Los cristales soñadores by Theodore Sturgeon

For example, when he was eight years old, his menacing stepfather, who was about to lock him in a closet for- to the father at least - the criminally insane activity of eating ants, accidentally shut the hinge-side of the door on three fingers which were all but severed.

The close proximity of these crystals caused baby Horton to be modified to the extent that he had extraordinary powers. When Horton, or Horty as he was called, was a tiny baby in an orphanage, a toy made its way into his crib, a jack-in-the-box with crystal eyes. The crystals and their creations have always been among us but no one has really noticed - until now! They don't think in the way humans do, but they seem to engage in a kind of dreaming that stimulates activity of one sort or another. Having this bit of intelligence actually helps to shed light on these alien crystals. Such is the underlying idea behind The Synthetic Man, which was originally published under the title of The Dreaming Jewels. Show More like-'minded' crystal, and crystal nature being what it is, they procreate or invade a living creature and 'enhance' it. 'An intensely written novel and very moving novel of love and retribution.'- Washington Star … ( more) Vividly drawn, expertly plotted, The Dreaming Jewels is a Sturgeon masterpiece. In The Dreaming Jewels, Theodore Sturgeon renders the multiple wounds of loneliness, fear, and persecution with uncanny precision. But his difference risks not only his own life but the lives of the outcasts who provided for him, for so many years, with a place to call home. And it is a difference some people might want to use.

For when he loses three fingers in an accident and they grow back, it becomes clear that Horty is not like other boys. Performing alongside the fireaters, snakemen and 'little people,' Horty is accepted. So he runs away from home and joins a carnival. His adoptive parents are violent his classmates are cruel. Winner of the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Life Achievement Awards 'One of the masters of modern science fiction.'- The Washington Post Book World Eight-year-old Horty Bluett has never known love.

Los cristales soñadores by Theodore Sturgeon