You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
I enjoyed this - but it seems the weakest of the 3 Hainish novels I've read so far (after The Left Hand of Darkness and Rocannon's World).
Le Guin's worldbuilding is excellent as ever - which alone makes it worth a read - but I found the plotting a bit unsatisfying, and I didn't engage with the characters very deeply. Jakob in particular seemed lacking in internal life for a central character.
Le Guin's worldbuilding is excellent as ever - which alone makes it worth a read - but I found the plotting a bit unsatisfying, and I didn't engage with the characters very deeply. Jakob in particular seemed lacking in internal life for a central character.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Infertility, Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
She shared nothing at all with him, but had met him and joined with him wholly and immediately across the gulf of their great difference: as if it were that difference, the alienness between them, that let them meet; and that in joining them together, freed them.
Two cultures that each see the other as less than fully human must face an existential threat together. There’s not much profound here, but I did enjoy it.
The natives call the aliens “farborns”, which personally I think sounds pretty badass. Meanwhile, the aliens use an acronym for “high-intelligence life-form” to refer to the natives: “hilfs”. That term made me viscerally uncomfortable every single time I read it…
(crosspost)
Not a bad read, but none of the characters or events really got me interested in the story- the whole time i felt like i was waiting for it to start.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, War
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
