A review by mary_soon_lee
The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin

5.0

This is one of my favorite books about writing and about speculative fiction, written by one of my favorite authors. I first read it over twenty years ago, have dipped into it since then, but hadn't re-read it in its entirety until now. I don't agree with every word Le Guin says ... but I agree with most of them. If you are interested in Le Guin's own writing, or in writing in general, or in fantasy and science fiction in particular, then I recommend this book very highly. Le Guin speaks about art and craft; truth and entertainment; about style (including a wonderful section on style as shown by dialogue); about liberty and loneliness and responsibility. I marked passage after passage as notable. Here is a quote from the final essay in the book, not my favorite quote in the book by any means, but one that speaks to me as a writer of science fiction:

And the science fiction writer really should be aware that he or she is in an extraordinary, enviable position: an inheritor of the least rigid, freest, youngest of all literary traditions: and therefore should do the job just as well, as seriously and entertainingly, as intelligently and passionately, as ever it can be done. That's the least we can ask of our writers--and the most. You can't demand of artists that they produce masterpieces. You can ask that they try.