Tag: Ursula LeGuin

This is a pair of collections of her short stories; I think they’re all reprints, but some (particularly in Volume 1) were new to me.

I started with Volume Two: Outer Space, Inner Lands, which has mostly her science fiction short stories. The Rule of Names was new to me (a fun short story set in the East Reach of Earthsea), as were the following four stories of the collection. It’s hard not to be a fanboy, but all of the stories are crisp and beautifully written. The first stories are familiar, The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas is often reprinted, with great reason. Semley’s Necklace was interesting; I’d read it before, but I was more willing to read it from Semley’s perspective, which improved it for me this time around.

I think I’ve read First Contact with the Gorgonids before, but enjoyed her wry pokes at Jerry this time. So many others were familiar, but it was good to read them again and have them in one place.

Volume One: Where on Earth got off to a strong start. I really appreciated collecting the Orsinian tales; the second Orsinian story is much stronger for following the first with the same characters. Many of the remaining stories were familiar, and most were quite strong. Ether, OR was another story that was new to me–and quite enjoyable, with interesting characters dealing with a very unusual but understated problem.

There’s a really interesting piece at the end, Half Past Four. I might have gone crazy trying to line everyone up, if I hadn’t vaguely remembered her warning in the introduction explaining how the story came about.

This was a pair of books I’ll reread again; it’ll probably take a few reads to get many of these onto my favorites list… but I suspect some will clear that high bar.

A wonderful book, set in a the world of the Aeneid. (I’ve never read it, but I have read many references to the Aeneid before.) LeGuin takes her character from the margins of the poem and delves deep into her life. It reads as historical fiction, which was amplified by some of the choices she made [and explained in the afterword].

Lavinia’s life is regimented and “poor” for a princess– the kingdoms of coastal Italy aren’t huge and lack the impressive tax base that comes later. Religion and faith are constant and soothing– and smaller scale. It’s the gods of the hearth, not Olympian gods striding the battlefields.

The lives of the simple kingdom are turned upside down by Lavinia’s actions and the interference of “the poet”. The presence of the poet was mixed to me– in many ways I appreciated his presence and tie to the poem, but it doesn’t mesh well with the detailed life that we see and experience. If they were missing, I’d have enjoyed it as pure historical fiction… but there’s a constant umbilical that keeps this from drifting back into pure fiction.

Lavinia’s role is circumscribed by society– you’ll be disappointed if you’re looking for a warrior woman wielding a bloody blade. There’s a lot of action and struggle and the world changes, which was plenty for me.

I enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who would appreciate a story of powers viewed on edge. This is the story of moving and shaking, but subtly.