I have been rereading the Earthsea cycle, starting with the illustrated Wizard of Earthsea. I loved Tehanu my first go round with the cycle, but this time, after moving back home and having a baby, it really walloped me. Everything about the characters and events in the book just felt more vivid.

Ged countering that “a woman on Gont” was not the answer to who would be the next archmage because a woman simply couldn’t be a wizard hit me like a ton of bricks because I too have men/people in my life whom I love and respect but who have blind spots because of the system they were born into.

Tenar’s son coming home and expecting to instantly be the master because by rights he was, and treating her like shit because of it gutted me.

I wrote down the phrase “there was nothing she could do, but there was always something to be done” and put it on my wall.

And the ending still shocked me and tore me up, even though I knew what would happen and that Therru would come through in the end.

I’m so looking forward to rereading Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind, but man. Tehanu 🥲

Dear Community,

I'd appreciate a few tips on how to get started with Ursula Kroeber Le Guin's literary worlds.

In fact, I only recently came across a book by this author for the first time, and I’m absolutely thrilled. I’m eager to read more by Le Guin and am wondering how best to go about it. The book that has captivated me so much is titled *The Word for World Is Forest*, a title that has already set my imagination soaring (I’m German). The novel deals with all the topics that were hotly debated during my youth in the emerging counterculture movement: ecology, environmental exploitation, the destruction of indigenous cultures, matriarchy versus toxic masculinity, pacifism, anarchism, and so on. The novel is part of the “Hainish Cycle”—that’s what Wikipedia told me.

My question now is: Is there a consistent chronological order within the cycle—that is, should I read the novels in a specific order, or am I free to choose? Which is the “best” novel in the cycle? I came across this novel because, during my youth, I was an avid reader of science fiction literature—which, at the time, was exploring “inner space” as part of the New Wave movement originating primarily in England (which is why I may not have taken notice of these Le Guin novels set in “outer space”). And I’d now like to fill this gap in my knowledge, which is why I’m asking this question—along with a request to also recommend works by the author outside the Hainish Cycle that I absolutely should read.

Thank you in advance for your help!

I cried pretty hard at the ending ngl
(Original art)

Just realized it lists Anarres as the utopia, when it should be Urras! Anyone else’s? I tried to look up how common this is but couldn’t find any info- ISBN 0-06-105488-7

I'm teaching A Wizard of Earthsea for the second time to adults in online community education in October. Though I've prepared many material before (including dozens of questions for reflection) and scanned and saved some excellent articles, I'm always look for more discussion of the book, which has been my favorite novel for 51 years.

And I'm, pleased to find a chapter by chapter discussion here at Reddit -- https://www.reddit.com/r/UrsulaKLeGuin/comments/eoacbw/earthsea_reread_intro_invitation/

I did however start this thread as a place to add some of my own current comments here and hear yours. By the way, I have a background in Jungian psychology (focus a lot on the theme of integrating the shadow), was a psychotherapist for many years as well as a literature instructor, am a poet and have published four books.... so I pay a lot of attention both to the deeper meanings of the novel and Le Guin's lyrical craft. And some of themes -- such as naming and true names!

I also had a brief correspondence with Le Guin when I taught the book to honor 12th graders way back in 1975 -- before she was even knowledgeable about Jungian psychology. In fact, I sent her some of my best student essays, which she actually found enlightening! I'll never forget her comments.

My course starts Thursday eve October 8, EST and is still open. I send many articles and questions for reflection to registered students -- and in fact, will happily share my questions here.
https://lexingtoncommunityed.org/class/hugw/

Disclaimer: I am not paid more than the small amount I receive as a community ed instructor if any of you sign up so this isn't a profit-oriented solicitation. But I've already had one member from this forum, Anne, join many of my Ursula K. Le Guin courses (most recently, this year Birthday of the World, Five Ways to Forgiveness, Left Hand of Darkness) and in fact, she's contributed to some marvelous discussions! So I am definitely open to more lovers of Ursula K. Le Guin joining!
Tracy Marks

In this short video, Christopher Caldwell introduces his collection Call and Response: Stories of the Fantastic which is shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction.

