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It took me a long time to get through this book. I did skim some passages and did not become fully engrossed until Genly and Estraven's journey. I'm not typically into science fiction but read it on the suggestion of a friend and as part of an effort to broaden my horizons. I can't necessarily say I enjoyed reading it - the writing style is difficult and as others have said, cerebral - but I gave it three stars for its uniqueness. The idea of a genderless society is fascinating and thought provo
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This story is an interesting study of duality. The basic premise of this tale is that a Terran has been sent to another world (which the Terrans call "Winter" because they are in the latter part of an ice age) to be an envoy from an league of planets. I read it because LeGuin is known as one of the great figures in science fiction, and I wanted to check out her style. The story takes quite a while to develop, and I had trouble deciding what the focus of the characters' problems was, but overall,
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I had a hard time getting through this. My anticipation was high but the story did not deliver for me. That being the case this book is one the warrants a reread at some. There were truisms within the framework of the story that still held true today. It may not be the best piece of speculative fiction I have ever read but it is an important one.

Meh. It's a classic, but since I'm not one for science fiction, I didn't really enjoy it that much. It did help to read some study guides to pick up on some of the bigger themes I missed while trying to slog through the strange words & politics.
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