Dreamer, The-Jack Vance novelette

Dreamer, The-Jack Vance novelette

AKA: The Enchanted Princess (author’s preferred title)

The Enchanted Princess is a 25 page novelette that was written in 1949 and initially published in Orbit magazine in December, 1954.  It is also known as "The Dreamer."  James Aiken, who creates special effects for TV, decides to visit a residential children's clinic because his sister informed him of an interesting film series they were playing for the children there and James wants to view it. When he arrives he finds it odd that a former movie producer is also visiting. After viewing the film Aiken is amazed at the unusual creativity of it and calls it "magnificent."  He is very curious about the studio that produced it and, after investigating, he finds that the same studio is offering a free sneak preview of an upcoming release about “Vasillissa the Enchanted Princess.”  Aiken attends the viewing and again is astonished by the high quality of the film.  But he also discovers that the main actress is a young girl who has been blind for may years and resides at the children's clinic.  In the film, however, this blind girl's eyesight was perfect.  When James inquires about this, he finds that things are much stranger than he thought.  It is an unpredictable story that I found very interesting and rated it a 4 “Really liked it.”

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The Dark Side of the Moon (1986)

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Gadget Stories (2005) part of VIE

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Dream Castles: Early Jack Vance, vol. 2 (2012)

Included in the Vance collection titled Sail 25 and Other Stories (2017 Spatterlight)