You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
On a faraway world, two different races of humans, one native, the other not, live in uncomfortable peace. The natives are primitive, they haven't even discovered the wheel. The exiles have simplified their lives to not influence the native tribes, but privately maintain some of the knowledge of the empire they once belonged to. But as the long winter approaches, a threat from the north might force these two tribes together.
This book started very strong, but lost my excitement about half way. Le Guin does what few authors can effectively, I feel, and that is bounce from different characters' perspective. She also really makes the thoughts and motivations for the protagonists not just clear, but believable.
It's science fiction, but the trappings of spaceships and blasters are well in the past. The exiles are people who have been abandoned generations ago and forced to make a home of a world that does not really want them. They have a few scifi gifts, like telepathy and mind-reading, but beyond that, many of the story's trappings would feel just as at home in fantasy as in scifi. In fact, this is the 2nd scifi book of Le Guin's that I read which made me think, "This is really a fantasy," and I liked that about the book.
But the story's antagonists show up about halfway through the book, and the battle between them and the heroes was less interesting to me than the subdued conflict between the natives and exiles, and the exiles and themselves. Still, it was a good book, and interesting to see how Le Guin was writing early in her career.
This book started very strong, but lost my excitement about half way. Le Guin does what few authors can effectively, I feel, and that is bounce from different characters' perspective. She also really makes the thoughts and motivations for the protagonists not just clear, but believable.
It's science fiction, but the trappings of spaceships and blasters are well in the past. The exiles are people who have been abandoned generations ago and forced to make a home of a world that does not really want them. They have a few scifi gifts, like telepathy and mind-reading, but beyond that, many of the story's trappings would feel just as at home in fantasy as in scifi. In fact, this is the 2nd scifi book of Le Guin's that I read which made me think, "This is really a fantasy," and I liked that about the book.
But the story's antagonists show up about halfway through the book, and the battle between them and the heroes was less interesting to me than the subdued conflict between the natives and exiles, and the exiles and themselves. Still, it was a good book, and interesting to see how Le Guin was writing early in her career.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood
Most epic fantasy authors take thousands of pages to establish the world, character, and story that Ursula Le Guin could create in under two hundred.
medium-paced
Compared to Le Guin’s other work, include other volumes within the Hannish Cycle, I found [b:Planet of Exile|201882|Planet of Exile (Hainish Cycle, #2)|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334148719l/201882._SY75_.jpg|1642607] to be a bit underwhelming. One of the most fascinating prospects of future space travel, is that the human species could potentially diverge in evolution, depending on where we traveled and settled. New environments give shape to new species when you look at deep history, after all. While this premise should make for interesting drama, I just felt like this story never really took off. There were components of Le Guin’s ethnographic style that were good, but otherwise I know she can do way better.
Rating: 2.5 stars
Rating: 2.5 stars
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is another one of her early novels,written in 1966. What happens when a colony is abandoned on a planet that already has people? When does integration finally start to happen? This is a story of that moment, a sad one of culture clash and war. It was a short read on an airplane that still leaves a taste of melancholy. (May 06, 2005)
I finally finished this book. The writing is fantastic as always though the book I own has some typos in it (it's quite an old version). The Planet of Exile (setting) is quite interesting and the beings that live on this planet have curious customs. The story itself was okay. It might be because it's such a short book and everything seemed to go at quite a fast pace. However, Ursula K Le Guin, being the amazing author she is, was able to make a story that lasted a few weeks into an eventful one.
I also didn't care much for the characters themselves. I didn't really connect with any of them and wasn't really rooting for anyone. I was actually more interested in the snowghouls (which appeared in the last pages). Even though they only appeared twice (maybe three if you count when they're first mentioned), the short description of them actually gave me chills. In my mind, they are very creepy.
I also didn't care much for the characters themselves. I didn't really connect with any of them and wasn't really rooting for anyone. I was actually more interested in the snowghouls (which appeared in the last pages). Even though they only appeared twice (maybe three if you count when they're first mentioned), the short description of them actually gave me chills. In my mind, they are very creepy.
Definitely earned its three out of five stars. A fine book which made no major mistakes, but if it had something deep to say I certainly missed it. Competing themes of "we're all people enough, in this together" and "as sorta-people we have to band together against the mindless barbarian hordes" seemed strange put next to each other.
There's certainly no compelling reason not to read this book. It will really take you one or two sittings.
There's certainly no compelling reason not to read this book. It will really take you one or two sittings.