Voices (Annals of the Western Shore, #2)

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Voices (Annals of the Western Shore #2)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 1,767 ratings · 188 reviews

Ansul, once a beautiful, peaceful city of traders and scholars, was conquered seventeen years ago by the Alds—men of the desert who believe reading and writing to be evil acts, punishable by death. They also believe the Oracle House, where the last few undestroyed books are hidden, is seething with demons. But to seventeen-year-old Memer, the house is a blessed refuge, a p...more

Hardcover, First Edition, 234 pages

Published September 1st 2006 by Harcourt

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Nov 11, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com

A companion novel to Le Guin's GIFTS, VOICES looks in on the life of a teen growing up in a city controlled by an enemy people. Memer has never known a life when hostile soldiers didn't patrol the streets and the possession of a book was not a crime punishable by death. The invading army believes that written words are evil, and that the city of Ansul is full of demons. But Memer knows that the Waylord, the man who raised her after her mother's death, ha...more Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com

A companion novel to Le Guin's GIFTS, VOICES looks in on the life of a teen growing up in a city controlled by an enemy people. Memer has never known a life when hostile soldiers didn't patrol the streets and the possession of a book was not a crime punishable by death. The invading army believes that written words are evil, and that the city of Ansul is full of demons. But Memer knows that the Waylord, the man who raised her after her mother's death, has a hidden library in his house. There, he teaches her to read, and then, to use her understanding to help the city face its greatest crisis.

For a novel that has a lot to do with story-telling and reading, VOICES has more action and excitement than readers might expect. The arrival of Orrec, a great storyteller (and the narrator of GIFTS), rekindles the courage of Ansul's people, and they attempt to rebel against their oppressors. Memer finds herself caught in the middle, torn between her loyalty to the Waylord, who wishes to find a peaceful solution, and her hatred for the soldiers who destroyed so many things that she treasured. With many twists and turns along the way, VOICES delivers a conclusion that is both satisfying and unpredictable.

Perhaps the strongest element of the novel, however, is the way it moves from black and white to shades of gray. Orrec believes that all people have some good in them, and as Memer is forced to get to know the invaders she despises, she realizes that they are not all terrible and cruel. Some of them are simply different, and unable to understand her way of life. The message seems to be that it is far better to reach an understanding with others, even if you dislike them, than to take revenge. In a time when cultural and religious clashes make news almost every day, this should hit home with many readers.

VOICES is not a perfect book. It slows down a little more than I'd have liked before reaching its conclusion, and Memer was not as active in those events as I expect from a main character. But those flaws are minor compared to everything else about the novel: the distinctive setting and culture, the vivid language and personalities, and a voice that suggests, softly, without preaching, that there is more than one way to win a war. (less)

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Feb 20, 2009 Wealhtheow rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Julian, think_galactic

Shelves: fantasy, ya, pocmaincharacters

The peaceful merchant city of Ansul, famous for its university and learning, was invaded a generation ago by an army. The Alds believe that anything written is an abomination, the educated populace are dark wizards, and that they will find their religion's foretold final battleground in Ansul. They pillage, rape and torture their way through the citizens, destroying every book and shrine they can find.
Seventeen years later, the Alds remain as uneasy masters in a slave-city. They still sleep in t...more The peaceful merchant city of Ansul, famous for its university and learning, was invaded a generation ago by an army. The Alds believe that anything written is an abomination, the educated populace are dark wizards, and that they will find their religion's foretold final battleground in Ansul. They pillage, rape and torture their way through the citizens, destroying every book and shrine they can find.
Seventeen years later, the Alds remain as uneasy masters in a slave-city. They still sleep in tents, dress as though they still live in the desert, and have made absolutely no attempts to understand their new subjects. An entire generation of Ansul has grown up knowing freedom and their history only as rumors.
Memer is luckier than most. Everyone is hungry and overworked, but through her mother's position in the Waylord's household she has access to the last library in Ansul. She is as hungry for knowledge as she is for revenge. A chance meeting with the famous storyteller Orrec and his animal-tamer wife, Gry (the main characters from Gifts, some twenty years later) is the catalyst for an explosion of revolution and social change.

