Well this was pretty gay Its like lord of the rings but

>>8059427
you're so unique with your anti-liberalism

>>8059427
She's a really great writer. Her prose is superior to any other scifi writer.

great book.

>>8059518
>who is gene wolfe

>>8059427
>Its like lord of the rings
no

>>8059518
>Her prose is superior to
no
well, maybe easier on the eye than Asimov's, but it's still damn pedestrian

I had to stop reading about halfway through. The concept (kimmering? kettering?) was interesting enough but her prose was way too flowery. It felt really out of place for a sci-fi novel.

>>8059544
>genres
>prescriptive
You are a shithead.

>the left hand of darkness

is it about how leftism destroys civilization?

>>8059563
light is the left hand of darkness

The title is taken from a poem in the book of the same name. It's about war and politics in a developing society which does not have an assigned gender (iirc).

>>8059560
I'm not saying all sci-fi should read like Philip K. Dick, but this just took itself too seriously, considering the subject matter.

>>8059583
>but this just took itself too seriously,

I'll take "How to look like you are saying something without actually saying anything" for 400 Alex

File: 1461631679736-lit.png (1MB, 806x900px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 806x900px

>>8059579
>a developing society which does not have an assigned gender

>>8059628
in the novel they biologically don't have an assigned gender, they are all hermaphrodites.

>>8059583
Le Guin's prose style is workmanlike - almost journalistic in fact - and certainly not flowery.

Philip K. Dick's prose style is just shit (his ideas are brilliant, of course).

So I don't know what you're smoking.

>>8059427
I've become rather bitter with sci-fi over the years, as it used to be my favorite genre. But you can only read so many space operas and pretentious near futures before it gets to you a little.

And then you decide to give an author a go because of some weird research string you were on... and it rekindles your love of why you started reading it in the first place.

LeGuin approaches sci-fi as it should be; a thought experiment. Instead of spending pages upon pages describing the minutiae of every aspect of the future, she integrates snippets of mythology, politics, and does it in a way that you don't feel is droning on.

There are parts that aren't very action oriented at all, and yet, they don't drag. I have no idea how she does it and am now rather enamored with this author.

As for the book itself, it approaches more than the simple issue of gender; it's almost zen-like, with an exploration of a duality in a whole. And the main character was the type a cranky sap like me could really relate to.

Best book I've read in a long while.

>>8059670
>(his ideas are brilliant, of course)
Not really. It's all very typical "mindblowing" speed freak shit.

>>8059670
>le pkd is bad at prose meme
well memed

>>8059701
he is dont be a pleb

>>8059701
It's almost as bad as GRRM.
>>8059695
They certainly make for some amazing stories.

>>8059427
>>8059544
>>8059583
Please find someone's opinion to parrot before you post here. Someone literate.

>>8059664
and she ended with what looks as a society of... men

I liked the book, but it's not really about gender and I think it's because Le Guin couldn't really do what she set out to do, which is strip gender away from a story/try to explore what a people who are bi-gendered would be like. Estraven is basically a guy - the people who are supposed to have no gender, like the king, are also clearly men. You can tell men and women apart in a species which is default a-sexual except when in heat.

It's still absolutely worth reading. The frustrations of the protagonist are great - his trip across the ice with Estraven is great. The political clash between the two main nations is well developed and sensible. Le Guin is really unpretentious and not at all autistic about writing sci-fi - she doesn't fetishize the genre, just uses some of its conventions.