 2017 Ash rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-read, science-fiction, 0-locus, challenge-sf, 2018hugos

2 and 1/2 stars. With this book, I am officially giving up on this author. This was my second attempt to read a science fiction by her and even this was pretty meh. I couldn't make head or tail of Left hand of darkness. I thought the story in this book was based on Earth so it might make some sense. This book started out great and I really loved the concept - a man who can change reality through his dreams and a shrink who takes advantage of this power. This book had so much potential but then m ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 28, 2014 Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: would-read-more-from-author

A very intriguing story!

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 03, 2018 James rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: locus

The lathe of heaven is a lovely short novel about dreaming, and the dangers of realising your dreams.

The initial chapters move along nicely and the early dreams and changes are good fun, and nicely written. The novel's challenges lie in the very fact that every dream slowly disconnects everyone (including the reader) from the world, and it becomes more of a struggle to work out what is going on and become invested in the final result.

The characters in the novel are few, and I struggled with the ...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Aleix Dorca rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

It seems that almost everyone liked this book, this is torturing me now that I'm planning on reviewing it. Let me set this straight, I did enjoy it, it was a fast and fun read but not as deep as I would have liked to be, everything was way to simple. I've read some other books by Ursula K. Le Guin and I think that this one is one of the weakest but not as much as the first two statements of the Annals of the Western Shore.

I had always thought of Le Guin as a Fantasy writer more than a sci-fi one It seems that almost everyone liked this book, this is torturing me now that I'm planning on reviewing it. Let me set this straight, I did enjoy it, it was a fast and fun read but not as deep as I would have liked to be, everything was way to simple. I've read some other books by Ursula K. Le Guin and I think that this one is one of the weakest but not as much as the first two statements of the Annals of the Western Shore.

I had always thought of Le Guin as a Fantasy writer more than a sci-fi one. With The Dispossessed I had to change my opinion somewhat even though I'll always think of The Left Hand of Darkness as a fantasy one, don't know why. So I had high hopes with this one expecting a mix of Le Guin's consciousness for the world and its environment and the good ol' sci-fi from the sixties and seventies. Well, I did found some of the great sci-fi that Heinlein was also great for but not much more. It looks like Le Guin wants to fix the world changing everything that is wrong with it, and what is that? Well, I don't like spoilers as much as the next guy but you won't have to think too hard to imagine what those things are, and that is why I found it so simple. I was always thinking that Orr (the main character) was, even if unconsciously, too naive and predictable.

As you can see and, as some other reviewers have stated, this book deals with the notion of playing God. Ok, I can deal with that. The book had a great beginning, I couldn't put it down. But as it came to the middle part the plot seemed to go nowhere. My suspension of disbelief could not deal with some of the reactions the characters had. Simply put, I did not believe what was happening. Maybe it is because *I* would have acted quite differently, I don't know.

I thought the characters were quite flat, especially George Orr. C'mon man, get a spine! You're changing the world, if you have a problem with that act accordingly don't let yourself be played with as if you were a puppet! Meh! Also, the love story was predictable and too good to be true... didn't like it either.

I've been struggling with how many stars I should give this book. To me three stars means it's an OK book (nothing out of the ordinary), four means it was great... Maybe something in the middle, but I know that years from now I'll remember this book as a good sci-fi tale and I don't want to be to hard on it. On the other hand, this book is part of the S.F. Masterworks series, and I can't remember any of the fifty or so I've read that has ever let me down this much. I must be getting old. Maybe nothing surprises me too much anymore, please, pretty please, don't let it be so. :-(

If you are looking for a great book by Ursula K. Le Guin I'd recommend A Wizard of Earthsea, The Left Hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed any day. This one, I don't know...

After reading it, 3.5 stars. We'll have to see where it goes from here. ...more

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Jun 12, 2023 Z.A. Mackic added it

I stopped reading it because psychology presented doesn’t match current scientific findings in the area. The ideas from sixties are just too jarring and kept kicking me out of the story.

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