Reviews

Struggled with this one. Lots of great lines and moments. But I got a little lost in the snowy sections. Still, super interesting. The good sections were really good

paulawind's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

HOW was this book published in the 60s? The MCs are a Blasian man and a genderfluid humanoid. Like… this meets the inclusivity standards of today. It also excels at world building, both taking you out of your world and poking at the flaws of the systems we live in - how all peak sci-fi should be.
I am in awe. I just finished this book and every page was breathtaking in both writing but also character development, relationship building, how it tears off the layers of Theren that finally I learned to love him - and by that I mean understand him - the same as Genly did. The words honestly cannot express how refreshing and genuinely brilliant I think this book is. Ursula created a unique world that is so captivating that for me no one upped her yet, 60 years later. The heart that is here, the tearing of the soul to bear what makes us human when confronted with the other, how our societies are made and why we are the way we are - God, I love sci-fi and opportunities it gives when executed well

lemonmikan's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

I had no idea what this book was about when starting it and it took a while for me to orient myself in the world.

However, the world that Le Guin has made in this book is intriguing and kept me engaged, although as some points I did find it a little hard to understand exactly what was happening. I also skipped most of the “culture/history” lessons.

All in all though there were a lot of interesting things in the story (particularly the idea of people who are both male and female) and I also really enjoyed the description of travelling over the ice. Le Gunn’s writing style is pleasant to read.

Despite being written so long ago, the novel feels very modern.

alexareads26's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

idavie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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