Reviews

I think this is my first sci-fi genre book from this author, Ursula Le Guin, as I've read and LOVED her fantastic Earthsea series. I've always heard good things about her other works but couldn't even imagine how her style would work in a more sci-fi setting.

It turns out, it works fantastically!
The Left Hand of Darkness is a methodical thought experiment on a society of non-gendered people, only having to experience a specific gender for a set time of month. While this sounds very surface level, Le Guin is able to weave in a story about first-contact, societal expectations, what it MEANS to have gender in a non-gendered society, and themes of cultural barriers. To say I liked this would be a bit of an understatement. The two focal characters where written with fantastic depth and nuance. Watching them slowly come together for their eventual 'hero's journey' was done with a lot more tact and evolution than I was expecting. The time given to alien cultures and societies that feel so familiar yet alien was another surprising, but loved, detail to Le Guin's writing.

This books blurb focuses on the journey these two characters take, but the story itself is much more than that. The journey itself does not start until half-way through the book but this only means we spend more time coming to intimately understand these characters. Once the journey starts, it's hard not to get emotionally invested in the whole thing.

Overall this is a fantastic book and I'm excited to read more of her work in the future!

suchasuckerforbooks's review against another edition

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Меня заинтересовала эта книга тем, какие вопросы в ней поднимаются: главный герой с планеты Земля прилетает с дипломатической миссией на другую планету, где живёт народность с необычной половой физиологией и совершенно отличными от земных представлениями о поле и гендере. Я была заинтересована в том, чтобы понаблюдать за его взаимодействиями с местным населением. Какая-то часть моего любопытства этой темой была удовлетворена, но не полностью (я ожидала больше таких взаимодействий). Основной сюжет меня в итоге не заинтересовал. Типичный случай, когда мои личные ожидания не совпали с реальностью. Такое бывает.

jadom's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

lucyborner's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

it would be good for those who already love science fiction, its subjectively good but personally not for me as it was a little longwinded and pretty complicated

alauren's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

gaberush's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5

jsoucie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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