Novels by Ursula K. Le Guin (Book Guide)

Source: Wikipedia. Commentary (novels not included). Pages: 29. Chapters: Earthsea novels, Ekumen novels, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Dispossessed, The Tombs of Atuan, The Left Hand of Darkness, The Lathe of Heaven, Tehanu, City of Illusions, The Word for World Is Forest, The Farthest Shore, The Beginning Place, The Eye of the Heron, Rocannon's World, Always Coming Home, The Other Wind, Planet of Exile, Lavinia, Millennial Women, Malafrena, The Telling, Catwings, Catwings Return, The Catwings Collection. Excerpt: The Left Hand of Darkness is a 1969 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is part of the Hainish Cycle, a series of books by Le Guin all set in the fictional Hainish universe. Harold Bloom wrote in the introduction to his anthology of criticism on the book that "Le Guin, more than Tolkien, has raised fantasy into high literature, for our time". It won the 1969 Nebula and 1970 Hugo awards, and is considered by some to be one of the first major works of feminist science fiction. Plans for a feature film and video game based on the books were announced by Phobos Entertainment Holdings in 2004, but appear to have since stalled. The universe of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin appears in a series of books, beginning in 1966 with Rocannon's World, her first novel, and running through several of her early works. The series describes the interplanetary expansion started by the first race of humanity on the planet Hain, leading to the formation of the League of All Worlds, and eventually expanding to the eighty-three world collective called the Ekumen. This novel takes place many centuries in the future - no date is given, though the year 4870 has been suggested. An envoy, Genly Ai, is on a planet called Winter ("Gethen" in the language of its own people) to convince the citizens to join the Ekumen. Winter is, as its name indicates, a planet that is always cold, and its citizens are neither female nor male: they have gender identities and sexual urges only once a month. These conditions have affected the ways that civilizations on Winter have developed, with the most notable effect being that there has never been a war on the planet. There are, however, arcane rules of politics and diplomacy that the envoy must learn in order to survive. His fortune changes quickly, according to what political faction is in power at the time in the country he is residing in: in one country, for instance, the Prime Minister arranges an audience with the king for him, bu