Ursula K. Le Guin's 1971 science fiction classic "The Lathe of Heaven" is one of her most celebrated books, along with the excellent "The Left Hand of Darkness"(1969) and "The Dispossessed"(1974). I will be reviewing those two novels at a later date. I will focus this review on "The Lathe of Heaven", which I have just recently read, so it's still fresh in my memory. 

The story centers around George Orr (possibly named as a tribute to George Orwell), who is having dreams which reshape reality, along with everyone in it. Only George remembers what the reality was like before having the dream. An experimental psychiatrist, William Haber, upon finding out about George's god-like powers, wants to use Orr to change the world. Haber's intentions are good enough, but the results have unforeseen consequences. 

Haber has invented a machine to help focus George's dreams and inject suggestions/commands of Haber's choosing into George's mind as he sleeps. However, George's dreams cannot be so easily controlled, and the results pile up new problems to replace the old problems. For example, in order to bring about world peace, George's dreams conceive of an alien invasion to unite all the countries of the world against that common threat. However, the invasion obviously brings about its own catastrophic destruction.

This novel was nominated for the Hugo award, and it's easy to understand why once you've read it. It is a tour-de-force, a triumph of the imagination and brilliant storytelling. Le Guin was heavily inspired by the works of Philip K. Dick in conceiving this novel. She was in fact one of the authors who helped bring Philip K. Dick's work the recognition it deserved (which it didn't have at the time). 

"The Lathe of Heaven" is thought-provoking and unforgettable. Books like these are the reason why I enjoy reading science fiction in the first place. Discovering this novel for the first time recently was a real treat.