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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
I am continually floored by the quality of Le Guin's writing. As you can see from my highlights, there were a great many passages in this novel that caught my breath, and made me feel wonderful things.
A pattern I've noticed with the author: The books always start with the reader plunged into the deep end, having to figure out the world and the characters without much introduction. I always start the novels with just a little bit of doubt, and sometimes retain that doubt even halfway through or more (as with The Left Hand of Darkness), but by the end I am always feeling like I've been snuck up on and had my legs swept out from underneath me.
The worlds and characters that Le Guin creates are rich, complex, and *real* in a way that I don't often see in fiction, and I think that the mind-opening and the perspective-shifting they inspire are valuable to anyone who is willing to read.
Beauty abounds.
A pattern I've noticed with the author: The books always start with the reader plunged into the deep end, having to figure out the world and the characters without much introduction. I always start the novels with just a little bit of doubt, and sometimes retain that doubt even halfway through or more (as with The Left Hand of Darkness), but by the end I am always feeling like I've been snuck up on and had my legs swept out from underneath me.
The worlds and characters that Le Guin creates are rich, complex, and *real* in a way that I don't often see in fiction, and I think that the mind-opening and the perspective-shifting they inspire are valuable to anyone who is willing to read.
Beauty abounds.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
inspiring
reflective
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
An interesting thought experiment of societal organization, and more specifically how an anarchist society may impact relationships, work, etc.
Too much philosophical discussions and not much happening
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I mean, it's anarchist sci-fi. It's perfect.
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-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:
Yes
This was my first foray into "true" science fiction in a while and I really enjoyed it! The political systems of the different worlds, and the way those systems impacted the characters' personalities, were really well done. Some aspects were a bit on the nose, and there were some themes/ideas that could have done with a bit more subtlety in my opinion (the prison motif, for example, was one that I felt was really beat into the reader). All in all though, for a genre and publication date I don't explore much, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.