This was a great book. It feels like a YA treatment of the same issues as Laurie Marks's Fire Logic series. Clashing religions, races, cultures--invasion and enslavement--written words versus spoken. Le Guin's societies and individuals feel wholly real and independent of the reader. For every scene where a book or a speech is vital, there is another about creating a feast out of a fish and some greens. Neither form of knowledge is preferenced over the other. A miracle occurs, and Memer's friend the hostler says, "oh, look at that," and then goes back to work. Memer's by-mother is far more concerned with her daughter's upcoming wedding than the birth of a new government. Memer is both Ald and Ansul, but she's not upset about it, and it only comes up a few times (a refreshing change from the Tragic Caught-Between-Two-Worlds! trope). Bloody, dramatic vengeance is contrasted with a compromise that doesn't wholly satisfy anyone.

Le Guin is clearly still a Grand Master of Fantasy.(less)

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Oct 24, 2010 Jan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, z-2010, favorites

When Ansul was first sacked by the Alds, the soldiers pillaged, raped and destroyed all the books they could find. 9 months later, Memer is born to the house Galva, the once glorious Oracle House, which is home to a secret library, where the people of Ansul hide the few books they could safe.

The lord of the house, The Waylord, was held captive and tortured by the Alds for years, and when he is finally released both his body and spirit are broken. Memer and the Waylord bond over the books that we...more When Ansul was first sacked by the Alds, the soldiers pillaged, raped and destroyed all the books they could find. 9 months later, Memer is born to the house Galva, the once glorious Oracle House, which is home to a secret library, where the people of Ansul hide the few books they could safe.

The lord of the house, The Waylord, was held captive and tortured by the Alds for years, and when he is finally released both his body and spirit are broken. Memer and the Waylord bond over the books that were saved and only they - as the only members of the Galva family left- have access too.

Even though Memer looks like one of the Alds, she grows up with a passionate hate for the people that are occupying her city and land, that broke her Waylord and killed her mother. The people of Ansul are a peaceful and forgiving people, and I thought it was striking that the passion of her hate shows that she's got more of the Alds in her than she'd care to acknowledge.

Things change for Memer when she meets Orrec and Gry (the now grown up main characters from Gifts) and he involuntary inspires the city to revolt against the Alds. As a traveling story-teller, Orrec tries to stay neutral and see both sides of the conflict, but the power of his tales is out of his control.

Le Guin blends the tale of an occupied people, a cultural conflict, clashing religions and the power and beauty of tales into a powerful story of freedom. Memer is a great main character, flawed but passionate, and her coming of age story in hard circumstances is marvelous.

I loved how little lines of dialogue shone a new lights on Gifts, the first book in this series, and how subtle she interweaves the overarching theme of freedom and the power of stories with the main conflict of the story.

This series is truly great, and I really recommend it to everyone in need of some intelligent fantasy. If all youth literature was as powerful, mesmerizing and intelligent as this series by Le Guin, nobody would ever want to grow up.(less)

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Jul 04, 2010 Moira Russell added it

Shelves: 2010-50-new-books-challenge

My favourite of the three - often the subject was unrelievedly painful to me (BURNING BOOKS OMG NO), but I really loved Memer's voice, utterly direct, plain, and believable, despite the sometimes heavy-handed Symbolism everywhere (her role in the book reminded me very much of Irena in Beginning Place).

I heard someone call these books 'Earthsea lite' but that's really unfair - the language is simpler, less mannered and archaic, but the people more complex, the plots more political. (Melle is cer...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Robert rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All LeGuin fans. Anybody who finds much modern literature bland and pointless.

