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The Hainish Cycle #1-4
Rocannon's World / Planet of Exile / City of Illusions / The Left Hand of Darkness
Ace paperbacks boxed set of the first four novels by Ursula K. Le Guin in her Hainish series: Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions, and The Left Hand of Darkness. Print dates are 1976 - 1977. Ace mass paperbacks, cover art by Alex Ebel and uncredited (Rocannon's World), 12mo (6 7/8" x 4.25") Hainish series #1 - #4, followed by The Word for World is Forest, The Dispossessed, and others. The Left Hand of Darkness is now considered a classic, and won the 1969 Nebula Award, the 1970 Hugo Award, and the 1995 James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Retroactive. It was nominated for the 1970 Ditmar Award. Other awards: 1975 Locus Poll Award, All-Time Best Novel (Place: 3), 1987 Locus Poll Award, All-Time Best SF Novel (Place: 2), and the 1998 Locus Poll Award, All-Time Best SF Novel before 1990 (Place: 3).
304 pages, Paperback
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1710 people want to read
About the author
Ursula K. Le Guin
1,045 books30.4k followersUrsula K. Le Guin published twenty-two 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. She lived in Portland, Oregon.
She was known for her treatment of gender (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems (The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as "Solitude" and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways.
She was known for her treatment of gender (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems (The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as "Solitude" and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 1, 2010
I was captivated by this book when I read it years ago.
Even if you "don't like" science fiction, consider it. A male space traveler lands on a planet where gender is chosen (and often changed back and forth) so does not have the proscribed notions of what male and female must be/can be.
Fascinating.
Even if you "don't like" science fiction, consider it. A male space traveler lands on a planet where gender is chosen (and often changed back and forth) so does not have the proscribed notions of what male and female must be/can be.
Fascinating.
February 1, 2018
Born before 1930, Ms LeGuin attended Radcliffe, learned multiple languages and graduated in 1951, wrote farsighted, insightful tales of our future...and lived into the year 2018. Her passage, on Jan. 22 2018 was in Portland, OR. Oregon was at first, a summer scene for her and then, her beloved home. This woman was my mother's role model (my mom met LeGuin's father, Alfred Kroeber at the university). This set of science fiction novels includes the award winner Left Hand of Darkness.
Left Hand, set on a distant planet where winter, and snow are constants, is narrated by Ai. This hero is dropped on Gethen (the cold planet) to slowly scope out the civilizations there. He documents what preliminary explorers told him to expect: the natives all are one "sex"- the sexual dimorphism that is a constant for earth natives is only temporary for Gethenians. People growing up on Gethen can't think of another as "female" or "a man" and are all alike, and include Ai in this.
The Mother ship, meanwhile circles Gethen: he has the possibility of asking the ship to rescue him, but Ai's true hope is to have his backup people welcomed to the planet- a truly anthropological mission!
Left Hand, set on a distant planet where winter, and snow are constants, is narrated by Ai. This hero is dropped on Gethen (the cold planet) to slowly scope out the civilizations there. He documents what preliminary explorers told him to expect: the natives all are one "sex"- the sexual dimorphism that is a constant for earth natives is only temporary for Gethenians. People growing up on Gethen can't think of another as "female" or "a man" and are all alike, and include Ai in this.
The Mother ship, meanwhile circles Gethen: he has the possibility of asking the ship to rescue him, but Ai's true hope is to have his backup people welcomed to the planet- a truly anthropological mission!
February 3, 2013
“The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula Le Guin is one of the most famous of her Hainish cycle with a Nebula Award for Best Books and rightly so. In the 300 or so, I accounted quite the plot and themes cramped inside with an ease. Just for that trait alone the book deserves its prize and praise, but once accounted with the depth of the world-building and characters, you can hardly deny that this is one of the greatest books ever written.
