Reviews - Planet of Exile | The StoryGraph

546 reviews for:

Planet of Exile

Ursula K. Le Guin

3.62 AVERAGE

addieballin's review against another edition

4.0

fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

social_lurking's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

sevenlefts's review against another edition

4.0

These so-called Hainish Cycle books of Le Guin's that I've been reading lately have really grabbed my interest. Can you tell? I've just been devouring copies from the local public library. Planet of Exile is the latest. This story is the background for City of Illusions, the last Hainish book I read, but it really doesn't matter what order you read them in. I love how the chronology of the stories has no relation to which order they were written in -- and how sometimes the "Hain-ish-ness" is strong, and sometimes hidden well below the surface.

Unlike some of the other books in the cycle, the characters don't do a lot of traveling, and the time period of the novel is relatively short. Le Guin plays with what happens to a group of scientists who, for all intents and purposes, were abandoned 600 years ago (or 10, depending on your star of reference) on a planet they are studying. After a rocky start, they more or less get along with the natives, bu have never really integrated into their new home, neither culturally nor biologically. But there are signs that this could be changing. These groups are going to have to get along, because hostile tribes are on the move. And, on a planet whose years last 60 earth years, the harsh winters last 15 years...

A gripping story told from both groups' points of view. I love how Le Guin can create, and describe, two very different mindsets.

janaroos's review against another edition

4.0

I have this, Rocannon's World and City of Illusions in an omnibus, which is great for convenience but bad for closure. So I finished Planet of Exile without knowing, and read half of chapter 1 in City of Illusions before realising something was wrong. A little dissatisfying.

However, I enjoyed Planet of Exile, which reminded me a lot of Helliconia (a comparison I'm sure Brian Aldiss would resent), but this was of much smaller scope than that trilogy and than Rocannon's World. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes a good story is enough.