Today's Read Team 
Starlight Dreams, by debut author Lily Adams, is a gripping, thought-provoking dystopian novel that delves into the control of dreams in a society where an all-powerful corporation determines the dreams of its people. Although the plot is set in a fictional future, the novel reflects real-world concerns about surveillance, corporate power, and the loss of personal freedoms, making it particularly timely in today’s digital age.
A Dystopian Future Controlled by Corporate Interests
The story takes place in the not-so-distant future, where the global corporation SomnusCo controls the technology that allows people to experience and even curate their dreams. The technology initially promised to be a luxury but quickly turned into a system of control. Citizens are assigned “dream tiers” that determine the quality and nature of their dreams. The wealthier elite experience dreamscapes of their choosing—luxurious, peaceful, and vibrant—while the poor are subjected to repetitive, unfulfilling dreams designed to pacify them.
SomnusCo’s power reaches beyond dreams into the realm of sleep itself, controlling the most intimate part of human existence. Dreams are monitored, and deviations from the company’s prescribed dream structures are considered a crime. The novel’s protagonist, Selene, works as a low-tier employee at SomnusCo, unaware that she possesses the rare ability to dream freely—a skill that, if discovered, could lead to her execution.
Corporate Control and Its Implications
While Starlight Dreams is fictional, its themes reflect real concerns about the increasing surveillance and manipulation by corporations in the digital age. As technology evolves, concerns about privacy and personal data have escalated. In 2025, for example, major tech companies like Facebook (now Meta), Google, and Amazon have been embroiled in discussions about the ethical implications of collecting user data and its use in targeted advertising and content recommendation. There is also growing debate about the extent to which tech giants influence individuals’ lives without their consent.
Adams has tapped into this reality by envisioning a world where corporations extend their reach into personal experiences, even one as private as dreaming. This concept resonates with ongoing discussions about data collection, privacy violations, and the ethics of AI in controlling what people see, experience, and think.
Rebellion and Resistance: A Parallel to Real-Life Movements
In Starlight Dreams, Selene’s discovery of her ability to dream freely places her at the center of a growing rebellion against SomnusCo, the “Lucids.” The Lucids, a group of underground resistance fighters, seek to overthrow the corporation and return control of dreams to the people. The narrative of Selene’s fight against the corporate machine echoes real-life efforts to combat powerful entities—whether governments or corporations—that infringe on individual rights.
The story highlights the fight for autonomy, echoing movements in recent years that focus on defending personal freedoms. In 2023, for example, the increasing reliance on technology in surveillance prompted significant backlash, with grassroots campaigns and policy proposals aimed at reasserting control over personal data. The novel mirrors these real-world efforts, using dreams as a metaphor for the broader struggle for control over one’s own life and choices.
Themes of Resistance and Identity
Adams’s Starlight Dreams is an exploration of freedom, identity, and rebellion. In a society where individuals’ most personal experiences—dreams—are controlled by a corporation, the fight for freedom becomes not only political but also deeply personal. Selene’s journey is not just about toppling an unjust system; it is about reclaiming the most intimate part of herself: her ability to dream.
While the premise is futuristic, it draws on themes rooted in the present, with many readers likely to find connections to their own experiences with the pervasive presence of tech companies in their lives. Adams, like many authors before her, uses dystopian fiction to challenge readers to reflect on the potential consequences of a world where personal autonomy is overshadowed by corporate or government interests.