Worlds of Exile and Illusion

[rocky41_7]

I finished this collection of Ursula Le Guin's work a few weeks ago, but honestly doing book reviews takes a lot of effort! /_ \ So I'm keeping this one short and sweet.

This is a collection of Le Guin's first 3 published stories. All 3 are set in the Hainish Cycle verse, but each stands independent of each other and of other published Hainish Cycle works. As the first of Le Guin's published works, these are naturally less polished than her later work. They lack the clarity and purpose of The Left Hand of Darkness. However, even this early in Le Guin's career, you can see her breathtaking capacity for imagination. I found them fun and engaging without requiring too much from me.

Recommend if you:

• Are interested in Ursula Le Guin generally as a writer
• Are looking for short, self-contained stories
• Enjoy stories that give you just a glimpse of other words
• Like stories about disparate characters working together and the struggles inherent therein

Do not recommend if you:

• Want a more fleshed out story with side plots and lots of characters
• Want character-focused stories (these stories are more on the "plot" side of "character vs. plot driven")
• Prefer when fantasy/sci-fi worlds are thoroughly explained in text
• Dislike adventure as a genre

Crossposted from my main account