If you are a reader of Ursula K. Le Guin's books, storys or poetry, and especially if you are planning on writing an essay, book or dissertation on LeGuin's literature, this book is for you. I found this book in the university library and I thought it would just be another mediocre book on Le Guin's work, but I was mistaken. Dr. White leaves no stone unturned when coming to literary criticism written about that wonderful and one-of-a-kind writer of fantasy and SF. I didn't realize how ignorant I was before reading this book. Thank you Dr. White, this book will no doubt help me when writing my own dissertation.

Le Guin's talent is diverse, but Science Fiction stories seem to be her best. And oh she is agile. This collection has everything. There's a small humorous story, a workshop story, an idea story, but finally there are the most important: the churten stories. Le Guin's Hainish universe has appeared in most of her other scifi novels, but these stories are probably the best. "The Shobies Story," "Dancing to Ganam" and "Another Story" (I think that's all) are all separate, but they all deal with 'churten,' Le Guin's brand of instantaneous travel. As usual, though, she doesn't focus on technology. She's a people writer, and the science is only there to bring out all of the psychological, emotional and spiritual questions with the characters. The title story, or "Another Story" is about a man who is caught in two places at once as a result of the churten. A delight to read. Each word is perfectly placed. Exquisite.

Este es el segundo libro de la saga de Terramar (EarthSea) y continua con la historia del mago Ged, contando una de las hazañas mas importantes de su vida, que cambia el destino de Terramar. Uno solamente lamenta que no se cuenten las aventuras que corre entre el primer libro (Un mago de Terramar) y este. Como de los otros libros de Ursula K. LeGuin, tanto la descripción de los personajes como el relato son maravillosos. Recomendable leer la saga completa, no porque no se entiendan los libros por separado, sino porque describe un mundo, literalmente, mágico.

In 150 years of American history, San Diego has produced many competent and a few highly successful writers, Max Miller, Oakley Hall and others. Judy Van Der Veer outclasses them all. Her work is pure and fine. It seizes your attention and your heart. It is true, more true than most fiction and nonfiction. You don't just read her books, you experience them, unforgettably. She has waited too long for this first reprint.

OK, first off, if you're looking for SF to read, don't bother with this book, because SF it's not, even though it's by Ursula Le Guin. On the other hand, if you're looking for some beautifully written, well-crafted short stories, you might well stop and read.

ORSINIAN TALES is a collection of "mainstream" short stories set in the imaginary Eastern European country of Orsinia, which take place in various time periods ranging from the pagan Dark Ages to the 17th century to the Cold War. They are by turns grim, joyous, lyrical, wistful, and always fascinating. My one cavil is that the date of each story's setting is placed at the end of the story, so if you're not quite sure of the story's period (the period is not always terribly well defined in the opening of the stories, and it makes a difference--at least to me--if a tale is set in 1905 or 1950) you have to peek ahead. But it's a small quibble with a lovely piece of literature.

This book has been a really remarkable experience for me. I had first herd of Ursula here on Amazon.com when I read through the Hugo and Nebula award listings. As her work was behind a number of those, figured reading some of it was well worth a try. I picked the planet of exile out, from the library, as it was the thinnest there. I thought it would be enough to just get the taste of Ursula's style of writing. My first impressions were not that great. As a matter of fact, I found the book to be very boring and hard to read. Of course, I had just finished Clark's "The city and the stars", and my expectations from this other great SF author were pretty much down the same epic-far-in-the-future-undertakings-using-supreme-technology line of Clark's book. Ursula was far from that. Her work featured much less a gadget-full and more of a fantasy-barbaric setting. This was a major setback at first, but when I toned down on my expectations and accepted the book for what it was, and what it had to offer; I found it to be very pleasant and even delightful to read. Ursula talks about a distant future in which mankind has reached the stars and united many worlds in an organization known as the League. The League dispatches colonies onto alien planets where they judge on the option of entry of the world into the League. However, a colony of humans remains stranded on an alien world, as the spacecraft they came in leaves in haste to aid the League, in a war that has ensued far away. The planet itself is very peculiar as one Year lasts 24000 days (c. 65 years), making only one season last 15+ years! Ursula masterfully explores the impact of these awkward time patterns on the life of local hominoid species. She paints a vivid image of their culture with a remarkable wholeness, achieved through incorporating various traditions and rituals, and even such little things as formal speech patterns. The same is done with the culture of the humans left on the planet (christened the "farborn"). Besides delving deep in the particulars of the two cultures, Ursula also does an excellent job in exploring the interaction between them. In these hypothetical explorations is her aptness clearly noticeable and they were what I found the most intriguing and delightful in the novel. Overall a great book that I liked very much; I warmly recommend "The planet of exile" to anybody that is wondering whether to read it or not. You might not like it at first, but give it a chance. I did, and I can tell you for sure that the next book I'm taking out of the library is definitely going to be another work by Ursula Le Guin.