The setting this time is the planet Gethen, referred to sometimes as the planet Winter, because of its unfavorable cold weather, blamed for the lack of evolution and development of its original race. The main character this time is Genly Ai, a representative of the galactic federation of worlds, and his mission is to prepare Gethen for membership into the guild. His journey starts within the borders of Karhide, a primitive feudal kingdom. There under the guidance of Therem Harth rem ir Estraven, the prime minister of Karhide, he maneuvers trough the complicated political system, further entangled by the constant and yet subtle battle for personal shiftgrethor – social prestige. His mission fails with Estraven sent into exile and Genly tries with the neighbors aka Orgoreyn, which in terms of social life and politics seems to exceed Karhide. However yet again Genly loses to prejudice towards his abnormal biology (Gethenians are androgynous by nature), political games and plots against him, which lead to his imprisonment into a camp for criminals. Of course on his death bed Genly is saved by Estraven and they make a very long travel through ice and volcanoes to Karhide, where Genly calls his ship and his crew from the planet’s orbit in order to make the two countries believe his tales and join the federation.
Of course the plot I present to you is quite stripped from the subplots and all the interesting minor characters, who make their entrance and introduce more of the world and its spirituality. What excited me most is the apparent loss of gender along the way of evolution resulting in a species with no gentiles for 24 days of their 26 day month, while the last two days are spent in kemmer. In those two days pheromones battle in both partners until they settle on a gender. This choice is random, which makes it possible to both bear and sire children. To add even more exotic features to this biological species, Ursula le Guin mentions that incest is not forbidden. Alas I would have wished this peculiar trait to have been explored further with the psyche and its effect on its society.
The accent falls on inner duality and Zen-like religion and the ability to peer into the future. As we learn a Gethenian is a woman within a man and vice versa and their world and beliefs state that “light is the left hand of darkness, while darkness is the right hand of light”. These ideas hint towards the famous yin and yang sign, which is one of the most important symbols in Taoism and takes its place among many sub-religions in China. Similar ideas of religion are found in Gethen as well.
What I personally didn’t enjoy and left me a bit disappointed in the book was the political angle and the long journey through the barren lands. As a person, who likes a bit action seasoning on their literary plate, I felt compelled to sleep on the pages describing day after day surviving harsh cold winds, blizzards and chilling temperatures far below the zero mark. The long narratives on shiftgrethor tactics and political structures of both countries and the countless parties struggling for power. It can be said that I am not a major fan of political anything as it is boring to me a subject, but the manner in which Le Guin executed it was still very pleasing.
The setting this time is the planet Gethen, referred to sometimes as the planet Winter, because of its unfavorable cold weather, blamed for the lack of evolution and development of its original race. The main character this time is Genly Ai, a representative of the galactic federation of worlds, and his mission is to prepare Gethen for membership into the guild. His journey starts within the borders of Karhide, a primitive feudal kingdom. There under the guidance of Therem Harth rem ir Estraven, the prime minister of Karhide, he maneuvers trough the complicated political system, further entangled by the constant and yet subtle battle for personal shiftgrethor – social prestige. His mission fails with Estraven sent into exile and Genly tries with the neighbors aka Orgoreyn, which in terms of social life and politics seems to exceed Karhide. However yet again Genly loses to prejudice towards his abnormal biology (Gethenians are androgynous by nature), political games and plots against him, which lead to his imprisonment into a camp for criminals. Of course on his death bed Genly is saved by Estraven and they make a very long travel through ice and volcanoes to Karhide, where Genly calls his ship and his crew from the planet’s orbit in order to make the two countries believe his tales and join the federation.
Of course the plot I present to you is quite stripped from the subplots and all the interesting minor characters, who make their entrance and introduce more of the world and its spirituality. What excited me most is the apparent loss of gender along the way of evolution resulting in a species with no gentiles for 24 days of their 26 day month, while the last two days are spent in kemmer. In those two days pheromones battle in both partners until they settle on a gender. This choice is random, which makes it possible to both bear and sire children. To add even more exotic features to this biological species, Ursula le Guin mentions that incest is not forbidden. Alas I would have wished this peculiar trait to have been explored further with the psyche and its effect on its society.
