The Lathe of Heavan

"Dreams come true, changing the real world" is a relatively common theme which has been explored quite a few times - I know I've read at least three stories based around the idea. Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven does a good job of it.

The novel starts with George Orr, an otherwise perfectly normal person, whose dreams occasionally change the world. He is terrified of this, and takes drugs to suppress his dreams. The plot kicks off when he is caught abusing pharmaceuticals and sent compulsory rehab, and Dr Haber (who I only just noticed when writing this, is an anagram of "rehab") realises that his patient is not delusion, and that this power of dreaming can be used to change things.

The novel explores a range of worlds, each a different dystopia. An underlying theme is that we can't really change things for the better, as there are always unexpected consequences to our choices, and the more significant the choice, the more significant the consequence. There is quite a bit of philosophy packed in here, and the key tension in the book is between Haber's very scientific, positivist approach, and Orr's calm acceptance of the world as it is.

Lathe of Heaven is quite an interesting read, and deserves its place in the SF Masterworks series that I found it in.

Emphyrio

I've like Jack Vance's weird blend of fantasy and science fiction since I was a teenager. He presents cultures and worlds with this air of stagnation and byzantine flamboyance that is unlike any othe writer. Emphyrio is a perfect example of this - it's a science fiction, but set in a strictly controlled medieval world where every person is required to follow their parents' career path, and respect the strict control of the Welfare Agency. As such, it feels more like fantasy than science fiction, probably deliberately so.

The protagonist, Ghyl Tarvoke, is a carver who dreams of great things - mainly, freedom and financial independence, and he stands up to the Lords and Ladies of his world to fight for it, with a range of unexpected consequences. As the story unfolds, it turns into a space opera, with Ghyl uncovering the mysteries of his home world. It's an interesting take on a possible future, emphasizing the diversity of governments and societies that are likely to evolve is we ever manage to get off Earth and spread ourselves across the galaxy.

Of Love and Other Demons

Gabriel García Márquez's Of Love and Other Demons is hauntingly beautiful and heart-rending to read. Set in a South American town in the 18th century, it tells the story of the life and death of Sierva Maria, the daughter of a noble whose life has fallen apart around him. She is bitten by a rabid dog, and the emotional disturbances caused by her neglected upbringing are diagnosed as rabies, and then as demonic possession. The tale leads inexorably to a tragic ending for all involved.

I love reading the works of Gabriel García Márquez - they are incredibly powerful - haunting and sad and tragic and subtly surreal, and at the end you're left with echoes of melancholy rather than ideas and plot. They need to be taken in small doses, as too much can overwhelm, so I only delve into his corpus every few years. They colour my whole mental picture of South America - I haven't read much other literature from south of the US/Mexican border, so when I think of South America, I think of sadness and lost love, of careful, gentle priests and dreaming girls, of magic and melancholy. It's a beautiful world, one I can ever visit because it only exists in García Márquez's pages.