Only recently have I begun to focus on science fiction, and I am coming to appreciate that, beyond story, it lends itself to a realm that includes political and social commentary. The Left Hand of Darkness is haunting—a world of cold and ice with its own beauty, a world of hermaphroditic beings like us but whose mythologies and social structure grow out of these fundamental realities. The writing is excellent, and one feels as one is discovering a new world along with the envoy who has been sent there.
50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION-WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY DAVID MITCHELL AND A NEW AFTERWORD BY CHARLIE JANE ANDERS
Ursula K. Le Guin's groundbreaking work of science fiction-winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants' gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...
Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an…
As part of my exploration of science fiction, particularly works that deal with gender in that genre, I read “Ammonite” and found an engaging story with a broad array of female characters filling all sorts of roles in their respective societies. Marghe, the protagonist of this speculative fiction novel, is an anthropologist sent to the planet nicknamed Jeep to study the “native” population, the descendants of colonizers hundreds of years earlier. As in the envoy “The Left Hand of Darkness,” she is an outsider looking into a society; and like him, she barely survives her journey. This is a well written, imaginative, engaging story with strong, complex characters.
Winner of the Lambda and Tiptree Awards • “A knockout . . . Strong, likable characters, a compelling story, and a very interesting take on gender.”—Ursula K. Le Guin
Change or die. These are the only options available on planet Jeep. Centuries earlier, a deadly virus shattered the original colony, killing the men and forever altering the few surviving women. Now, generations after the colony lost touch with the rest of humanity, a company arrives to exploit Jeep—and its forces find themselves fighting for their lives. Terrified of spreading the virus, the company abandons its employees, leaving them afraid and…
This is a sweet story, told by a giant tortoise who was captured in her youth and spends her life in a sprawling, enclosed estate. A commentary on people and society, without preachiness it offers its insights gently and, at times, with humor. Coulter maintains the voice of the narrator throughout the story, and the tortoise, who has various names over her long lifetime, is a character I missed once I finished the book. Through the tortoise, Coulter asks us to recognize the animals around us as sentient beings and to respect their integrity. If she opens some eyes, kudos to her.
A century of American history unfolds through the eyes of a giant tortoise with a heightened awareness for live music, the location of edible flowers, and the nuances of human behavior in this spellbinding debut novel.
Snatched from her ancestral lands, a giant tortoise finds herself in an exclusive estate in southern California where she becomes an astute observer of societal change. Her journey is one of discovery, as she learns to embrace the music of jazz and the warmth of human connection.
The tortoise's story is enriched by her bond with Takeo, the estate's gardener, who sees her as…
Like many of us, Maggie is navigating her path through a complex world—except, Maggie is a mayfly nymph, and her world is the stream.
Having lost her home to changes in the current, Maggie is searching the stream for the richest of foods with which to nourish her brief flight in the world of air. But the stream, with its ever-changing currents, seems a confusing array of possibilities. Where are the richest of foods? How might she find them? And what are the qualities that makes one’s forage truly rich?
As Maggie travels the stream, she meets other streamlings—some malevolent, some benign—who offer her advice based on their own experiences within the stream. Through these meetings—from a midge who seeks to understand the stream by classifying the minute grains of the streambed to a water scorpion who tells Maggie her only value is as fish food—Maggie, unsure of herself, must define her own vision or risk missing the fulfillment that she seeks.