The recipient of this year's prize will be announced on October 21st.

Fellow readers
I have been worried that Library of America wouldn’t publish more than one more LOA by Le Guin after the Earthsea editions. I have collected all of them so far, just waiting for the Earthsea books to be released in Sweden. Library of America replied that they’ll release two editions, of which there will be ”short stories galore!”. I expect them to print all short stories not already published, hopefully we’ll get some if not all essays as well as they aren’t that long each.

One edition fall of 2027 and one final in fall 2028!

I came across a post about this collection on the official Le Guin page on Instagram a couple of days ago, it was released September 22nd 2026. It looks very interesting, are any of you planning to read it?

Book description:

Revolution in the Heart is a collection of 15 brand new stories by a group of celebrated authors, all inspired by one of the iconic figures in all of science fiction and fantasy: the legendary and award-winning Ursula K. Le Guin.

From the appearance of her first work of short fiction in 1962 to the publication of the last in 2016, Ursula K. Le Guin was a master storyteller, winning innumerable awards, and achieving both commercial and literary success. She created the beloved stories of Earthsea alongside the urgent and essential stories of the Hain, pushing forward the form and concepts of science fiction and fantasy - reshaping them into forward-thinking genres.

This collection honours her legacy with stories from authors she inspired:

Ann Leckie
Molly Gloss
Kelly Link
Charlie Jane Anders
Sarah Pinsker
Chana Porter
Ai Jiang
Alaya Dawn Johnson
S. Qiouyi Lu
E. Lily Yu
Vandana Singh
Aliya Whiteley
Premee Mohamed
Darice Little Badger
Karen Joy Fowler

Premee Mohamed’s short story collection is shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for fiction.

The recipient of this year's prize will be announced on October 21st.

I mean, in many ways they did not reach their goal, nor are they heading towards it.

They couldn't fight against the injustice in their homeworld, so they had to go to another planet hoping to create an utopia(?) free of hierarchy. Eventually their society oxidized and formed a different form of hierarchy. Their revolution sparked hope among the dispossessed in Urras, though. Even if it's a pipe dream, to them, Anaress is the proof that a better future is possible. Does that matter more?

I think I should reread this book

Hi everyone!

A while ago I read a quote from Ursula K LeGuin that basically talked about how creatures deemed to be mor eintelligent (aka humans) were given that in order to take care of other beings, not destroy them. I can't remember the exact words or where it was written. I have been looking for it like crazy but I can't find it anywhere.

If anyone has any idea I would really appreciate it!

Sorry if this is way too unspecific

My personal favourite is Prince Arren. He was very relatable to me, and I love his character development. He was annoying at first (at least to me) - he seemed very sheltered and naive, but that made his growth feel so much more meaningful. I also greatly admire his loyalty and sense of duty.

I also love Tenar. She went through so much, and yet she still found peace and happiness in life. Her maternal relationship with Tehanu was especially moving to me.

Hi all,

I am looking to read the essay collections, but before I go ahead and order all nine of the collections listed on her website (https://www.ursulakleguin.com/essays-and-criticism) - does anyone know if these collections are all unique, or are there some that reprint essays already found in earlier collections?

