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The Left Hand of Darkness

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The Left Hand of Darkness

By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Narrated by: George Guidall
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About this listen

Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can change their gender. 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 completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

©1969 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2016 Recorded Books Classics Epic Fantasy Fiction First Contact Science Fiction Epic Fantasy Winter

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All stars
Most relevant
The voice literally sent me to sleep on several occasions. I had to concentrate really hard to take anything in. I’m not adverse to concentrating but this was tough. And there were different characters narrating but it was difficult to distinguish them until you’d really developed an ear. Such a shame as I’d been wanting to read some Le Guin and this seemed the best loved. I don’t feel it’s been done justice, sadly.

Looked forward to this but spoiled by the reader

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Beautifully written book that takes a while to get going, with distractions and strange side stories, not sure if those are all relevant.. But the central story is quite surprising and nuanced. Pity about the reader, who is a terrible voice actor, who cannot do different voices for different characters. I got constantly confused on who was talking in the dialogue,

Ahead of its time, and it still feels modern

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The chapters were initially confusing as it felt like several short stories strung together. As the plot progressed, the different narrators / perspectives helped to elaborate the worlds of the envoy and the traitor. I became totally immersed in the universe that Ursula Le Guin has so deftly crafted that I wanted more stories!

World builder extraordinaire

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Picture yourself the first ambassador to a world, alone, trying to establish whether it will join a federation, the nearest neighbour being 17 light years away. The 17 year journey can be made at near light speed, the point of departure ages but you not much. The local politics. Then add the population who can become man or woman in their monthly cycle. And the weather on Winter is cold or colder. How does the physiognomy affect personal relationships and society? The author uses the voices of both visitor and visited in a searching examination of what makes us human, relationships, trust, love of country, others and self. What is loyalty and sacrifice and its perception individually and politically.

The narrator captures the rhythm and tone of the book superbly giving aural life to the protagonists silhouetted, lives played out in the frozen scapes of alien caring world.

Timeless Insightful Classic

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One of those books that's been on the TBR pile for many years, and I'm glad I got around to it. thought provoking themes of friendship, culture, and gender were dealt with in a sympathetic narrative that made me realise Ursula Le Guin's remarkable talent.
narration might not suit everyone; George Guidall is one of the most prolific audiobook narrators, but it took a while to settle with his voice and, at times, breathless delivery.
that said, I'd definitely recommend for those with a taste for classic sci-fi.

Vintage sci-fi with modern relevance

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