I still like Brunner's ideas... At least what I know so far, being only the second book by him that I read.
The problem here is that he didn't get into the interesting part! I'd have been much more interested in a story told by a character addicted to "happy dreams", to see the progression. As it was, I only got glimpses of its effects, the start and the end, nothing in between. Also, it seems like it's just the beginning of a story... Is there a follow-up or he really stopped just where it was getting interesting?