Shelves: fantasy, favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In the second volume of The Annals of the Western Shore, LeGuin takes us a long way south from the Uplands of the first volume, to the conquered coastal city of Ansul. She also provides a map of the Western Shore not printed in the first or third volumes. One of the regions on the map, Sessery, sounds very much like it should be an island of Earthsea.
Memer narrates the story of her young life, growing up in a city conquered by an invading army from the desert to the east - indeed she is a produc...more In the second volume of The Annals of the Western Shore, LeGuin takes us a long way south from the Uplands of the first volume, to the conquered coastal city of Ansul. She also provides a map of the Western Shore not printed in the first or third volumes. One of the regions on the map, Sessery, sounds very much like it should be an island of Earthsea.
Memer narrates the story of her young life, growing up in a city conquered by an invading army from the desert to the east - indeed she is a product of that invasion, her mother being forced by a soldier from the invading army.
The hated Alds - the invaders - bring their religious beliefs with them and Atth, their one God, hates the written word.
Ansul was a University city and had a great and famed library. The aftermath of conquest saw it destroyed, along with its contents, any other books discovered by the army and all discovered harbouring the written word.
Memer grows up hating the occupying Alds, though she looks like them, and learning history and poetry from the cache of books held in a room with no doors. Little changes until the arrival of Orrec Caspro and Gry Barr in the city, summoned by the Alds' chief political figure. Then change comes more swiftly than she could have believed possible - and she finds herself at the centre of it.

LeGuin gives more to think about in this book than any dozen documentaries on the religious conflicts of this world...and that is what she is writing about, though any one analogy with a real modern conflict doesn't quite fit, much to her credit, in my view. LeGuin intends her readers not to make easy comparisons but to have to think seriously about the motivations, merits and de-merits of all parties involved in her imagined occupied city and hence be forced to do so with regard to the world we see around us. She uses Memer's awakening to a complicated political situation and enforced close up view of her enemies to suggest that seeing our enemies as human is much of the way to finding a way to live with them. Without ever unrealistically simplifying matters she promotes talking (politics) as a solution, perhaps the only solution, though not necessarily an ideal one.

LeGuin tells a gripping, intricate, carefully crafted story of immediate and yet depressingly timeless relevance in an intelligent and perceptive way. LeGuin is rarely less than profound but does not always give sufficient attention to providing her readers with a compelling narrative. That fault cannot be observed in this novel, making this the best fantasy work she has written since The Farthest Shore and putting it on a parr with her very best work in any genre.(less)

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Jan 14, 2011 Qing rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Brief premise: The peace country of Ansul was invaded by the Alds, a savage and hard race. The country/city succumbed to the harsh treatment of the Alds, as they banned the people of Ansul from dancing, from worshipping their many deities, destroyed books and libraries... torturing and imprisoning them if found in the possession of a book, to be dancing, or worshipping any gods. Death is more often than not the most likely of punishment.^^^^Memer, a \child of rape\", Orrec (whose gift is realise...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Le Guin has a magical gift of creating credible alternate universes peopled with characters so well drawn you feel you know them personally, suffusing them with a passionate humanism that both transforms and warms her worlds of SF and fantasy. Voices is part of another such world, set in the Lands of the Western Shore, and while linking the previous title Gifts and the sequel Powers exists equally well as a standalone.

The main protagonist is the youngster Memer who grows into womanhood by the en...more

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Sep 26, 2011 Leah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: feminist-authors, fiction, religion, ya-fiction, science-fiction, women-writers

Voices is a pleasure to read. It's beautifully written, the characters are fascinating, and the world they inhabit sucks you in, to the point where it's almost painful to put it down once the ending comes.
And what a world it is! LeGuin has always had a talent for making her own worlds, and Voices (part of a trilogy) has allowed her to flex her imaginative muscles to full capacity. There are unique places and peoples and species here, but none of it feels like she's showing off, rather, it's as...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Lis Carey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: f-sf, lit-fic

This is a YA novel set in the same world as Le Guin’s earlier Gifts, and Orrec and Gry, from the previous book, do figure in the story. The story is completely separate, though, and it’s not necessary to have read that one in order to read this.

Memer is a young girl growing up in a city under occupation. Ansul was previously a city of learning and culture; the conquerors have looted the university and destroyed all the books in the city. Writing is demonic, because it takes words, the breath of...more This is a YA novel set in the same world as Le Guin’s earlier Gifts, and Orrec and Gry, from the previous book, do figure in the story. The story is completely separate, though, and it’s not necessary to have read that one in order to read this.

