Changing Planes★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin Lighter than most Le Guin I’ve read, Changing Planes is a Gulliver’s Travels for the present era, the social satire made possible through interdimensional travel.
City of Illusions★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin How can you be yourself when you don’t know who you really are? A story of isolation, adaptation, kindness, cruelty, trust and hope, and above all, how to piece together the truth (or at least pick out the lies) on a future, depopulated Earth.
The Daughter of Odren★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin A small, stand-alone tale set in Earthsea, reminiscent of the folk tales glimpsed throughout the series. Betrayal, revenge, kindness, and power - and just living.
Earthsea (TV)Every once in a while I’m reminded of SyFy’s notoriously bad TV adaptation of Earthsea, and think, maybe I should watch it just once, like the Star Wars Holiday Special. This is not a review. This is why I still haven’t seen it.
Five Ways to Forgiveness★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin Five loosely-connected stories set in the final years of a color-based enslaving society, the war for liberation, and the messy aftermath.
The Lathe of Heaven★★★★★
Ursula K. Le Guin A surreal tale of dreams changing reality, global stakes anchored by the three people involved. Be careful what you wish for.
Paradises Lost★★★★★
Ursula K. Le Guin An intricate novella about the middle generations of a multi-generational spaceship, and the religion they’ve developed that believes nothing outside the ship is real, and both Earth and their destination are myths.
Planet of Exile★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin A tighter story than Rocannon’s World, with better-drawn characters, and more ambitious in its worldbuilding and themes.
Rocannon’s World★★★☆☆
Ursula K. Le Guin A serviceable quest story that melds fantasy and sci-fi. Engaging enough, but I’d only recommend it to someone who’s read her later work.
The Telling★★★★★
Ursula K. Le Guin A thoughtful tale of discovery, as an observer from Earth struggles to find and understand fragments of the lost cultures hidden beneath a society that’s thrown away its past in favor of a single vision.
The Tombs of Atuan★★★★★
Ursula K. Le Guin Still my favorite of the Earthsea books. There’s something fascinating about a labyrinth that you must traverse in total darkness, keeping a map and counting turns in your head.
Vaster Than Empires And More Slow★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin An intriguing story of a dysfunctional crew dealing with each other and a planet that, at first glance, appears to have no sentient life, only plants.
The Wind’s Twelve Quarters★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin A collection of short stories from early in Le Guin’s career, spanning her first sale through the time when she’d begun to be recognized as a major force in the genre.
A Wizard of Earthsea★★★★★
Ursula K. Le Guin The Earthsea series is one of my regular re-reads. It starts here, with the tale of how a goatherd grew into a wizard in a world where magic is woven through everything from the poorest village to the greatest palace. How he released a terrifying evil in his youth, and how he sailed the world seeking how to make up for his mistake.
A Wizard of Earthsea (Graphic Novel)★★★★★
Ursula K. Le Guin and Fred Fordham Fordham’s watercolor-style art is absolutely gorgeous. The adaptation plays to the medium’s strengths, allowing the visuals to tell the story when possible, keeping Le Guin’s prose when needed. Wide seascapes, rocky coasts, forested landscapes, people (not whitewashed!) and dragons…
The Word for World is Forest★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin Infuriating to read…and that’s the point. A story of colonial exploitation, asymmetric warfare, dehumanization and environmental destruction.
The Word of Unbinding and The Rule of Names★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin The original two stories set in Earthsea, before Le Guin wrote the novels. Each stand-alone, each interesting both in itself and in seeing what the series and its themes grew from.
Worlds of Exile and Illusion★★★★☆
Ursula K. Le Guin Interesting to see Le Guin as she’s developing her craft. Not the best place to start with her work, but absolutely worth reading.
