becksusername's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

Rocannon's World
I absolutely loved this story qnd the characters. It read like a fairy tale but the end was so heart-breaking
Planet of Exile
Obsessed with this romen and juliet romance, though a little annoyed by how many of LeGuin's worlds are so brutally patriarchal
City of Illusions
What a scary but also kind of hopeful story of distant future earth! I feel like this story really showcases LeGuin's belief in humanity - our resilience, ingenuity, and ability to come together against adversity  
The Left Hand of Darkness
This was a re-read for me and I'm glad I chose not to skip it. I feel like already having some understanding of the world freed me up to really appreciate the arc of Genly and Estraven's friendship, and I better understood the intricacies of the political situation.
The Disposessed
I think this story made me an anarchist? Shevek was not the most lovable protag imo but it was intresting to see monogamy as the subversive lifestyle choice. I do wish there was more explicit description of how shitty capitalism was for people on Urras, not just "it's not as nice as they wanted me to think, goodbye"
Stories
As a genderfluid person, I am obsessed with Gethenian sexuality and if you can forget that they come of age at 14, the kemmerhouse story was really fuckin sexy. The Argaven XVII story was so satisfying too. Kind of reminiscent of the hero's journey fairy tale type thing in Rocannon's World but with all the weird Gethenian culture/politics involved and a way more savvy main character. Odo's story was kind of sad and cynical but it was interesting to see a previously mythic character in her full messy decrepit humanity.

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