Review

“Rocannon’s World” by Ursula K. Le Guin is the first novel by Ursula K. Le Guin and also the first book in the Hainish cycle. Rocannon is from a race of technologically superior humanoids, who in their effort to prepare for a war seeks to transform less developed planets into a set of defensive allies. In some way, they set out to create proxies of war. Rocannon is on a planet with a number of humanoids and sets out on a journey across planet of diverse cultures in order to achieve his goal.

The book reads very much like a short story and is almost fantasy-like in its world-building. Many of the concepts presented are often seen in later pieces of sci-fi and I imagine that this book is a great inspiration for many authors. Even though it is a relatively short book, the journey on which you, as a reader, are taken feels almost as if you see only a small glimmer of the magnitude of the universe she is building.

Comparisons for this book would probably be “Ringworld” by Larry Niven, which it is in many ways very similar to, especially in terms of the journey the main character goes on. Also “Dune” by Frank Herbert can be brought to mind, but obviously the short-story nature of this tale cannot quite compare to “Dune”.

Score: 8/10

Ursula K. Le Guin’s style is unique among science fiction writers, as she is often almost poetic in style and her inspiration from religious sources is often evident, but often well-considered and gives her writing a spiritual side, that not many writers can bring to light. Her style is thoughtful and well-constructed, it is based on thought rather than sudden surprises to drive the plot. She explores what it means to be human and uses science fiction as a laboratory to test her hypotheses.

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