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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
An excellent collection of locations. Especially enjoyed The Island of The immortals. And The Fliers Of Gy.
pg 192-The Building
My species has a great many good reasons for making war, though none of them is as good as the reason for not making war. Our most rational and scientific justifications—for instance, that we are an aggressive species—are perfectly circular; we make war because we make war. Our justifications for making a particular war (such as: our people must have more land and more wealth, or: our people must have more power, or: our people must obey our deity’s orders to crush the sacrilegious infidel) all come down to the same thing: we must make war because we must. We have no choice. We have no freedom. This argument is not ultimately satisfactory to the reasoning mind, which desires freedom.
pg 192-The Building
My species has a great many good reasons for making war, though none of them is as good as the reason for not making war. Our most rational and scientific justifications—for instance, that we are an aggressive species—are perfectly circular; we make war because we make war. Our justifications for making a particular war (such as: our people must have more land and more wealth, or: our people must have more power, or: our people must obey our deity’s orders to crush the sacrilegious infidel) all come down to the same thing: we must make war because we must. We have no choice. We have no freedom. This argument is not ultimately satisfactory to the reasoning mind, which desires freedom.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
an excellent and thought provoking collection of short stories. they are told in such a way that it's easy but not necessary to read them as a singular body of work
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I had no previously conceived notions of what this book was, and I was pleasantly surprised to just find story after story of a new world with its own idiosyncrasies. The author does an excellent job imagining new worlds that have enough in common with reality that the reader has some frame of reference to begin with, but they are all different in their own ways that it really draws the reader into imagining what life for the reader would be if on those planes and not their own.
The only reason I did not give it five stars is the inconsistency with the narrator. At times the narrator assumes the reader is coming from the same plane as he or she is, and at other times the narrator uses the phrase "my plane" instead of "our plane", which implies that he or she is from another plane. Perhaps I'm missing a greater or deeper meaning to that, but it threw me off a few times while reading.
The only reason I did not give it five stars is the inconsistency with the narrator. At times the narrator assumes the reader is coming from the same plane as he or she is, and at other times the narrator uses the phrase "my plane" instead of "our plane", which implies that he or she is from another plane. Perhaps I'm missing a greater or deeper meaning to that, but it threw me off a few times while reading.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ursula LeGuin is still my favorite. These were great stories -- I first read the book a couple of years ago, and the stories keep coming back to my mind. Especially the one about the people who migrate like birds, and the first one.
More a series of contemplative think-pieces than stories, "Changing Planes" is a travelogue to different dimensions and alien cultures. Many of the planes visited bear a dreamlike resemblance to our own, seen as if in a mirror--"The Silence of the Asonu" has things to say about silence and talkativeness, "Seasons of the Ansarac" reflects about tradition and societal patterns--but some of the planes remain opaque and mysterious, their rules not clearly grasped by the narrator or the reader. The real strength of the stories is the beauty of them, whether they have a "message" or not--Le Guin makes you feel each world vividly. The fragmentary nature of the works would probably get the book three stars from me, except that I love "The Flyers of Gy," an allegory about creativity, limits, risk and passion, so very much that it gets the book a whole extra star just by itself.
This is my second Le Guinn book, and I just didn’t enjoy it. However, I am at a loss to think
of any short story collection I’ve enjoyed reading. Some of the worlds are creative and interesting, and others seemed to be frank comments on first world countries.
of any short story collection I’ve enjoyed reading. Some of the worlds are creative and interesting, and others seemed to be frank comments on first world countries.