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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Another story in the League of Worlds universe. We have a little nod to Rocannon's World that was very neat, I was so excited to see it.
There is little technology in this story at all as it is the story of a population of terran exiles in an isolated planet populated by natives who have virtually no technological development. This settlement of exiles struggles against the harsh meteorological conditions (a year that lasts the equivalent of 60 years on earth, imagine the length of that winter...), agressive tribes of barbarians gathering together for the first time to conquer their neighbours and contentious relationships with the neighbouring clans of natives. There are even creepy white beasts from the north that come with the winter! It was like Game of Thrones before there was a Game of Thrones. Winter is coming!
I loved both main characters, Jakob Agat and Rolery. Le Guin's heroes are catnip to me. Considerate, thougtful, calm, humble and not invulnerable. They feel so human and I can always relate to them, which isn't a given for me with male characters. I liked that Agat wasn't perfect. He would get annoyed sometimes, or his arrogance would get away with him.
Rolery was a gem. I could feel her impulsive wildness, I loved how she would say the truth in a blunt but not hurtful way. The way she teased Agat was adorable and gave me the warm fuzzies. And when he calls her "my wife"... *swoon*
That's right, besides being the story of a conflict between peoples, there is also a beautiful, understated love story in this book. It is not the center of the action as both characters are very much busy with other things as well, but when it was there it was heartwarming. It gave me all the feels.
I was completely spellbound by the story and felt immersed in the battle scenes and action. The writing is vivid and immediate. The characterisation is complex and varied (even though I have to point out that the homosexual character, while I was glad he existed, had rather stereotypical mannerisms. This book was written half a century ago after all). There is an excellent depiction of racism and prejudice, superstitions, the condescension of a more technologically advanced species, as well as a chilling patriarchal society. The book made me feel the plight of the exiles on a world rejecting them on a visceral level.
The ending is abrupt and not very neat, we are left very much in the dark as to the overarching storyline. There is a lull in events, we are given a few sparks of hope, and we leave our characters to face their unrelentingly harsh lives. In a way it's fitting, and I wasn't as frustrated as I would usually be by such an ending, but it wasn't what I expected. Le Guin has the skills to pull it off though, hats off to her.
There is little technology in this story at all as it is the story of a population of terran exiles in an isolated planet populated by natives who have virtually no technological development. This settlement of exiles struggles against the harsh meteorological conditions (a year that lasts the equivalent of 60 years on earth, imagine the length of that winter...), agressive tribes of barbarians gathering together for the first time to conquer their neighbours and contentious relationships with the neighbouring clans of natives. There are even creepy white beasts from the north that come with the winter! It was like Game of Thrones before there was a Game of Thrones. Winter is coming!
I loved both main characters, Jakob Agat and Rolery. Le Guin's heroes are catnip to me. Considerate, thougtful, calm, humble and not invulnerable. They feel so human and I can always relate to them, which isn't a given for me with male characters. I liked that Agat wasn't perfect. He would get annoyed sometimes, or his arrogance would get away with him.
Rolery was a gem. I could feel her impulsive wildness, I loved how she would say the truth in a blunt but not hurtful way. The way she teased Agat was adorable and gave me the warm fuzzies.
That's right, besides being the story of a conflict between peoples, there is also a beautiful, understated love story in this book. It is not the center of the action as both characters are very much busy with other things as well, but when it was there it was heartwarming. It gave me all the feels.
I was completely spellbound by the story and felt immersed in the battle scenes and action. The writing is vivid and immediate. The characterisation is complex and varied (even though I have to point out that the homosexual character, while I was glad he existed, had rather stereotypical mannerisms. This book was written half a century ago after all). There is an excellent depiction of racism and prejudice, superstitions, the condescension of a more technologically advanced species, as well as a chilling patriarchal society. The book made me feel the plight of the exiles on a world rejecting them on a visceral level.
The ending is abrupt and not very neat, we are left very much in the dark as to the overarching storyline. There is a lull in events, we are given a few sparks of hope, and we leave our characters to face their unrelentingly harsh lives. In a way it's fitting, and I wasn't as frustrated as I would usually be by such an ending, but it wasn't what I expected. Le Guin has the skills to pull it off though, hats off to her.
Beginning with challenging cross-cultural communications and misunderstandings from cultural value differences and ending with that sense of belonging that Le Guin writes so well. A beautiful story.
As an early LeGuin novel, she is pushing some boundaries (inter-racial romance), but not others (traditional gender roles dominate, apparently in both cultures).
As an early LeGuin novel, she is pushing some boundaries (inter-racial romance), but not others (traditional gender roles dominate, apparently in both cultures).
Certainly the weakest of the Hainish cycle, the seeds of the fierce battle LeGuin waged against colonialism over the course of her career are visible here but undermined by her primitivist depiction of the native peoples (especially the Gaal). Perhaps also the only one of her novels where the thematic arc felt unfinished at the point at which the narrative was done and the book ended—both problems she quickly solved across her next few works.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not the best Le Guin, not the worst. Still a romp to read once I really got stuck into it. Lots of cool ideas even if she didn't really get a chance to flesh them out in this story, and I'm starting to think the rapid fire/idea dump approach is the fun of the Hainish cycle.
The clumsy early writings of a woman who would later be a master. Only worth reading if you're writing a thesis on her; this particular piece is just... not very good.
Well...I don't get what the attraction is. Perhaps I need to start with the first book in the series -- Rocannon's World.
I enjoyed this one. It was short and focused on the dynamics between two groups of alien people at different places in their scientific development. It's interesting both as a thought experiment and also because of the personal relationships in the story.
The planet is Werel, and it takes 60 Earth-years to go around the sun, and it's about to have another really long (15-year?) winter. The main characters are Wold and his daughter Rolery who are members of the group of Tevarans. Might have been easier if they were called Werelians but actually, there's another group of invading Werelians called The Gaal. The other main character is Jakob Agat from a colony of Earthlings that got stuck and left behind on Werel. The two groups descended from the Hainish people originally, but they evolved separately for so long that they can't have children with each other.
Apparently, this planet is renamed from Werel to Alterra in Left Hand of Darkness?
The planet is Werel, and it takes 60 Earth-years to go around the sun, and it's about to have another really long (15-year?) winter. The main characters are Wold and his daughter Rolery who are members of the group of Tevarans. Might have been easier if they were called Werelians but actually, there's another group of invading Werelians called The Gaal. The other main character is Jakob Agat from a colony of Earthlings that got stuck and left behind on Werel. The two groups descended from the Hainish people originally, but they evolved separately for so long that they can't have children with each other.
Apparently, this planet is renamed from Werel to Alterra in Left Hand of Darkness?