Okay, first up: Rocannon's World by Ursula K. LeGuin. Ah the 1960's... I can't claim to have been around them, but from all the books I've read, that must have been a golden era for a science fiction fan! I think Ursula K. LeGuin is an amazing and often overlooked science fiction and fantasy author. This book is the first in a series of books called "The Hanish Cycle". But the series isn't really a proper series... each book can be read independently. They are about multiple expeditions to different planets, so each one is basically unrelated to the others.
Anyway, Rocannon's World. The book takes place on a planet that is kind of a medieval/fantasy realm. There is a human-like race (the "Liuar") that lives in castles, and then there are dwarf-like creatures (the "Gdemiar") that live and mines. A group of modern, human explorers comes on a space ship, but then the crew is attacked by some unknown enemy, and there is only one survivor, Rocannon. So, he finds himself stuck in this world without any access to his technology. So, he now has to find a way to contact his planet to send for help against this enemy which has all the technology in the universe.
LeGuin's stories are always more than meets the eye. More than just thinking, "what would happen if we had this interesting technology, or went to this interesting place", LeGuin's stories always deal with some different, intensely emotional or psychological element which abstraction rarely enables us to discuss, but is made possible by her uniquely created worlds. For example, in her book, The Left Hand of Darkness, another Hanish Cycle book, the inhabitants of that planet are all one single sex, and display the attributes of male and female together. In another Hanish Cycle book, Planet of Exile, she explores racism and the rejection of things people don't understand. In Planet of Exile, the native inhabitants of one planet reject the explorers and their ideas and technologies as "witches" and refuse to treat them as equals.
In Rocannon's World, there are some interesting issues discussed. In the first part of the book, there is a queen who knows nothing of space or technology, but unknowingly travels on a spaceship to another planet, but when she returns, she finds herself in her own world, but many years later. She is then driven to madness because everything she ever knew was now gone. This part of the story is actually labeled the "prologue" (and apparently was published elsewhere previously), but is really one of the most intense parts of the story.
As far as the LeGuin's writing style goes, it fits the story perfectly. Her tone is usually fairly solemn and unhumorous, not detailing any one moment or scene too much. However, it doesn't feel as if you're missing details, rather it keeps the story's pace moving (many of her books are fairly short, around 100 or 200 pages). However, she has quite a way of describing simple, common things in a way that make you see them in a new light. Her writing never feels rhetorical or biased to me, or like she's trying to make a point or a moral. She just lays out the story, and lets the reader take whatever they want from it.
Also, you've gotta love the classic cover art and taglines on old science fiction books! Check these two alternate covers out:
All in all, I would recommend any book in the Hanish Cycle (although I haven't read every single one yet), but Rocannon's World is a definitely a highlight. Plus, it's the first one in the series, so you might as well start with that one anyway!
If you've read this book too or have any comments about this post, please leave a comment!
-Nick
>>You can also read my Korea Travel Blog here!
This was a good review. LeGuin is the only sci-fi that Steph has ever read. She had to read it for a class and she loved it. So now I get to buy LeGuin books whenever I find them at used book stores.
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