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Liked It “Not just Anthropological Sci-Fi, but GOOD, well developed Anthropology within a Sci-Fi ethnography. In the introduction she admits to writing out kinship charts when developing the stories.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“ againstthetide 3 out of 5 stars Wow - - reading this book is like drinking from a fire-hose. Each of Le Guin's story is, in essence, a mini social commentary, and no topic goes untouched. Sex, politics, the role of gender, religion - - it's all there! Clearly, this woman is a very, very smart individual with a lot to say about the world - - how it is and how it could be. She's also highly imaginative in her approach. These are science fiction stories, and many of them are very clever and use a creative premise to tell their story.
Author, Author Shelf wrote this review Tuesday, January 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
So, on many levels, I think Le Guin deserves more than three stars for this book. But I think that where she falls down is simply in creating the kind of prose and suspense that drives you to keep reading. I really found it so easy to put the book down and to not want to pick it back up. The first half of each story was always very confusing - - and I sort of had to be patient and wait for the bits and pieces to unravel before I would "get it". In about half the stories, I ended up feeling it was well worth the wait. In the other, half - - not so much.
All in all, I do think I would try another Le Guin book just because she's very thought provoking - - and I loved that about her writing. But this stuff just isn't easy reading by any means.
”“Not just Anthropological Sci-Fi, but GOOD, well developed Anthropology within a Sci-Fi ethnography. In the introduction she admits to writing out kinship charts when developing the stories.”
Sharifa F wrote this review Monday, April 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Very cool book with short stories and a novella. The stories take place on a bunch of different planets that Ursula LeGuin has created and they explore the different societies that developed on these planets. The novella tells the story of people who have lived for 5 generations on a spacecraft on a discovery mission to a new planet similar to earth. This book is really thoughtful and thought-provoking. The stories touch on many different issues such as war, gender, religion and race. I like the way that these stories allow us to look at these issues through the lens of a completely fantastical world, and that doing this somehow allows us to see the real issues in a new way, and, I belive, more clearly.”
Jessica E wrote this review Saturday, March 1 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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