Memer is a young girl growing up in a city under occupation. Ansul was previously a city of learning and culture; the conquerors have looted the university and destroyed all the books in the city. Writing is demonic, because it takes words, the breath of Atth, the Alds’ god, and traps it. Memer’s household, Galvamand, was one of the leading households of the city before the Alds arrived, one of the most learned households, and a bit more than that, as we and Memer gradually learn. The house has a secret room, where some of Ansul’s books have been preserved, and the head of the household, Sulter Galva, teaches Memer to read. It’s the one bright spot in a hard and impoverished life, and for everyone’s safety they keep it secret even from the rest of their own household.

Two things upset this precarious stability. One day when she’s out doing the marketing, trying to avoid the notice of the Ald soldiers who can be capriciously violent, Memer witnesses the arrival of a Maker, a storyteller—Orrec, with Gry, and a pet lion they’ve acquired. Because of the Alds’ ban on books, and because both Alds and the citizens of Ansul greatly admire storytellers, Orrec’s arrival would have been a major event even if the lion hadn’t panicked one of the soldiers’ horses. Memer, with great presence of mind and a sense that the god of luck has taken charge of her for the day, manages to get control of the horse before it runs anyone down. In the aftermath of this, Orrec and Gry are invited to stay at Galvamand while they’re in Ansul. Since Orrec has been invited to perform for the Gand Ioratth, the Ald commander, this brings Memer into closer contact with the occupiers than she has ever experienced.

The second disruptive force is that some of the other formerly-prominent citizens of Ansul are plotting a rebellion against the Alds, and they’re consulting Sulter Galva, even though he won’t commit to taking part and isn’t convinced it’s wise to make the attempt.

Orrec and Gry offer to take Memer with them for Orrec’s performances for the Gand, and despite her own reluctance, Sulter encourages this, both so she’ll hear his best material, and so she’ll learn more about the Alds. Memer becomes one of the few people in the city with contacts on both sides. Almost against her will she starts to learn both more about the Alds, and more about the history of her own city. When word arrives that the Alds’ Gand of Gands has died, and political changes are coming that could have major repercussions for Ansul, even while the plans for rebellion are coming to a head, Memer is forced into a critical role in the crisis.

Very enjoyable.(less)

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Dec 02, 2010 Navneetk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Crippled, old and lame, waylord has nothing to hold on to expect his city. But will he speak up when his city starts to fall apart. “Voices”, by Ursula K. Le Guin is an amazing book. Ursula has written one of the most suspenseful books I have ever read. Read “voices” to see how 17 years of hope turns a crippled man into a warrior.
A peaceful city, taken by force. Women taken off the streets and raped, men kicked around, children taken as slaves, books drowned because of illiteracy. Ald soldiers...more Crippled, old and lame, waylord has nothing to hold on to expect his city. But will he speak up when his city starts to fall apart. “Voices”, by Ursula K. Le Guin is an amazing book. Ursula has written one of the most suspenseful books I have ever read. Read “voices” to see how 17 years of hope turns a crippled man into a warrior.
A peaceful city, taken by force. Women taken off the streets and raped, men kicked around, children taken as slaves, books drowned because of illiteracy. Ald soldiers sent to take over a weak city and destroy it! Memer and Waylord are the only Galvas left. All of the were killed because they could read! Memer lives with the burden of her ancestors, not knowing what would become of her in the future. Always worrying if and when the ald soldiers will come for her. Ald soldiers took over and never gave up! They stayed to destroy what could be rebuild. 17 years of injustice…17 years of waiting until Orrec and Gry show up. There is something about Orrec that gives Memer hope but her city, destoried and afraid, won’t step up. They are moved by his great voice but don’t trust him. Memer hopes Orrec will convince Ansul that together they CAN be free. Will Orrec be able to convince the city of Ansul to step up or will Ansul be doomed forever?
This book was amazing! The way Memer can see the freedom of her city slowly slip away. I really feel Ursula did a great job describing the torn apart city. I imagined what it used to be and what it had become. The crushed buildings, torn temples, cracked streets, and broken sprits. It was so suspenseful! The new twist-like a new leader, a friendly face, a old broken man coming to life- kept me hooked!
Every page was a long wait! A wait for freedom, a wait for destruction, but mostly a wait for light. Light on a city that had, had nothing nut clouds for 17 years! The pain of city spoke to me. Well it seemed to seeping out of every page! Their thoughts of freedom were clear but their attempts to get it were not even there. The ald soldiers had broken their sprits and the once great city of Ansul had given up. The young children upset me. They were not given a chance at freedom but it seemed like they weren’t even tiring. They didn’t think it wroth it. The ald soldiers angered me! Drowning books just because they couldn’t read. Acting so tough but always hiding behind their god. I think the Waylord kept what little of Ansul was left alive! Although he was crippled, he looked on the bright side. He didn’t care the ald soldiers; he cared about what to do about them. It was exciting to imagine a entire city cramped into one room, waiting to hear news of freedom or death. 5 stars!
(less)