The accent falls on inner duality and Zen-like religion and the ability to peer into the future. As we learn a Gethenian is a woman within a man and vice versa and their world and beliefs state that “light is the left hand of darkness, while darkness is the right hand of light”. These ideas hint towards the famous yin and yang sign, which is one of the most important symbols in Taoism and takes its place among many sub-religions in China. Similar ideas of religion are found in Gethen as well.
What I personally didn’t enjoy and left me a bit disappointed in the book was the political angle and the long journey through the barren lands. As a person, who likes a bit action seasoning on their literary plate, I felt compelled to sleep on the pages describing day after day surviving harsh cold winds, blizzards and chilling temperatures far below the zero mark. The long narratives on shiftgrethor tactics and political structures of both countries and the countless parties struggling for power. It can be said that I am not a major fan of political anything as it is boring to me a subject, but the manner in which Le Guin executed it was still very pleasing.
August 13, 2010
TCL Call#: Science Fiction LeGuin
Madeleine - 3 stars
Considered by most to be quintessential Science Fiction, this is the second time I've read this book. This first was when it was recommended to me by one of my most trusted library book suggestors - Mark. I struggled with it then as I struggled with it now.
It's just not my kind of sci-fi. It takes place on a planet so alien that it seems like 2/3 of the book is description: geography, flora and fauna, biology, meterology, etc. Everything is described. To me it's like reading someone's journal who has nothing much going on, "Today was cloudy with a slikgh breeze" kind of stuff. I feel like the excellent story and plot get buried under the minutiae.
Still, gave it 3 stars because there is an excellent story in there. You just have to be a very patient reader.
Madeleine - 3 stars
Considered by most to be quintessential Science Fiction, this is the second time I've read this book. This first was when it was recommended to me by one of my most trusted library book suggestors - Mark. I struggled with it then as I struggled with it now.
It's just not my kind of sci-fi. It takes place on a planet so alien that it seems like 2/3 of the book is description: geography, flora and fauna, biology, meterology, etc. Everything is described. To me it's like reading someone's journal who has nothing much going on, "Today was cloudy with a slikgh breeze" kind of stuff. I feel like the excellent story and plot get buried under the minutiae.
Still, gave it 3 stars because there is an excellent story in there. You just have to be a very patient reader.
October 17, 2009
This was a difficult book to pick up and just start reading, but once I got into it I really enjoyed the world Le Guin developed and the conflict that developed among the characters. I also enjoyed the world-building and background story that the writer had to develop to properly set the tone for the plot. Keep in mind that this book was written decades before some of the more current Sci Fi books dealing with federated planets and colonization. Ursula Le Guin was ahead of her time when she wrote this book ... if you keep that in mind you will enjoy this story even more.
December 27, 2020
Loved it
March 30, 2023
Rocannon’s World: B/B+
https://youtu.be/KZrWNtOgIO8 - my video review of Rocannon’s World
Rocannon’s World review:
I enjoyed this book a good amount. It features a nice mix of science fiction and fantasy and has that je ne sais quoi that Le Guin always includes: the book reads like it is somehow greater than the sum of its parts.
The prelude is dream-like and enjoyable. Part one, full of rising action and worldbuilding, is quite readable. Part two ends the book in a fitting and well earned manner. The epilogue ties the book together and explains the title of the book.
This book did remind me of The Left Hand of Darkness (my introduction to Le Guin beyond her short story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”). The reason for that comparison is the fact that both feature journeys through a hellish wintry landscape that lead to a climactic finale. Some descriptions in Rocannon’s World also seemed similar to some parts in Left Hand, particularly the description of the Winged Ones’ city and the descriptions of urban life in Left Hand.
