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Title: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin ISBN: 0-441-47812-3 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: September, 2003 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.12 (123 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Intelligent and breathtaking
Comment: Left Hand of Darkness was fun to read over 20 years ago and to re-read just this week. For the fan of good and intelligent SF, this is a must. It is well written, it can be read quick, it is philosphical, it makes you think about your own life and that of mankind.
I enjoyed it very much. When it would be written and published just recently instead of a stunning 30 years ago, I am sure it would receive Hugo and Nebula Awards again (I would certainly like to vote in favor).
It is a nice touch that LeGuin writes from the perspective of a proud black man, trying to understand creatures that don't care which gender they are. It makes you think about the intelligence of all those macho man in our society, who over and over have to prove their masculinity. So, male people, please read this book and start thinking! :-)
I am sure she investigated the snow stories of the eskimos, who have lots of words about snow, water and wind.
This book is also a small lesson in diplomacy, courage, sacrifice and honesty. It is not just an SF story about space ships, space battles, fierce fights, high-tech gizmo's or grand theories. It is psychological, philosophical, political, ethical, emotional, and it is all SF, weird as SF can be.
I am re-reading City of Illusions now, also by LeGuin. I like it! After that, I will read (for the first time) Rocannon's World and Planet of Exile. I am sure I will like them too.
Rating: 5
Summary: Truly Great Book
Comment: (The Left Hand of Darkness is already highly awarded and doesn't really *need* another review, certainly not from an amateur, but I'm writing one anyway.) This book explores several deeply human themes, in the author's beautifully tragic way-- among them, the themes of sacrifice and dualism (or perhaps more accurately, unity at the heart of dualism.)Le Guin's characters are harsh, fallible, heroic, and at essence, human...and once immersed in the painstaking detail of the book, the people of it became knitted close to my heart. The word "transportation" comes to mind: it is so smooth and believable a transition that in surprise you may find yourself on another planet, amongst aliens in the middle of an Ice Age. She is a miraculous, meticulous architect of worlds and culture; indeed did she create these people, on this world, or did she discover them on a visit with her faster-than-light ship? I'm not sure it's legal to copyright an entire existing world, Ms. Le Guin! For it does exist, although admittedly the rest of humanity may not discover it for another five thousand years or so. Not only do her characters and themes lend depth to the book, but every so often one gets the sensation of a fine undercurrent of musical quality to her words, which may echo in one's head long after finishing the book. I hope many other people read this book and enjoy it as much as I did.
Rating: 4
Summary: Considering the possibilities
Comment: In her introduction, the author makes some compelling statements about the nature of science fiction as descriptive and not predictive. Her work addresses the real world using the metaphor of the future, of science, of alternative biologies and cultures. What are the elements of her story metaphors for? "If I could have said it non-metaphorically, I would not have written all these words, this novel."
Right now I am trying to decide which of the two viewpoint characters serves as the best metaphor for the novel as a whole. On the one hand, we have Genly Ai, the envoy from an interstellar community of worlds that has just decided to invite the desolate planet Winter to join, after years of secret observation. Genly arrives alone and unarmed, bearing only words and ideas: the possibility of flight, travel between the stars, other shards of humanity living on distant worlds. Likewise, this book comes in peace, bringing you not action and adventure but an invitation to participate in a thought experiment, possibly expand your horizons.
On the other hand is Estraven, a member of this alien race of humans considering Genly's message. As Genly's main point of interaction with the inhabitants of Winter, he brings to life the alienness of all his kind. In the same way, a novel brings to life ideas that perhaps can only be expressed in story. Estraven is still recognizably human, but his people's sexual androgyny renders him somehow fundamentally estranged from the familiar. Echoing Estraven's interactions with Genly, this novel does not offer any straight answers, but time spent getting to know it yields a measure of understanding and even affection.
I'm afraid I can draw no conclusion from my perhaps pointless exercise, except that you'll have to read this deservingly classic science fiction novel and judge for yourself.
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Title: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin ISBN: 0061054887 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 December, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin ISBN: 0380791854 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Neuromancer by William Gibson ISBN: 0441569595 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. ISBN: 0553379267 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 02 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin ISBN: 0441008631 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 09 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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