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Jul 30, 2010 Robin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Read this some time ago.. Still, not too late to write what I thought:

Much, much better than I anticipated. Even better than Gifts, the first book. And no, you don't need to read the first book to enjoy this one.

I especially loves the language, the style the author use throughout the book. A rather slow read, but really worth it. The story unfolds nicely, with beautiful writing, excellent character development (I feel like I've known Memer all my life; she's not perfect, she's real, sometimes ir...more

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Jun 30, 2010 Brynn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: magic-fantasy, ya-lit

This book is the sequel to first book in the Annals of the Western Shore Series. I devoured the first book (Gifts), having long been a fan of Ursula K. Le Guin's books. I literally finished the book within a day or two of purchasing it, and when I found the sequel, I checked it out, eager to find a continuation of the first book. I suppose that it was not disappointment that I found in the book, but merely not what I was expecting.

The first book in the series told of mysterious people with terr...more

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Jul 19, 2009 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This book was excellent, even better than the first book of this series, Gifts. The two main characters from the first book are seen again here playing important parts in the story, but the viewpoint character is someone new. Again, UKL's deft storytelling catches you up right away and pulls you into the action, thoughts, and feelings. In no way does this feel like Young Adult literature. Both of these books are awesome stories. There's nothing that's simplified here, or minor in any way.

The sto...more

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Jul 27, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Voices drew me in more than the first book of this series, Gifts, but is still much more introspective and slow-moving than than other "fantasy" novels published recently. For better or worse, Ursula Le Guin's age as a writer is showing. To clarify my meaning, I don't think that this series would be terribly popular with the majority of young fantasy readers today due to the fact that it is, as I said, slower-moving and introspective, in addition to dealing with deep and complex issues about ide...more

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Apr 28, 2011 jess rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, audiobook-d, yaf

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I can't believe it took me so long to read the second book in this trilogy. Hopefully I can finish the third before 2012. This is another stellar example of Le Guin's world-building skills and genuine characters. The major themes still revolve around storytelling, literacy, writing and reading. There is more reflection on gender, religion and power, however, which made it a little more interesting to me. The world is the same as the first book, but we're in a different place - Ansul, formerly a...more I can't believe it took me so long to read the second book in this trilogy. Hopefully I can finish the third before 2012. This is another stellar example of Le Guin's world-building skills and genuine characters. The major themes still revolve around storytelling, literacy, writing and reading. There is more reflection on gender, religion and power, however, which made it a little more interesting to me. The world is the same as the first book, but we're in a different place - Ansul, formerly a peaceful city full of books, learning, university & libraries, currently occupied by some fiercely illiterate desert people.

The main character in this book is a seventeen-year-old girl, Memer, who sometimes passes as a boy in order to access some social privilege (i.e. to be able to go to the market or walk down the street). Memer is a "seige brat," the product of her mother's rape when the city was first invaded. She is also a member of the house of Galva, the Oracle House, one of the oldest, biggest, most learned and respected houses in the city. She has a father figure in the Waylord, master of the house, who was a respected and honored dignitary before Ansul fell to the Alds. Memer is part of the big Galva family, but they have been so brutalized by the invading army that none of them are really Whole People, you know? They all bear the mark of the occupation, whether it is the cook who can't handle cooking for a crowd anymore, the groom who dreams of having horses back in the Galva stable, the Waylord who bears physical marks of a year of imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Alds, or Memer whose lineage is evident mostly in her hair, which looks like the frizzy yellow sheep hair of an Ald, not a citizen of Ansul.