This is a wonderful book to read if you enjoy Le Guin's fiction. It's useful to readers and academics alike because Cummins has split the book into four sections that study the settings for Le Guin's stories. There is a section for the Hainish Universe, another for her works set on the future-West Coast of America, one for the Earthsea books and so on and so forth.

Reading a book structured like this is a delight because Cummins has tied in themes and concerns of Le Guin's work with her fictional settings. It reads like a detailed and complex unofficial Ursula Le Guin handbook, with many references to the tao te ching and other philosophical pre-occupations, but is easy to read and simply ~*fascinating*~.

An excellent collection of short stories from this master (mistress?) of Science Fiction and Fantasy literature.

Ursula is a cut above the rest in terms of intellectual involvement, poses moral and spiritual questions, always tells a ripping good yarn.

Fans of The Dispossessed will be entranced by the story of Odo - founder of the Odonian movement which led to settling of the moon Anarres by the anarchists.

Not too many words in this book. Words aren't necessary because Wynn Bullock's photographic artistry speaks for itself. He is undoubtedly a master of his craft but he is also quite spiritual. When I first saw his image of "Nude in a Dead Forest", I paused to look at it. To me, that says something because in this day and age, we seem to be bombarded with so much information and 'eye candy.' Bullock has the ability to transcend the ordinary. I believe he is that good. As good as Edward Weston (a single portrait by his friend Wynn Bullock included in this volume), Imogen Cunningham, and Alfred Stieglitz. There are some quotes from Bullock and they certainly add form to his vision but buy this for the enchanting images of landscapes, nudes, and portraits.

I recommend "The Dispossessed" because it is a good example of how to write a philosophical novel. The story deals with the planet Urras, a modernist technological society, and the moon Annares, an anarchist Utopia populated by outcasts who fled Urras many generations ago. The plot in this book is really secondary. The purpose of "The Dispossessed" is to analyze both of these societies and to point out their strengths and their flaws. While I don't agree with everything that LeGuin says about community life on Annares, I do believe that she does a good job of displaying what life under such a system would be like. Despite being relatively short, this book covers a lot of ground, including religion, economy, sexuality, family life, and art.

With that said, I must confess a little bit of disappointment with the writing of "The Dispossessed". Having read the Earthsea Saga and "The Left Hand of Darkness", I know that LeGuin can do better. In particular, this book lacks any of the great descriptive passages found in her other works. A few good word pictures of the unforgiving landscape on Annares would have gone a long way towards making the book more intensely realistic. Some of the dialogue also falls a little bit short. Still, I view the book overall as being quite impressive, and a must-read for science fiction fans who like to think.

Le Guin's "The Dispossessed" deserves the accolades it has received. It is a tremendous example of soft sci-fi, with little high-tech wizardry (though this book does contain the oldest reference to an instantaneous-communication ansible I have encountered), but deep character developement and social commentary.

Unfortunately, I just could not find either of her hypothetical societies believable. The capitalistic Urras seemed to be a mix of 21st century technology and 18th century ethics. Though at face value, Urras appears to be a scathing condemnation of capitalism, a deeper look shows the problems on Urras result less from its free markets than from its totalitarian government and rampant "isms". Likewise, the anarchistic, communist utopia on the moon Anarres also did not ring true. Le Guin simply did not convince me that the inherent conflicts of anarchy and communism could be resolved. People on Anarres did not shirk duties or commit crimes, even though they did not have self-interest (ala capitalism) or the threat of force (ala totalitarianism) to bring them in to line. Le Guin seems to explain this by proper education, social pressure, and child-rearing, which I couldn't swallow. I did enjoy her pointed commentary on the tyranny of the majority (even absent the rule of law), and of the oppression of the individual by social pressure for conformity.

Overall, this rates as a sci-fi classic - even though it barely qualifies as sci-fi at all. Le Guin's best work.

Simply put, this is one of the greates science fiction books I have ever read. Beyond Le Guin's compelling storyline, masterful character development, and brilliantly constructed setting (all of which can be found in any of her other books), The Dispossessed is a social commentary the likes of which I had never experienced before.

Most people, I am sure, hear the word "anarchy," and it brings to mind images of smelly punk-rock kids throwing rocks and trashing cars (direct action!) However, the layperson generally cannot see beyone the premise of "no government = chaos." Le Guin tears down the philosophical walls and false presuppositions and proposes a world based on true libertarian socialist ideals: Anarchy. These people are not terrorists, but hard working, sincere individuals, possessed with all the faults that we have always had. It adresses the problems that could arise in an anarchist community plagued by extreme scarcity, but its message triumph over tribulation rings true.

It is this book which radically changed my political philosophies, and if is powerful and beautiful enough a piece of literature that it can do the same for all who read it.