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A review by funktious
Worlds of Exile and Illusion: Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions by Ursula K. Le Guin
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Rocannon's World
Starfleet (- the prime directive) + Lord of the Rings + flying cats
I’d read Semley's Necklace in a short story collection already which sets the scene nicely for this sci-fi meets fantasy world mash up. I really enjoyed Rocannon's journey across the planet and you could see the roots of similar journeys in both Earthsea and Left Hand of Darkness in this. The whole war business is very lightly skimmed over and the enemy barely features at all, but the prose is lovely and I enjoyed this more than I expected to.
Planet of Exile
What might have happened after the end of Battlestar Galactica (at least, if they hadn’t been so determined to leave all their tech behind.) Really interesting look at how two cultures, each alien to each other (if only one actually alien) might combine and find strength to move forward together. You can really see Le Guins anthropological background in this one, the Neolithic characters were great. And the love story, while super simple, was incredibly sweet.
City of Illusions
I enjoyed the first half of this a lot, as our main character journeyed across a post apocalyptic, far future America, encountering many different sorts of societies and individuals. Some of them seemed quite attractive actually (and some really didn’t!) Once the mystery of the characters identity is resolved and the narrative changes, I enjoyed it less. I’m glad Le Guin dropped the war and enemy from her later Hainish novels as they’re the weakest part of these stories and not very convincing. But that’s partly why I don’t read much old school sci-fi - I’m just not interested in interstellar wars.
Overall I’m glad I read these, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy them as much as I did, but even early Le Guin learning her craft is worth reading.
Starfleet (- the prime directive) + Lord of the Rings + flying cats
I’d read Semley's Necklace in a short story collection already which sets the scene nicely for this sci-fi meets fantasy world mash up. I really enjoyed Rocannon's journey across the planet and you could see the roots of similar journeys in both Earthsea and Left Hand of Darkness in this. The whole war business is very lightly skimmed over and the enemy barely features at all, but the prose is lovely and I enjoyed this more than I expected to.
Planet of Exile
What might have happened after the end of Battlestar Galactica (at least, if they hadn’t been so determined to leave all their tech behind.) Really interesting look at how two cultures, each alien to each other (if only one actually alien) might combine and find strength to move forward together. You can really see Le Guins anthropological background in this one, the Neolithic characters were great. And the love story, while super simple, was incredibly sweet.
City of Illusions
I enjoyed the first half of this a lot, as our main character journeyed across a post apocalyptic, far future America, encountering many different sorts of societies and individuals. Some of them seemed quite attractive actually (and some really didn’t!) Once the mystery of the characters identity is resolved and the narrative changes, I enjoyed it less. I’m glad Le Guin dropped the war and enemy from her later Hainish novels as they’re the weakest part of these stories and not very convincing. But that’s partly why I don’t read much old school sci-fi - I’m just not interested in interstellar wars.
Overall I’m glad I read these, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy them as much as I did, but even early Le Guin learning her craft is worth reading.