Ursula K. Le Guin
George Orr is an ordinary guy. The only exception to this is that he is able to dream "effectively". That is, occasionally he has a dream that actually affects reality. For example, if he has an "effective dream" that chicken nuggets are the most fabulous food ever, he might wake to find that 5 years ago all fast restaurants changed their menus to serve only chicken nuggets (and nobody knows that there was any other reality). His dream might be vague, or have an intent, but the unconscious mind interprets the intent strangely (as dreams are wont to be) and manifests in reality in unintended ways. So of course, George is terrified of dreaming and seeks help. Enter Dr. Haber, dream/sleep specialist, who learns to direct George's dreams through hypnosis. Let the chaos begin.
I love the concept here and the fact that, using dreams and unconscious motivations, Le Guin is exploring the both the human brain and relationships, fear and power. All serious things to think about, and at the same time, it would not have surprised me if the last line of the book was something to the effect "When George woke up, he knew he would never use LSD again".
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