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A review by lory_enterenchanted
Rocannon's World by Ursula K. Le Guin
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
I read the introductory story, Semley's Necklace, years and years ago in The Wind's Twelve Quarters, but I had still never read Le Guin's first published novel -- Chris's #LoveHain event was the perfect opportunity to pick it up. Setting aside the absurdity of the premise, in which a remote planet has evolved a Tolkienesque feudal society, with elf-like, dwarf-like, and human-like life forms, I did quite enjoy it. Rocannon is an explorer and researcher, an anthropologist stand-in who studies planets rather than human societies. He's stranded on the titular world (it's so unimportant it has no other name) when his compatriots are killed by a devious enemy force that wants to use the planet as its base for a rebellion against the League Rocannon serves. He sets out with a few companions, who view this in their medieval manner as a great and noble quest, with a few high-tech tools, but mostly having to come down to human courage, tenacity, and sacrifice. A mysterious encounter at the end gives him the edge he needs over his enemy, but he must pay a terrible price.
The running theme is that one man's life doesn't matter -- but if it doesn't, what does? UKL always presents a beautiful and thoughtful meditation on such themes. Although marred by some silliness (flying cats, and too many forlorn damsels in castles), it still drew me into a richly imagined world.
In this book, Hain is: a planet with humanoid inhabitants, a different species from Earthlings, but in league with Earth, part of an alliance (the League of All Worlds) that is preparing for an expected war with extra-galactic enemies. Thus the visits to technologically backward planets to try to advance them and enlist them as allies--one of whom has rebelled and sought to conquer in its own right. The ansible is in use for instant communication. An unmanned, fater than light death-machine can also strike instantly.
"But Rocannon the hilfer, whose job was learning, not teaching, and who had lived on quite a few backward worlds, doubted the wisdom of staking everything on weapons and the use of machines...What if the weapons of the Enemy were things of the mind? Would it not be well to learn a little of the different shapes minds come in, and their powers?"
I read the introductory story, Semley's Necklace, years and years ago in The Wind's Twelve Quarters, but I had still never read Le Guin's first published novel -- Chris's #LoveHain event was the perfect opportunity to pick it up. Setting aside the absurdity of the premise, in which a remote planet has evolved a Tolkienesque feudal society, with elf-like, dwarf-like, and human-like life forms, I did quite enjoy it. Rocannon is an explorer and researcher, an anthropologist stand-in who studies planets rather than human societies. He's stranded on the titular world (it's so unimportant it has no other name) when his compatriots are killed by a devious enemy force that wants to use the planet as its base for a rebellion against the League Rocannon serves. He sets out with a few companions, who view this in their medieval manner as a great and noble quest, with a few high-tech tools, but mostly having to come down to human courage, tenacity, and sacrifice. A mysterious encounter at the end gives him the edge he needs over his enemy, but he must pay a terrible price.
The running theme is that one man's life doesn't matter -- but if it doesn't, what does? UKL always presents a beautiful and thoughtful meditation on such themes. Although marred by some silliness (flying cats, and too many forlorn damsels in castles), it still drew me into a richly imagined world.
In this book, Hain is: a planet with humanoid inhabitants, a different species from Earthlings, but in league with Earth, part of an alliance (the League of All Worlds) that is preparing for an expected war with extra-galactic enemies. Thus the visits to technologically backward planets to try to advance them and enlist them as allies--one of whom has rebelled and sought to conquer in its own right. The ansible is in use for instant communication. An unmanned, fater than light death-machine can also strike instantly.
"But Rocannon the hilfer, whose job was learning, not teaching, and who had lived on quite a few backward worlds, doubted the wisdom of staking everything on weapons and the use of machines...What if the weapons of the Enemy were things of the mind? Would it not be well to learn a little of the different shapes minds come in, and their powers?"