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A review by ashablue
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
3.0
This is one of those books that I would expect to be on a high school read list because it feels like a book rife with material for those end of year essay exams for English. That's not at all a bad thing, mind you. Like Animal Farm or Lord of the Flies it is pregnant with meaning and questions and statements on humanity, society, corruption, good intentions and bad outcomes.
There isn't a lot to spoil, exactly. Orr dreams. His dreams change reality. He has no control over his powers and it terrifies him. His psychiatrist learns to control his patient and so Orr becomes a tool of the good Dr as he tries to make the world better, with predictably weird and dangerous outcomes. His powers are bit like that of a monkeys paw. They can be guided, but not controlled and be careful what you wish for plays into it pretty heavily.
Also, there's aliens.
But I'll leave it at that.
There isn't a lot to spoil, exactly. Orr dreams. His dreams change reality. He has no control over his powers and it terrifies him. His psychiatrist learns to control his patient and so Orr becomes a tool of the good Dr as he tries to make the world better, with predictably weird and dangerous outcomes. His powers are bit like that of a monkeys paw. They can be guided, but not controlled and be careful what you wish for plays into it pretty heavily.
Also, there's aliens.
But I'll leave it at that.