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outcolder's review against another edition
5.0
An early Le Guin, originally from 1966, this one is kind of light. The feminism that informs most of her work isn't here yet. But she is such a master storyteller, and her knowledge of anthropology makes the humanoid "aliens" more alien than some bug-eyed-monsters in the novels of lesser authors from the same period.
One theme that comes up often in this short book is listening. It is a common feature in the conversations of the natives on the planet of exile to say whether they "hear" a speaker or not, which has more to do with is the concept worthy of reflection or not than it has to do with acoustics. Telepathy was in most SF books back then and it is here, too, and just as Le Guin does with magic in the Earthsea books she gets us to think a little about how a person would actually learn how to use it: by lowering their defenses and letting these outside thoughts in. There are three humanoid cultures in the novel and they are all three likely to be wiped out by events in the story and part of the problem is that they cannot adapt and at the root of that is an inability to listen.
Just want to add that this edition surprised me with a thick glossy color advertisement for Kent cigarettes in the middle of it, and pleased me no end with early 70s lists of SF novels to order from the publisher. At the top of each list is the author's name, for example Delany, Brunner, Andre Norton, and they chose a different font for each of them. Smiles all around. I love finding these paperbacks that are nearly as old as I am at the Villa Fantastica SF&F library here in Vienna, Austria. The secret pleasures of the true nerd are there in überfluss.
One theme that comes up often in this short book is listening. It is a common feature in the conversations of the natives on the planet of exile to say whether they "hear" a speaker or not, which has more to do with is the concept worthy of reflection or not than it has to do with acoustics. Telepathy was in most SF books back then and it is here, too, and just as Le Guin does with magic in the Earthsea books she gets us to think a little about how a person would actually learn how to use it: by lowering their defenses and letting these outside thoughts in. There are three humanoid cultures in the novel and they are all three likely to be wiped out by events in the story and part of the problem is that they cannot adapt and at the root of that is an inability to listen.
Just want to add that this edition surprised me with a thick glossy color advertisement for Kent cigarettes in the middle of it, and pleased me no end with early 70s lists of SF novels to order from the publisher. At the top of each list is the author's name, for example Delany, Brunner, Andre Norton, and they chose a different font for each of them. Smiles all around. I love finding these paperbacks that are nearly as old as I am at the Villa Fantastica SF&F library here in Vienna, Austria. The secret pleasures of the true nerd are there in überfluss.
kivt's review against another edition
3.0
Took me longer than it should have to figure out this book's relationship with City of Illusions. It wasn't quite as good.
bookscatsandjazz's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
ebeth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
she writes so cleanly and truthfully. it's incredible. quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. the last fourish chapters were my favorite section
h_scarf's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
grahamjohnson's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
johngrady's review against another edition
3.5
Kind of slow paced--no real character growth or interesting local culture like her other works
gu4n's review against another edition
2.0
This one didn't grab me, sadly. It was the beautiful prose that carried me through.
elizafiedler's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
psoglav's review against another edition
3.0
OCENA (overall rating) ★★★ 3/5 stars
Radnja (story) ★★★
Ideja (plot idea) ★★★★
Okruženje (setting) ★★★★
Pripovedanje (writing style) ★★★
Likovi (characters) ★★★
UTISAK (summary) - interesantna ideja o problemima naseljavanja druge planete bez korišćenja naprednih tehnologija i sa preirodom koja se na kraju neizbežno prilagodi. Jedina mana je što je novela kratka, i što sam očekivao malo drugačiji "plot twist" pred kraj knjige.
Radnja (story) ★★★
Ideja (plot idea) ★★★★
Okruženje (setting) ★★★★
Pripovedanje (writing style) ★★★
Likovi (characters) ★★★
UTISAK (summary) - interesantna ideja o problemima naseljavanja druge planete bez korišćenja naprednih tehnologija i sa preirodom koja se na kraju neizbežno prilagodi. Jedina mana je što je novela kratka, i što sam očekivao malo drugačiji "plot twist" pred kraj knjige.