The scenes of strategical planning and battling were kind of lost on me, but I'm not much for that kind of narrative. My favorite parts were about the books, information and stories, and how they can move through people. The written word is demonized, while Orrec's oral storytelling is a revered skill. The magical "oracle" stuff was interesting, but I was a little let down that the oracle fountain has an on/off switch. :( It was like finding out that unicorns aren't real (don't tell me, I still won't believe you). I liked Memer, but Gry is my favorite. (less)

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Apr 28, 2012 Jee Hyung rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Voices" is a stirring tale of a city in the throes of change, about politics, spirituality, freedom, and relationships. The layers of symbolism in this seemingly simple, straightforward story are amazing. There are many dualities--sun/fire and shade/water, male and female, the spoken and written word, the monotheism of blinding light and the polytheism of gods that whisper in every shadow. What marks Le Guin as an extraordinary storyteller is how she doesn't treat these opposites as simple divi...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Cathy Douglas rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, speculative-fiction

This book is about a society of peaceful people who value learning and other cultural pursuits, who have been invaded by violent religious fanatics with a strong army.

There, you can pretty much guess the whole plot from that.

The characters, while not boring, inhabit the role they play in their world. That is to say, once you know the characters' starting positions, they will present very few surprises.

For example Orrec, who was the MC of the previous volume, comes back here larger than life. Th...more

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Sep 03, 2009 Nikki rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, children-s-and-ya

A lot more seems to happen in Voices than in the first book of the trilogy, Gifts. It has more tension, more drive, and it feels more full. Ursula Le Guin has a habit of writing very beautiful books that aren't very immediate or exciting because they have very little by way of plot. I still like them, but plenty of people won't stop to read them. Voices isn't like that -- there's a plot, as well as compelling characters, beautiful writing and careful worldbuilding. Nothing slips, here.

Gry and Or...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Maddy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Got this for Christmas, from my poor mom, who didn't realize it was 2nd in a trilogy. To be fair to her, the book cover does not state this anywhere.

Pros: interesting social commentary, well-fleshed out "when is violence acceptable?" theme.
Cons: Le Guin is clearly in love with two characters who are travelling poets/performers. They're supposed to represent everything mature, parental, loving and awe-inspiring to the protagonist and they come off way too Mary Sue. Ugg. They're the subject of th...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Struggling to survive after war and destruction, keeping those she loves safe, and keeping secrets all her own, Memer finds Voices hidden in the words of books, long-forbidden by the desert-dwelling conquerors of her land. Her enemies know the one true god, while Memer’s world is loved by many shapes and seasons of god. Mistrust and accidental misrule combine to lay the seeds of rebellion. But what are the weapons of a lover of words, and where does the poet Orrec fit in? Another coming-of-age t...more

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Jan 07, 2013 K rated it 5 of 5 stars

Voices is the second book in the Annals of the Western Shore series. It is not strictly a sequel to Gifts, but should be read following that one. It does not take place in the Uplands or with gifted clans, but rather in a city called Ansul. Ansul had been known as a great center for learning, with huge libraries and learned people, a fantastic university, and beauty everywhere. Then, a warring people came across the desert and conquered Ansul. Their religion teaches that writing and reading is s...more

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Dec 13, 2010 Marija rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-mg, fantasy-sci-fi

When comparing Voices to Gifts, the first book of the series, in terms of the themes described, Voices is certainly the better book. This is a book about the loss of a cultured civilization through colonization. The colonizers consider the ability to read and write a demonic ability… books as evil entities that must be destroyed at all costs, with no lives spared. Seventeen years after the war, we’re faced with a lost civilization, or a Dark Age, with a new generation of “half-castes” who no lon...more When comparing Voices to Gifts, the first book of the series, in terms of the themes described, Voices is certainly the better book. This is a book about the loss of a cultured civilization through colonization. The colonizers consider the ability to read and write a demonic ability… books as evil entities that must be destroyed at all costs, with no lives spared. Seventeen years after the war, we’re faced with a lost civilization, or a Dark Age, with a new generation of “half-castes” who no longer have the ability to learn.

