Forgotten Title & Author - book about telepaths

[Justin_B]

Hi,
Hoping someone in the wondeful forum can help.

Many moons ago I read a book about telepaths in the not so distant future (think societal breakdown not post apocalyptic). Where rogues telepaths were helping the moderately weathly to escape the real world into some sort of contructed consensual reality (in the real world they would sit in a circle and starve to death).

Anyway the main story is of a rogue telepath who has taken a bunch of people into a pseudo Ancient China reality where he is emperor and the main symbol (totem) of his empire is the Tiger.

Another telepath, tasked with saving the misguided wealthy, enters the constructed reality and, through a mistake by the rogue, in the form of a Dragon battles the rogue (who is forced by use of the symbol) in the form of a Tiger

I think published between 1970 and 1983

This book helped get me hooked on SciFi/Fantasy and I dearly want to find it.

 

[Roger O]

The Whole Man, by John Brunner

Brunner became famous when he wrote Stand on Zanzibar, but he'd been working steadily in the field for years before that, and my very favorite of all his work is The Whole Man, the story of Gerry Howson, a lame, hunchbacked hemophiliac, one of the most miserable creatures on Earth, born and raised in a slum -- and the most powerful natural telepath who ever lived. Expanded from the story ''Curative Telepath'', The Whole Man is somewhat episodic, starting with Howson's birth, following through his formative years and his discovery of his talents, then describing a few cases handled in his career, a job that consists of pulling other telepaths out of fantasy worlds they've created, before winding up with a personal search for fulfillment and a happy ending reminiscent of Heinlein's Waldo -- only much more satisfying.

Source: Google search LWE's Favorite Books for this review
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Alternative Titles: "The Telepathist" and "Telepath"
I have one treasured copy "Telepath" - have seen it for sale on Amazon etc. under "The Whole Man"
Good luck with the rest of your search!

 

[Justin_B]

Might be the one - thanks!!