It is notable (and astounding) that this book was Le Guin’s full-length debut and only initially featured in an Ace Double rather than on its own.
https://youtu.be/KZrWNtOgIO8 - my video review of Rocannon’s World
Rocannon’s World review:
I enjoyed this book a good amount. It features a nice mix of science fiction and fantasy and has that je ne sais quoi that Le Guin always includes: the book reads like it is somehow greater than the sum of its parts.
The prelude is dream-like and enjoyable. Part one, full of rising action and worldbuilding, is quite readable. Part two ends the book in a fitting and well earned manner. The epilogue ties the book together and explains the title of the book.
This book did remind me of The Left Hand of Darkness (my introduction to Le Guin beyond her short story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”). The reason for that comparison is the fact that both feature journeys through a hellish wintry landscape that lead to a climactic finale. Some descriptions in Rocannon’s World also seemed similar to some parts in Left Hand, particularly the description of the Winged Ones’ city and the descriptions of urban life in Left Hand.
It is notable (and astounding) that this book was Le Guin’s full-length debut and only initially featured in an Ace Double rather than on its own.
June 1, 2023
[Left Hand of Darkness, not all three]
I'm sure I started this before, but forced sick days made this year the year that I got all the way through. It's a little slow; sometimes I missed the contemporary practice of labeling chapter with the character's name when POV rotates. An ambassador has landed on a world that is to be recruited into an inter-planetary alliance and finds himself a little challenged by the politics of the two major countries/cultures he first contacts. He's more challenged, though, by the fact that these beings don't have two separate genders.
I guess Le Guin made Genly Ai a little sexist in his assumptions about which characteristics are "innately" feminine or masculine to challenge us to examine those ideas?
I'm sure I started this before, but forced sick days made this year the year that I got all the way through. It's a little slow; sometimes I missed the contemporary practice of labeling chapter with the character's name when POV rotates. An ambassador has landed on a world that is to be recruited into an inter-planetary alliance and finds himself a little challenged by the politics of the two major countries/cultures he first contacts. He's more challenged, though, by the fact that these beings don't have two separate genders.
I guess Le Guin made Genly Ai a little sexist in his assumptions about which characteristics are "innately" feminine or masculine to challenge us to examine those ideas?
January 8, 2024
It was...fine? Honestly a hard read, overly descriptive and wordy about things that didn't really matter (very stereotypical excessive speech but this is an OG sci-fi book so it's probably one of the many places the stereotype comes from). I read it for a book club but I don't think I'll be going, there's just not much to say about it.
March 21, 2018
So I finally made it to Gethen, the freezing planet home to a race of hermaphrodite humanoids. Reputationally a classic of the sci-fi canon, Left Hand left me rather mèh. Too much snow and ice keep the reader at a frustrating distance from the reality of the alien world.
July 6, 2021
3.35 stars. Not what I expected. Sci fi is very different now. This was more of a political novel with sci fi aspects. I get why it’s well-regarded but since I was expecting more science fiction, it was just a bit disappointing.
July 24, 2024
A friend is reading this now and said “there’s arts references to violence but they’re not present, they’re a long time ago.” I love that. I love the anthropological observation as a narrative device so much.
March 9, 2020
Great piece of Science Fiction.
April 8, 2020
Finished Rocannon's World. Enjoyed it and looking forward to the next.
February 10, 2022
It was great I love it the story's language the writer's language was amazing to.
The topic good and i like rolery and agat's ship.
The topic good and i like rolery and agat's ship.
July 22, 2022
I loooooved this book! I don’t usually like science fiction and even with it being written quite a while ago some of the commentaries on these world felt so relevant. I definitely recommend!
November 10, 2022
never seen a straighter gay book
January 9, 2026
not my type of reading
May 1, 2010
These novels are all part of Ursula Le Guin's Hainish cycle and are among her first novels.
