Worlds of Exile and Illusion

Ursula K. Le Guin

4 of 5 Stars

This collection of three early novels in Le Guin's Hainish series initially looks haphazard, as if they were only collected because of writing order and not being as well-known as her later works.

• Rocannon's World is a serviceable fantasy quest wrapped in sci-fi trappings.
• Planet of Exile is a tighter story of isolation and people forced together by an invasion.
• City of Illusions involves a stranger seeking his identity in a post-apocalyptic Earth controlled by unseen alien masters.

=> Rocannon's World | Planet of Exile | City of Illusions

But common threads tie them together. Not just her frequent themes like culture clashes, critiquing colonization, challenging racial stereotypes (both in-world and real), and just getting people to communicate. The second and third novels form a thematic duology:

• A single city of Earth colonists struggles to survive and adapt to a primitive world.
• A single city of alien colonists controls a primitive Earth they've adapted to their own desires.

And you can watch her craft growing stronger over the course of the three novels.

I wouldn't recommend someone start reading Le Guin here, but I would recommend it to someone who's familiar with her work.

— Kelson Vibber, 2023-12-17

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=> Worlds of Exile and Illusion

Related Posts and Tags

=> Books
=> Ursula K. Le Guin
=> Space
=> Science-Fiction
=> Post-Apocalyptic
=> Hainish Cycle
=> Cold War
=> Colonization
=> Identity

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