The Lathe of Heaven
by Ursula K. Le Guin · first published 1971
82% recommend15% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Tightly told science fiction about a man whose dreams change reality, with unintended consequences. Read as Le Guin's take on Philip K. Dick, but with a less paranoid tone; suits readers wanting thoughtful, literary SF.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
“The Lathe of Heaven” ; 1971 ( Ursula Le Guin received the 1973 Locus Award for this story) George Orr has a gift – he is an effective dreamer: his dreams become reality when he wakes up. He is aware of his past and present, two or more sets of memories, although the people around him are only aware of the current reality. This science fiction story is set in Portland, Oregon, in/around the late 1990s - early 2000s. Orr begins to take drugs to suppress dreams but eventually he is sent to a psychotherapist, Dr. William Haber, who has developed an electronic machine, the Augmentor, which r
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Happy to see some great books recommended there. Specifically, let me call out: The Three Body problem. The Lathe of Heaven. And while I haven't read Parable of the Sower yet, everything I've read of Octavia Butler has ranged from really good to some of my favorite books ever, so I'm sure it's a good one. One anti-recommendation…
on “YC’s 2018 Summer Reading List” ↗I recently read The Dispossessed and The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin, and will continue reading her stuff over the summer for sure. It's really great. (HN discussion about her obituary: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16218439) The other day…
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗This is going to be different, and is not intended to be sarcastic. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin First read during my high school years in the Amazing SF magazine; and was later published as a book. The work was criticized by the 'elite' of the SF community at the time. Have recently…
on “Ask HN: Which book helped you understand the world?” ↗Anyone that wants a "happy ending" and less paranoid PKD-like book should take a look at "The Lathe Of Heaven", which I have always thought of as Ursula Le Guin does PKD (of whom she was a huge fan).
on “Philip K. Dick: A Visionary Among the Charlatans (1975)” ↗Have you read Lathe of Heaven? I don't love all of the Hainish Cycle books (they're all good, just not peak Le Guin good), but that book I would consider in my top 5 books of all time easily.
on “Gene Wolfe Turned Science Fiction into High Art (2019)” ↗…recommend The Wind's Twelve Quarters (a collection of short stories) as a good introduction to Le Guin's work. Many of those stories later sprouted into separate novels. Outside of the Hainish Cycle The Lathe of Heaven is also worth checking out.
on “Ursula Le Guin Books” ↗The Lathe of Heaven (also: The Forever War; The Einstein Intersection). Hmmm. My favs seem to all start with "The."
on “Ask YC: What's the most inspiring sci-fi book you've read?” ↗Amongst my favorite SciFi books (not on that list) I loved The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
on “The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit)” ↗…the Earthsea series and will probably read The Other Wind and Tales soon. I've really enjoyed both universes--with Earthsea I keep wishing someone would make a game with this kind of magic system. The Lathe of Heaven is such a wonderful title, I'm looking forward to reading that as well. I read her translation of Tao Te Ching while waiting in 2 hours of traffic for a ferry and it was wonderful and really informs…
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗I heard that Lathe of Heaven was written with her friend and fellow author (Philip K Dick) in mind. One of my favorite books, period. I wish more authors made a try of the themes of a fellow author.
…most scifi Murakami. Wonderful stuff. Then read all his others. Knausgård 'My Struggle' is a very compelling personal story (5 volumes!) where you get inside his head. Not a novel. Ursula Le Guin - the Lathe of Heaven. More scifi.
on “Ask HN: Best non-business books to read on vacation” ↗Le Guin is a fantastic writer. The Lathe of Heaven, The Left Hand of Darkness, and the Eye of the Heron are all excellent and thought provoking novels among Le Guin's other works.
on “Reading more Ursula Le Guin (2019)” ↗I love Ursula Le Guin's writing so damn much. I am reading, "Lathe of Heaven" right now, such a great book to come off of Sula by Toni Morrison. Maybe if I pull the right strings, I can get reincarnated as one of Luisito's nose hairs, https://luisurrea.com/2018/01/tolfink-was-here-on-ursula-k-l...…
on “Tao Te Ching translated by Ursula Le Guin (1997)” ↗Everybody that I know that reads SF has their own favorite Ursula K. Le Guin story. I have a hard time because I have two. 'The Lathe of Heaven' and 'The Left Hand of Darkness'.
on “Curating a Show on My Ineffable Mother, Ursula K. Le Guin” ↗…intelligence? Whoops our virus infected spiders instead. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - much lighter Hollywood popcorn-action sci-fi, a potential world-ending threat and a cool alien encounter. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin - What if a guy's dreams could change reality, he sees a therapist who has a dream-influencing machine and wants to take over the world. Peter F. Hamilton trilogies, much more fantasy…
on “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division” ↗