Rocannon's World
, her first novel, seemed too much like Tolkien's Middle Earth overlayed with space opera. In clever ways, but still pretty derivative. The second,
Planet of Exile
, was still rather conventional, but it was one where the planet's cosmology did do more to drive the plot: this is a planet with a year sixty times longer than our earth about to enter a winter that will last 15 of our years.
City of Illusions
is a direct sequel to Planet of Exile and was more memorable, had more twists and turns, and delivered along the way a good adventure across a post-apocalyptic far-future America. I can also see her philosophy more to the fore in this book. Le Guin did a translation of the Tao Te Ching, and Taoism is said to imbue both Earthsea and her novel The Dispossessed. A passage in the Tao is key in this story, and we even meet a "Thurro-dowist" (follower of Thoreau of Walden Pond and Taoism.) This is the the first novel here I'd call a standout.
The Left Hand of Darkness is perhaps LeGuin's most famous and influential novel, painting one of the most fascinating and unique of alien worlds. Interspersed through the narrative are myths and legends that give a texture to the cultures central to the tale. This is one of the great science-fiction novels of all time that examines a lot of the issues surrounding gender, prejudice and identity--it's specifically considered one of the great feminist science fiction novels but I don't think it's at all heavy-handed but above all a involving and moving story set in a intriguing world.
I wish I could say the same of the last novel included. I didn't care at all for the preachy The Word for World is Forest . Maybe, just maybe, if Captain Don Davidson whose perspective we open with weren't such a caricature, if he wasn't such a repellant, twirl-the-mustache villain from the very first pages, I could have hung on until what was good in the book took hold. As it was, I felt if I'm was going to experience a tale of how cutting down trees is evil, where the noble, peaceful indigenous people fight back against the rapacious Yumens, well, I'll go watch Avatar again--at least it's pretty. Though the novel won a Hugo though for Best Novella, and is considered one of Le Guin's best works, so it's not a bad choice to round things out.
The Left Hand of Darkness is perhaps LeGuin's most famous and influential novel, painting one of the most fascinating and unique of alien worlds. Interspersed through the narrative are myths and legends that give a texture to the cultures central to the tale. This is one of the great science-fiction novels of all time that examines a lot of the issues surrounding gender, prejudice and identity--it's specifically considered one of the great feminist science fiction novels but I don't think it's at all heavy-handed but above all a involving and moving story set in a intriguing world.
I wish I could say the same of the last novel included. I didn't care at all for the preachy The Word for World is Forest . Maybe, just maybe, if Captain Don Davidson whose perspective we open with weren't such a caricature, if he wasn't such a repellant, twirl-the-mustache villain from the very first pages, I could have hung on until what was good in the book took hold. As it was, I felt if I'm was going to experience a tale of how cutting down trees is evil, where the noble, peaceful indigenous people fight back against the rapacious Yumens, well, I'll go watch Avatar again--at least it's pretty. Though the novel won a Hugo though for Best Novella, and is considered one of Le Guin's best works, so it's not a bad choice to round things out.
February 5, 2011
I read about this author in an article on NPR.org about ground-breaking authors in science fiction who may have been forgotten. I was intrigued that the author was a woman and ahead of her time writing science fiction since this genre is dominated by men more so in 1969 when this book was published.
The science in the story is not all that out there. It's a basic tale of a man from another planet visiting a new planet in hopes of getting them to join their "league of planets" so to speak. He has traveled many light years and arrived on the planet via a small ship. He is the lone alien to arrive in order not to alarm or appear as a threat to the inhabitants.
There are politics, betrayal, suspense and epic journeys. The story is slow to develop and you have to be patient with your questions. They will eventually be answered. Ultimately, I found this book to be quite enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a slower moving sci-fi tale focused more on culture than technology.
The science in the story is not all that out there. It's a basic tale of a man from another planet visiting a new planet in hopes of getting them to join their "league of planets" so to speak. He has traveled many light years and arrived on the planet via a small ship. He is the lone alien to arrive in order not to alarm or appear as a threat to the inhabitants.
