Review: “Lathe of Heaven” – Ursula K. Le Guin

PODCAST:

S3E7B – Lathe of Heaven (book)*

SHOW NOTES:

Three intrepid men journeyed to the depths of what they thought their friendships could tolerate and came up with the unthinkable: a consensus of the willing.

We read and discussed the “Lathe of Heaven.” It was a surprisingly uncontroversial show in that all three hosts actually agreed that it was a good book, enjoyed it, and kept personal attacks to a minimum. And by minimum we mean three.

The controversy tied to Dave Wilkinson’s courageous stand against the tyranny of Rick and Ryan was discussed briefly, and he accepted their non-apologies. A brief discussion of the author delved into her other works mostly. She has kept her private-life private and we did not seek to violate that. Yet.

The actual book itself was well received by everyone, as stated above. While each host had a slightly different take on the role of the antagonist and protagonist, they overall agreed on the quality of the book, if not the definition of “evil.” For those tuning in, this discussion should be interesting and hopefully eye-opening. As always, we welcome your thoughts on our review in the comments sections.

So, until next time, cut off your arms at the shoulder because there is no deodorant in outer space!!!!

-Wilk

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

Book: “The Lathe of Heaven (1971)” by Ursula K. Le Guin

Ryan: 4 1/2 Stars “…A refreshing philosophical exploration into high-concept esoteric questions draped in all the brilliant colors of science fiction…”

Wilk: 4 Stars “…A kaleidoscope of tributes to science fiction greats, this novel takes the gloom of the 1970s and intersects with the folklore of monkey paw stories…”

Rick: 4 Stars “…Great tale of a Buddha inspired hero…”

 

(Click the links to read full written reviews on Goodreads.com)

FUN FACTOIDS:

On the show Ryan mentioned an article written by Jo Walton titled “Effective dreaming: Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven” for Tor.com, which can be found here: http://www.tor.com/2009/09/23/effective-dreaming-ursula-k-le-guins-the-lathe-of-heaven/.

As discussed on the show, Ursula K. Le Guin very publicly resigned from the Author’s Guild in 2009 due to their settlement with Google. You can read her open letter “Google (Un)Settlement” on the subject on her website here: http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Index-GoogleSettlement.html.

We did not mention this on the show, but there was a fairly recent kick starter campaign that exceeded its goal to raise funds for a documentary about the author (with her participation) which is directed by Arwen Curry and titled “Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin“. You can learn more about the film (which is due out in 2017) here: www.worldsofukl.com.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.