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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Semley is the princess of her people, impoverished but dreaming of the legendary necklace of her ancestors. She goes on a quest to retrieve it from the mysterious travellers who have come to her world from beyond the stars, but will pay a terrible price for her longing. Decades later, the starfarer she met will be stranded on her planet and go on a quest of his own with Semley's grandson, desperate to save her world.
I adore books that meld science fiction and fantasy like this, and can never get enough. This is an early work of Le Guin's, the first in her legendary Hainish Cycle, and I really enjoyed it. The cultures are definitely a lot like Tolkien's, but not exactly the same, and the constant tension of Rocannon's greater knowledge and context gave the story a satisfying weight.
Looking forward to continuing the series!
I adore books that meld science fiction and fantasy like this, and can never get enough. This is an early work of Le Guin's, the first in her legendary Hainish Cycle, and I really enjoyed it. The cultures are definitely a lot like Tolkien's, but not exactly the same, and the constant tension of Rocannon's greater knowledge and context gave the story a satisfying weight.
Looking forward to continuing the series!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
I suspect someday I'll be a Le Guin completionist and this was a worthwhile entry, if not her best. As her debut novel it's fascinating to see the beginnings of what plots, concepts and ideas were most interesting to her (men bonding through cold weather travel, different ways of being human, being changed deeply by adopting a new home, anthropology and imperialism). Not the most original work it's a fantasy wrapped in a sci-fi in a way that's fun and satisfying. The characters are forgettable but the relationships between them are heavy in symbology and meaning. Also just kind of a fun romp in a cool world (heck yeah I love flying bat cats!) and I love a glimpse of a 60's era concept of a sci-fi future.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
The story feels very disconnected. While many of the ideas and themes are great, the story isn't long enough and doesn't go deep enough to fully bring them to life. It's sad, because this could have been great, but the world feels superficial and the characters shallow.
For my fellow Finnish readers who are reading (or think about reading) the same edition as me: this translation is horrendous but I'm not letting it affect the rating.
For my fellow Finnish readers who are reading (or think about reading) the same edition as me: this translation is horrendous but I'm not letting it affect the rating.
adventurous
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The beginning was confusing, but I think it kept getting better as the story progressed. Enjoyable and recommendable. :)
A story in a science-fiction setting with a high-fantasy idiom, Rocannon's World is beautifully written with marvelous descriptions of the settings and races of an alien world, as a heroic space-anthropologist undertakes a quest to protect a world that could have been imagined by Tolkien if Tolkien had cared to think about A-type stars, low-gravity worlds and how time dilation can seem like a trip to the land of Faerie.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
No
Ursula Le Guin is a fantastic writer, and this did not disappoint.
Le Guin's scifi just hits like nothing else - I love the juxtaposition of science versus myth in this book, and it shares a lot of elements with The Left Hand of Darkness (as far as pacing and themes) in the best way.
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
tense
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:
No