There are politics, betrayal, suspense and epic journeys. The story is slow to develop and you have to be patient with your questions. They will eventually be answered. Ultimately, I found this book to be quite enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a slower moving sci-fi tale focused more on culture than technology.
Read
December 23, 2009http://nhw.livejournal.com/900061.html[return][return]One of Le Guin's early books, which I had not previously heard of; I thought it was rather impressive, though. Set in a far future depopulated American continent, the protagonist, Falk, has appeared out of nowhere with no memory and goes on a quest to recover / discover his identity. The first half of the (short) book is an Odyssey-style journey across the continent, the second half, after his arrival in Es Toch (the city of illusions in the books's title), is his attempt to outwit the sinister Ching and fulfill his quest. It is a little pulp-ish in design and execution, but I really am surprised not to have heard more about this as part of Le Guin's Suvre.
Want to read
October 5, 2014I've taken the time to think about this book and, having done so, can see some of the greatness in it. Le Guin still has he moments where she can be tough to read. Honestly, there is some detail that feels completely crazy. That being said, the world is sprawling. It is beautiful. There is the subtle string of the puppet master being gentle tugged throughout as you are in a setting in which each day may be the last of our characters. Besides that, there are some really forward thinking ideas in this that are just amazing. As an introduction to the works of this great, I'd say it is a good one.
June 11, 2014
After reading Wizard of Earthsea (which I read because of the 2004 Syfy mini series Earthsea), I thought I could claim LeGuin as a staple in my go to sci fi writers. But this book was SO DENSE and honestly for no reason. I loved the plot and concept itself, but there were too many roundabout subplots I just got bored (to the point where I feel asleep on the Chicago El train reading it without realizing it).
I just couldn't bring myself to read it and so it's just hanging out. On my dining room table. Looking lonely...
I just couldn't bring myself to read it and so it's just hanging out. On my dining room table. Looking lonely...
September 3, 2015
Rocannon's world, was not my favorite, I remember liking the other 3, especially city of illusions, the left hand of darkness, because the characters seemed more fully developed and interesting. I felt like I knew them and was able to identify with many of them better. Still none in the series so far has compared to The Dispossessed- Which comes next in the chronology but I read first. I am looking forward to getting back to this series. But felt like I needed a break.
December 19, 2025
The final 1/3 of City of Illusions is still the greatest piece of science fiction that I have ever experienced. I did read whole listening to ambient soundscapes as I always do with le Guin, so that does add a potential for bias, because I review this based on my experience, I don't assess the book based on writing quality --- but if I did , these COI and RW would still be a phenomenal achievement in my view.
October 14, 2010
As usual for LeGuin, this was rich in ideas, poor in plot. I had to push myself to get through the 100-some-odd pages they spent on the Ice. But the way Ai's mission becomes more about personal relationships than interplanetary politics was lovely. I'm not sure I would read it again (I already traded it in to the used book store), but I'm definitely glad I read it.
May 8, 2012
I picked up this book after reading & loving The Earthsea Cycle. At first, I had to force myself to read the book. It felt very heavy, more like a history textbook than a novel. However, as pages passed, my interest grew, and soon I began to love reading this novel.
I will have to end this review for the present; my cat is stubbornly refusing to leave me alone.
I will have to end this review for the present; my cat is stubbornly refusing to leave me alone.
Read
November 21, 2013Very thought-provoking. It was one of those books that I had to sit and ruminate on, which made reading it last a lot longer than most novels I read. It crafted a world around me and kept me pondering the deeper implications. A great sci-fi/fantasy read, but moreso an analysis of "human" nature and the volatility we all battle with.
June 15, 2010
My first hardcore Sci-Fi read. Only got through it because of book-club, but I'm glad I did. Not sure if I'm capable of leading a discussion on this one and will be really interested in what the group has to say about it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews