Great - even for a non-fan of sci-fi

First things first: an amazing performance by Adam Sims. If I had read this book on recycled trees first the voices would not have disappointed (as they can do). Adam captures perfectly the underdog George, and his therapist - the pompous Dr Haber (both characters to whom I think everyone can relate).

The idea behind the story is simple but brilliant: someone who changes the reality of the world inadvertent through his dreams. Each reality being a real possibility that could have happened if decisions or events had gone slightly differently. As with most sci-fI the scenarios are pretty gloomy, but some are not without hope. Also, as with most sci-fI there are obvious contradictions and plot holes (eg why is George in therapy in every scenario despite the worlds and societies being so different?), but it is always best to suspend disbelief when reading this genre. The writing is brilliant, and the dialogue believable. Le Guin even makes you feel sympathy for aliens. She really was a cut above almost everyone else in sci-fI writing.

Highly recommended.

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An excellent yarn

One of those books I didn't want to put down. Narrator brought it to life very well, differentiating the characters' voices so you could focus on the story not the reading. Gripping escapism with an undercurrent of social commentary. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

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4 people found this helpful

Happy revisit

It must be forty years since I first read this book and, although I have returned to others in Le Guin’s oeuvre, sometimes quite often, I hadn’t returned to this one. Can’t think why. It’s great!
Very well read.

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1 person found this helpful

brilliant story and performance

female authors has been my 2023 theme and ursula le guin has been an absolute treasure! pure sci fi and world building! it was a totally immersive experience!

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Fantastic

Superb writing and perfect narration. A fascinating story filled with the wisdom of the Tau.

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2 people found this helpful

great story excellently read out

I enjoyed very much this book by Ursula Le Guin, of whom I knew earlier only the Earthsea series. Adam Sims does a fantastic job here, giving the characters distinguished tones without overdoing it. Highly recommended.

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2 people found this helpful

"It's only dreams."

George Orr dreams. Well, yes, so does everyone, but some of his dreams change the waking reality not just for himself but for everyone. So terrified at the possibilities, George finds treatment with an experimental psychiatrist. As the story progresses, the pace speeds up and grows increasingly weird and intriguing idea emerge.. Great story but the character s are rather flat, two dimensional. Perhaps deamlike? Whatever - for this reason, I've scored it 4stats instead of 5.
Alan Sims performs well with clear narration and good differentiation of character voives.
A good S.F.read and highly recommended.

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A classic but more philosophical than scifi

Awesome performance!
Most of the classics lose much due to the outdated performance but this was great.
The ending is more out there than i would have liked and the scifi part is mostly missing.
Ok book to read once.

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Annoyed

Fell asleep, not cos of the book. Since amazon took over the inflexible demand for a review & impossibility of easily going back to relisten to parts is really really annoying.

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6 people found this helpful