As she does in her Earthsea series, I like how Le Guin plays with our perceptions of ethnicity and religion. The lost civilization of Ansul is not what we’d consider an Aryan society; the people are described as being dark, and worship multiple deities in a polytheistic religion. The Alds, the colonizers, are monotheistic, and have pale skin with frizzy blonde hair. Both cultures are antagonistic, and the people of Ansul haven’t entirely given up hope to return their city to its former splendor. But the question arises if a rebellion can be achieved peacefully or whether the course of action must be a violent one?

The protagonists from Gifts, Orrec and Gry are prominent figures in this installment, which takes place some twenty years after the events described in the first book. And while I do think Voices is the better book of the two, I don’t like our narrator as much as I did Orrec in book one. I personally preferred Orrec’s story because it was one of introspection and personal conflicts. Memer’s on the other hand, describes external conflicts and is thus broader in scope. Memer, the main protagonist of this book, has an authentic teenage voice, with strong emotions and prejudices of what has happened to her people and her disgust and hate directed towards all the Alds. Her sentiments are all or nothing. I didn’t quite like that outlook, or her treatment towards Simme, an Ald and her junior in years. Throughout the book, she has difficulties learning how to respect other cultural beliefs and is partially unsatisfied by the aftermath of the rebellion… that the path taken by her elders isn’t the same path she’d have chosen. However, Memer our narrator is an adult, recounting the events as she remembers them, and through that more mature outlook, there is the sense of regret towards that initial impulsive nature of hers.

Despite those few faults this is an excellent book and one that could certainly be read as a standalone novel.
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Dec 10, 2012 Kristina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Every time I pick up a book by Le Guin, I feel like I am coming home. Her writing style is just so beautiful and right. In this story, Memer is the child of a woman of Ansul who was raped during an invasion 17 years ago. Memer's dearest love is for her Waylord and the books they share in a hidden room.
Ansul -- famous for its university and libraries -- is being ruled by invaders who believe that writing is the work of demons. The arrival of a renowned storyteller turns the wheel of events and le...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the second of a series of three. It is intended for young adults/teens (maybe), but I liked it. It is a fantasy/science fiction novel. A peaceful city has been invaded and conquered by another cultural group for reasons of religious fanaticism. The main character, Memer, is a young woman, the child of a prominent Ansul family and rape by Ald soldiers. The Alds (the invaders) consider books to be heathen and the works of demons. The Ansul were highly educated with universities and librari...more

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Dec 29, 2008 Brandy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: young-adult

Great second book. I enjoyed this book more than the first. This story takes place in another city with a new main character/narrator. Merrem's city has been overtaken by crazy religious people who fear rading and the written word. She learns to read and then the main characters from the first book travel to her town. Twenty years has passed from the ending of the first book, but it was good to see what happened to Orreck and Gry. I wish I had checked out the third book. These are wonderful stor...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Darshan Elena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What an excellent fantasy novel! Here's why: while many fantasies deal with the complex machinations of a subject people overthrowing their rulers, this novel takes that trope several steps further. It charts how a subject people wrangle amongst themselves and their former rulers to build a social structure that honors the life of all peoples. Compassionate, thoughtful, and bold, Voices is a great novel for youth and adults, as it speaks to the realities of present empires in decline (the U.S. i...more

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Jul 18, 2007 Oyceter rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, colonization

http://oyceter.livejournal.com/564643...

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May 03, 2009 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars

No one is allowed to read or write in the captured city of Ansul, but there are books hidden in a secret room accessible only with the blessing of the gods and a magical incantation. Books, poetry, and magic defeat the oppressors.

