The Invention of Morel, sometimes translated as Morel's Invention, is a science fiction novel by Adolfo Bioy Casares published in 1940. It was Casares' breakthrough effort, for which he won the 1941 First Municipal Prize for Literature of the City of Buenos Aires. He considered it the true beginning of his literary career, despite being his seventh book. The first edition cover artist was Norah Borges, sister of Casares' lifelong friend, Jorge Luis Borges. The novel shares some elements with the 1934 novel XYZ by Clemente Palma and with the better known The Island of Doctor Moreau, the latter being the more influential of the two (see "Characters" below.) In the same way, other works of fiction share some elements with this novel rather than with the novels that influenced it. For example, fans of the video game Myst believe this novel is one of its sources of inspiration, while the plot of the episode "Dave" from the television program Lost mirrors one of fugitive's theories--that he is in a psychiatric hospital dreaming he is on an island (the novel is explicitly referenced in the show's fourth season). (via Wikipedia)