A Dream of Wessex facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Christopher Priest |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Published | 1977 (Faber and Faber) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 199 |
| ISBN | 0-571-11118-1 |
| OCLC | 3706713 |
| 823/.9/14 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.P9487 Dr PR6066.R55 |
A Dream of Wessex is a 1977 science fiction novel by British writer Christopher Priest. In the United States it was released under the title The Perfect Lover.
Synopsis
A Dream of Wessex can be read as a straightforward story about a group of twentieth-century dreamers who create a consensus virtual-reality future. Once they enter their imaginary world they are unable to remember who they are, or where they are from. On another level, the novel is itself an extended metaphor for the way in which extrapolated futures are created.
The year is 1985. The Wessex Project, a privately funded project based beneath Maiden Castle, discovers a method to transport the collective unconscious of some of England's most brilliant minds into an illusory and ideal society. The object is to gather information vital to human survival on earth. But in the process, power, deception and love join to jeopardize the philanthropic program.
Characters
The Projectioners
- Julia Stretton - a 27-year-old geologist, the protagonist
- David Harkman - an important member who has been projecting for two full years but who was "missing" from Wessex while working on the mainland; it is Julia's mission to find him, and they fall in love
- Paul Mason - Julia's ex-boyfriend, a charismatic, sometimes cruel megalomaniac who intends to take over the Wessex Project and reform it to match his own ideals
- Donald Mander - an administrator
- John Eliot - a doctor
- Dr. Trowbridge - a founder of the Project
- Marilyn - Julia's friend and ally against Paul Mason
- Steve and Andy - two young men in charge of entering the projection and retrieving participants who have forgotten the "real" world
The Projected
- Frederick Cro - works with Donald Mander
- Greg - Julia's boyfriend in Wessex, a possessive and not entirely satisfactory lover
- Various artisans, tradespeople, bureaucrats, and tourists
Awards
A Dream of Wessex was nominated for the Ditmar Award in 1978 for Best International Long Fiction.
See also
- Simulated reality
