Reviews

City of Illusions by Ursula K. Le Guin

ebeth's review against another edition

challenging hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

big walking book. soooo much walking at the beginning. but again what a fantastical story. and with hope. 

bibliocinephile's review against another edition

4.0

the way miss ursula never misses is unreal

outcolder's review against another edition

5.0

Brilliant. Smoothly moves from an exciting Planetary Romance into a logic puzzle without losing any of the thrill, while keeping the philosophical and ethical questions bubbling along. The Shing, who rule the Earth through skilled use of The Lie, are timeless bad guys, motivated by fear, and exactly the right thought experiment for a century still clouded with yesterday’s ideologies. This was the second time I read it, and it still surprised me in places.

e_money_the_cat's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kivt's review against another edition

4.0

I liked this quite a bit more than Rocannon's World, and I thought the ending was particularly well handled. The climax started arriving around 75% of the way through and the last 25% could have been an incredibly tedious drag, but instead it was tense and compelling.

mxknits's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

goobdiddy's review against another edition

4.0

Another fine old-school sci-fi book. This takes place some thousands of years in the future in an almost deserted North America, following the quest of the not quite human Falk as he tries to find out who he is, where he is from, etc. I found it to be an enjoyable read, although the ending was a bit abrupt, almost like the author was getting a bit bored and just decided to be done with the book.

I do recommend though, for a nice quick read.

snorlaxative's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

paulineg's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

diarmuid's review against another edition

4.0

"A sun like a dragon’s eye, orange-yellow, like a fire-opal with seven glittering pendants swinging slowly through their long ellipses."

After getting very excited for the Hainish Cycle after the excellent The Dispossessed, and then going back to read them in publication order with the nice little Roccanons World, I was fiercely disappointed with the extremely boring World of Exile. This put a halt on my reading them, but I am so glad I finally read this when I needed a 200 page book to fill a gap. This is such a return to form, a great little scifi tale which even pulls from the previous two books for the most cohesive one so far. Good concept and well written, what's more to like? I also read one of her short stories on the tube during this - I feel another big Le Guin phase coming on and I am so here for it.