Which Ursula K. Le Guin book should I start with?

[Kristy]

I've never read any of Le Guin's books before and I'm just wondering which one I should start with? Recommendations needed please!

[Lauren]

The Earthsea Quartet. Hands down my favourite series of all time: sweeping, beautiful and full of characters you never forget. Enjoy!

[Jan]

Earthsea is fantasy, the Hainish books and some of her others are sci fi. Depends on your preference.

Personally for me, the original Earthsea trilogy is a much-loved fav, with the third book, The Farthest Shore being an all-time fav. However, to get its full power, you have to read the other two first (but they're also excellent).

IMO, Prince Arren of The Farthest Shore is one of the best heroes in any fantasy novel. A humble young man who *literally* goes to the end of the world and beyond. By the end of the book, in the wonderful scene where he lands on dragonback, exhausted and dirty, on the magical Isle of Roke, he has become a hero and a man and a king, helped to save the world, and fulfilled an ancient prophecy. A very beautiful book.

Le Guin's writing style, particularly in the Earthsea books, is quite dense and poetic, and it's not for everyone. But these are iconic fantasy books, which have been highly influential on other writers, filmmakers etc, and are worth reading almost on that basis alone.

If you're wanting to begin with the sci fi, you could try The Left Hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed or my personal fav The Telling, a wonderfully understated and beautiful book.

Although I'm obviously a massive Le Guin fan, I don't particularly like all of her books, and I personally wouldn't suggest reading the whole Hainish cycle. Good luck on your Le Guin journey. I hope you find something you like.

[Lesley]

I am very jealous that you’re getting to experience UKL for the first time. She is truly a master of the genre. I concur with Jan, either Wizard of Earthsea if you’re looking for fantasy, or Lefthand of Darkness or The Dissposessed if you’re looking for sci-fi. I personally read Wizard as my first Le Guin, followed by Lefthand and then immediately wanted more of both. Enjoy!

[Silvana]

I read The Left Hand of Darkness first, could not continue, but then I read The Dispossessed and completely hooked. That book brought me back to Le Guin, and later enabled me to come back to Darkness and finish it.

I tried to read Earthsea, but only a short story in one of those Dozois /Martin anthology. I was not hooked but maybe I should try the full length novel instead.

[Ian]

The Earthsea series is in fact surprisingly deep: surprising given only that the first three Earthsea books were published as Young Adult fiction (e.g., the second and third were from an Atheneum juvenile imprint). Speaking from direct experience, this fact was pretty much ignored by adult fantasy fans once the books went into paperback.

(I think the first paperback edition of "A Wizard of Earthsea" was in the Ace Science Fiction Special line, edited by Terry Carr, the original home of "The Left Hand of Darkness." The Bantam editions of the whole initial trilogy had great covers.)

The main consequence at the time was that you often had to look for the hardcovers in the children's sections of bookstores and libraries. There has, however, been a lingering tendency for critics to take them less seriously than they might.

In accordance with then-current (late 1960s to mid 1970s) publishing practices, which called for shorter books for their original market, none of them might be called a "full length novel" by current standards (especially post-Harry Potter).

They are long enough that I suspect that some old science fiction magazines would have called them "complete novels" on their covers. And in fact an abridged (if memory serves) "The Tombs of Atuan" did appear in a short-lived magazine ("Worlds of Fantasy") before book publication.

[Jemppu]

For consideration: there's this gorgeous dramatization of A Wizard of Earthsea, if you're able to find it. Wonderfully narrated by dame Judi Dench. It's heavily abridged version of the first book, but provides gorgeous atmosphere of the world (indeed, sweeping beautiful, as Lauren said). I listened to it as the first taste of the world, and I'm definitely going to be imagining the tone it set, once I get to the actual books.

[Sarah]

I’ll be the dissenter and say that I read Earthsea first and regret it, because it put me off reading her other stuff, which I really want(ed?) to try. Whenever I go to pick up one of her SF books, I remember my experience with that and just kind of move on.

It was/is obvious that LeGuin was ahead of her time in some ways, and she’s a beautiful writer, but I just felt like there was way too much description of scenery in a book that length.

I’m sorry!. I can definitely see why people liked it- that one just wasn’t for me so I wanted to offer a second opinion.

[Anisha Inkspill]

I'm new to reading works by Le Guin and started with first five Earthsea and now ready to move on to some of her other books.

[DivaDiane]

I always recommend The Lathe of Heaven to people who’ve never read any UKL before. It is not her best book (but I love it) not her most ambitious or important. But if you like alternate reality sort of SF, you’ll like this. It is short but there’s lots for food for thought. It’s typical LeGuin light. It’s a great introduction to her style and to her type of subject matter. Once you’ve read Lathe, you might be ready to tackle her more ambitious works like Left Hand of Darkness or the Dispossessed. Please know that LeGuin’s pace is pretty slow. It’s meant for savoring, not for racing through.

I also quite often recommend A Wizard of Earthsea for those that prefer Fantasy, and while I adore it and get something more out of it with each rereading, it is not without its faults. It is one of her earliest works. The books in the 2nd have of the Earthsea series are much more mature and her concepts of how to present the world she built change significantly compared to the first 3 novels.

[DivaDiane]

Inkspill, have you read Tales of Earthsea? And the Other Wind?

If you want something else by her try The Telling. It’s her last full length novel and quite beautiful.

[Anisha Inkspill]

Diane wrote: "Inkspill, have you read Tales of Earthsea? And the Other Wind?

If you want something else by her try The Telling. It’s her last full length novel and quite beautiful."

I've read the first 5 Earthsea, hoping to read Other Wind before the year's out. After reading several of her essays I now have my own copy of to read again.

Thanks for pointing me to The Telling I'll have a look.

[Alia]

The Tombs of Atuan! Its actually the second book in the Earthsea series but the first I ever read and to this day is my go to answer for favorite book

[Jan]

The Telling is a wonderful book.