The second book in the "Annals of the Western Shore" trilogy veers towards the more traditional YA fantasy storyline, and away from the eerie uniqueness that Ursula Le Guin sometimes captures. It's still good, but not nearly as good as Gifts. The story arc peaks too so...more

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Mar 16, 2009 Lacey Louwagie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, sciencefiction

It's a good thing I find Ursula K. LeGuin's characters and settings intriguing, because her plots are subtle at best. This one started out as though it might really pack a whollop, but it didn't. It was essentially the story of one society living under dominion/occupation by another culture, and how the two cultures came to understand and respect one another. It was a hopeful book overall, which I appreciated. Ursula's clear preference for polytheistic religious systems was amusing, and her comm...more

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May 15, 2012 La Coccinelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fiction

It's funny that I chose to read this book right after Pearl North's Libyrinth, as both books deal with an oppressive invading force that views the written word as evil. But while Libyrinth was a mish-mash of ideas, loose plotting, and weak character development, Voices was an engaging study in character development and world building.

Beginning with the maps at the beginning of the book (something which Libyrinth, annoyingly, lacked), Le Guin colourfully paints the world of the Western Shore. Thi...more

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About Ursula K. Le Guin

As of 2011, Ursula K. Le Guin has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. Forthcoming...more As of 2011, Ursula K. Le Guin has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. Forthcoming in 2012, Finding My Elegy, New and Selected Poems. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Ούρσουλα Λε Γκεν (Ursula Kroeber Le Guin, Berkeley California, 21 Οκτωβρίου 1929 - ) Πολυγραφότατη, πολυδιάστατη και πολυβραβευμένη Αμερικανίδα ποιήτρια και συγγραφέας του χώρου της «Επιστημονικής Φαντασίας» αλλά και των παιδικών διηγημάτων.

ΠΡΩΤΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ
Γεννήθηκε στο Μπέρκλεϋ της Καλιφόρνιας από τον ανθρωπολόγο Άλφρεντ Κρέμπερ (Alfred L. Kroeber) και την συγγραφέα Θεοδώρα Κρέμπερ (Theodora Covel BrownKracaw Kroeber), σπούδασε στο «Radcliffe College» και εν συνεχεία Φιλολογία (γαλλική και ιταλική αναγεννησιακή λογοτεχνία) στο «Πανεπιστήμιο Columbia». Το 1953 παντρεύτηκε στην Γαλλία τον ιστορικό Σαρλ Λε Γκεν (Charles A. Le Guin), που έγινε καθηγητής Γαλλικής Ιστορίας στο «Portland State College» του Όρεγκον και απέκτησε μαζί του 3 παιδιά.

«ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΟΝΙΚΗ» ΚΑΙ «ΜΕΣΑΙΩΝΙΚΗ» ΦΑΝΤΑΣΙΑ
Από τα μέσα της δεκαετίας του 1960 συνέγραψε περισσότερα από 100 διηγήματα (που εκδόθηκαν σε 8 τόμους), 3 συλλογές δοκιμίων, 5 ποιητικές συλλογές, 19 νουβέλες και 13 παιδικά βιβλία, αλλά είναι περισσότερο αναγνωρισμένη για τα έργα της στον τομέα της «Επιστημονικής» και «Μεσαιωνικής» Φαντασίας, όπου συγκαταλέγεται ανάμεσα στους σημαντικότερους σύγχρονους δημιουργούς (πιο γνωστά στην Ελλάδα είναι τα βιβλία της «Ο Αναρχικός των Δύο Κόσμων», Αθήνα, 1992 και «Το Αριστερό Χέρι του Σκοταδιού», Αθήνα, 1990, 1994). Το 1990 αιφνιδίασε το αναγνωστικό κοινό της όταν πρόσθεσε δίχως προειδοποίηση στην έως τότε τριλογία του «μαγικού» «κύκλου της Γαιοθάλασσας» («A Wizard of Earthsea», «The Tombs of Atuan» και «The FarthestShore», 1968 - 1972) το σκληρό «Τεχανού», για το οποίο έλαβε το Βραβείο Nebula.(less)

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Quotes from Voices

“I always wondered why the makers leave housekeeping and cooking out of their tales. Isn't it what all the great wars and battles are fought for -- so that at day's end a family may eat together in a peaceful house?” — 18 people liked it

“Having one king, one god, one belief, they can act single-mindedly.” — 9 people liked it

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Voices (Annals of the Western Shore #2)

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