Wine of the Dreamers [Hardcover]

John D. MacDonald (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 153 pages
• Publisher: Amereon Ltd (June 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891907777
• ISBN-13: 978-0891907770
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,953,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Old Sci-Fi Greats!, November 25, 1999

By 

Nichole Long "Nichole" (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wine of the Dreamers (Hardcover)

John D. MacDonald, along with those other great sci-fi writers of old -- Heinlein, Asimov, Budrys, Gunn, and others -- wrote what I consider to be the last of the greats. These writers and others like them wrote science fiction that was "science based." They also wrote powerful and thought- provoking science fiction which challenged the reader to think seriously about humanity and its moral progress. Their brand of classy sci-fi isn't popular anymore. No, what one finds in the sci-fi section in bookstores nowadays is science fiction polluted with crippling doses of fantasy. It isn't science fiction anymore. It contains today little science and no relevance. All you readers and reviewers who complain about a few out-of-date ideas presented by those wonderful old sci-fi novels need to consider the real reasons why you approve of today's "sci-fi." Are interplanetary swash-bucklings and dragon/evil wizard killings that present little or no moral dilemmas truly science fiction? Are poorly-written "sci-fi"literature containing poorer character development and dumb dialogue really the future of science fiction? After an entire summer wasted on magic spells, scantily-clad, telepathic warrior virgins with wings, and black hole-less universes, I was ready for those fine old inspirational novels -- like Wine of the Dreamers.

Wine of the Dreamers is one of the finest science fiction novels I've ever read. The characters of Lane, Inly, Raul, and Leesa are well-rounded and believable. Their personalities are vivid and unpredictable. Their language is thought-provoking and intelligent. The theme, especially, taps into a hidden desire of the human race -- to find intelligent life in other parts of the universe. The idea of mind control by a superior species was a fantastically original fictional explanation for humanity's violent compulsion. I only hope that others like me who accidentally discover this treasure realize what a gem this novel actually is. Read it!

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly original science fiction from a NON-SciFi author, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Wine of the Dreamers (Hardcover)

This book along with his other SF book "Ballroom of the Skies" gives two entirely different reasons for all the violence and destructiveness we face in the world. Both were written over 30 years ago and are still very original ideas. Readers of these two will also like his book "The Girl, the Goldwatch and Everything" If you are a lover of Science fiction you will most certainly appreciate these books. If you are a lover of John D. MacDonald material (like me) then these books just may draw you into the world of SF.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good science fiction by an unlikely author., January 6, 2012

By 

Michael G. "mikefromrochester" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wine of the Dreamers (Hardcover)

Wine of the Dreamers (1950) is the work of John D. MacDonald, an author not known as a writer of science fiction. Significantly better than its companion piece, Ballroom of the Skies, Wine of the Dreamers has a lot to recommend it.
The Dreamers cited in the title are a sickly race residing in a sterile, surreal building on a planet lightyears away from Earth. The adults sleep in glass cases called dream machines,from which they
are able to gain control of the bodies of random earthlings and make them do things the Dreamers find amusing. Rather than completely taking over the brains of their hosts, the Dreamers merely push their host's mind to the side, so they are left to watch in horror as they say and do things over which they have no control.
The premise underlying Wine of the Dreamers is a very clever, thought provoking one and some of the passages are quite evocative. There's also much about religion to be found in this book. Some directly stated and some subtextual.
Bottom line: This early John D. MacDonald offering is a worthwhile read. It shows a different side to the author's prodigious talent. Recommended.