You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
dark
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:
Yes
Le Guin took this book in a different direction than Rocannon's World... whereas Rocannon's world sets up the story for how humankind began to obtain telepathic powers, in Planet of Exile, we are thrown into the middle of, essentially, inter-cultural disputes between two groups that self-identify as "men". This is a grand SF spectacle for its treatment of inter-cultural issues, treatment of taboo in different culture, the role of men and women in a society, imagining racial inversions (the technologically advanced people of Alterra are Black, and the "backwards" hilfs are white), and tracing inter-cultural communication, understandings, and animosities.
While this tale is technically impressive, it didn't ring for me in ways that other SF novels have in the past. There is a lot of intrigue and narrative, but the ending is abrupt, framing this book as a snapshot rather than a whole picture. This, in and of itself, does not bother me in the slightest, but definitionally takes it down a notch from some of the SF greats.
This book is worth it to read, however, even if just as set-up for City of Illusions. While that book isn't a masterpiece either, it certainly sets the course clearly for what Le Guin envisioned with the (apocryphally labelled) Hainish cycle. And that, on its own, is a great journey to be traversed in a bite-sized trilogy.
While this tale is technically impressive, it didn't ring for me in ways that other SF novels have in the past. There is a lot of intrigue and narrative, but the ending is abrupt, framing this book as a snapshot rather than a whole picture. This, in and of itself, does not bother me in the slightest, but definitionally takes it down a notch from some of the SF greats.
This book is worth it to read, however, even if just as set-up for City of Illusions. While that book isn't a masterpiece either, it certainly sets the course clearly for what Le Guin envisioned with the (apocryphally labelled) Hainish cycle. And that, on its own, is a great journey to be traversed in a bite-sized trilogy.
Intriguing still, but less interesting than what came before and after.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, War
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Abortion, Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I cannot express how much I appreciate Ursula K. Le Guin and her immense contributions to science fiction. So don't expect too much critique from me, even if her early habit of highlighting women in the early stretches of books seems to fall in the backseat of narratives that end up focusing on male protagonists. You work with what you have, and science fiction at the time wasn't very diverse or hospitable in many ways. To my mind, Le Guin helped to change all that.
What's Planet of Exile? A story of the long winter coming and threatening waves of northern invaders sweeping aside the remnants of societies both ancient and modern. That this draws from old myths of Pictish incursions in England as much as it pre-empts George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire is simply to be expected. More compellingly, Le Guin continues to develop her hypothesis of the powers of communication in and across cultures and worlds, while she toys with the siege genre. It's a fascinating mixture and her touch is always sophisticated.
There's much here for almost any reader, but I would suggest that others read the Hainish novels in sequence, or at least the first three novels. Le Guin's unfolding tapestry may have been developed on the fly, but in retrospect it looks intriguingly planned and it is exquisitely told.
What's Planet of Exile? A story of the long winter coming and threatening waves of northern invaders sweeping aside the remnants of societies both ancient and modern. That this draws from old myths of Pictish incursions in England as much as it pre-empts George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire is simply to be expected. More compellingly, Le Guin continues to develop her hypothesis of the powers of communication in and across cultures and worlds, while she toys with the siege genre. It's a fascinating mixture and her touch is always sophisticated.
There's much here for almost any reader, but I would suggest that others read the Hainish novels in sequence, or at least the first three novels. Le Guin's unfolding tapestry may have been developed on the fly, but in retrospect it looks intriguingly planned and it is exquisitely told.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated