The Lathe of Heaven Themes

Dreams. We all have them, but they don't usually make the world end, right? Well, in The Lathe of Heaven, dreams can do pretty much anything—good or bad—and there's no way anyone can ignore the...

Taoism. The Great Way. The Middle Path. This philosophy and religious tradition (pronounced Daoism, for the curious) is probably most famous in the West for being the origin of that yin-yang symbol...

The greatest good for the greatest number of people—who could disagree with that? Utilitarianism attempts to maximize happiness and minimize suffering, though if you don't agree with the way util...

It's tempting to think that technology is an inherently good thing. After all, it did give us the Internet and Lolcats, so what could go wrong? Well, a lot, actually. Nuclear missiles, anyone? Poll...

As the funkiest protest song says, "War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing." There are few of us who feel that warfare is a positive thing, but many of us think it's a necessary evil. In The...

Sci-fi stories are normally more concerned with the conflict between alien races than ones here on earth. But in The Lathe of Heaven, racial issues take center stage, because even though the world...

Love and relationships are an essential part of human existence. Hey, we're social creatures. We mean, we just like each other. But in the futuristic world of The Lathe of Heaven, love becomes even...

Alexander the Great. Napoleon Bonaparte. Mr. Crabs. Megalomaniacs want power. After all, if you have power, you can get people to do anything you want. Sounds okay, right? Well, the flip side is th...