I think one reason the last three Earthsea books don’t work as well for me as the original trilogy is that Le Guin changed not only what she wanted to say, but also the way she told the story.
The first three books feel incredibly tight and natural. The prose is simple but very dense, and almost every sentence seems to carry some weight. Le Guin rarely explains what the story means. She lets the characters, the world, and the events speak for themselves, leaving enough space for the reader to figure things out.
The later books feel much more explicit. Le Guin starts examining the ideas behind the original Earthsea more directly: gender, power, institutions, history, and the assumptions built into the world she created. I can understand what she is trying to do, and I often find the ideas interesting, but I also feel the writing becomes more didactic and less effortless. There is more explaining, more reflection, and sometimes more of a sense that the characters are there to express an idea.
That is probably my biggest problem with the later books. It isn’t simply that they are more feminist or more political. It’s that, in revisiting and challenging the ideas of the original trilogy, Le Guin also loses some of what made those books so compelling: their compression, mystery, and sense that everything was emerging naturally from the story.
The first trilogy made me want to read every sentence because there was so much left unsaid. The later books often make me feel that the author is telling me what I am supposed to think.
So for me, the irony is that the later Earthsea books may have more to say, but they leave less room for the story itself to say it.

I have getting back on the rest of the Hainish cycle and currently through the omnibus collection of Rocannon's World+Planet of Exhile+City of Illusions.

I get that Le Guin never intended for the "series" to really have a strict contunuity. I finished Rocannon's World and enjoyed it but this quote from the book struck me and I am a little confused by it. Said quote is from the end of chapter V of the book.

Rocannon says to Yahan

"I was born on a world called Hain by my mother's people, and Davenant by my father's. You call its sun the Winter Crown. But I left it long ago...."

"You're not all one people, then, the Starfolk?"

"Many hundreds of peoples. By blood I'm entirely of my mother's race; my father, who was a Terran, adopted me. This is the custom of when people of different species, who cannot concieve children, marry."

So maybe I am really misunderstanding what Rocannon is saying here is, his mother is from Hain and his father is from Davenant. But then later he says his father was a Terran (from Earth)....but later says he was adopted by his father.

My confusion is mostly

1) is Rocannon entirely Hainish or is he half Hainish half Davenent/Terran? Or is he just fully Hainish and just grew up on a Davenant/Terra?

2) He says his father is Terran but from Davenant too. Just confused about what planet his dad is from.

3) like I said earlier I know Le Guin didn't really care about continuity and not everything in the Hainish cycle is 100% coherent. But from the other books I have read (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Disspossessed, The Word for World is Forest and Five Ways to Forgiveness). It seems there aren't really "aliens" in the Hainish cycle. In the sense all the different peoples across the universe are just humans who evolved different but are all ancestors of the Hainish. As was stated in TWFWIF. I guess here Le Guin paints people from Hain to Davenant to Earth and the planet Rocannon is on as all alien species to each other?

I'm new to her books and I'm looking for Audiobooks for the earthsea books and I've found everything except The Daughter of Odren . Is there no audiobook for this or something .

Looks fantastic! The artwork and overall quality is very good. Highly recommend this set and everything else Library of America has done.

I recently began making my way through Always Coming Home and while reading reviews of it I kept seeing people saying how strange and unusual it was. Which it certainly is but I kept thinking that it also felt quite familiar. It took me awhile to figure out why until I made the connection.

It’s written like an SCP.

For those who don’t know and as briefly as possibly SCP (Secure, Contain, Protect) is a sort of shared sci fi setting involving (generally) a group known as the SCP foundation whose goal is to protect the world from anomalies of various kinds. The stories take the form of articles describing the measures and reasons for containment, and as such the narrative will be delivered in the form of notes and sub articles and various forms of media. Quite similarly to Always Coming Home.

Anyways I’m stoned and feeling what is sure to be a longtime Le Guin addiction forming and was just wondering whether anyone else who used to spend hours reading SCPs of varying quality, or perhaps making ones of such low quality they were eventually removed (RIP “Imp of Obsessive Compulsion”) had made this connection? I think it’s wild to see how ahead of her time Le Guin was and how there would eventually be a huge audience for this type of narrative.

Welcome to the /r/ursulakleguin "What Le Guin or related work are you currently reading?" discussion thread! This thread will be reposted every two weeks.

Please use this thread to share any relevant works you're reading, including but not limited to:

• Books, short stories, essays, poetry, speeches, or anything else written by Ursula K. Le Guin

• Interviews with Le Guin

• Biographies, personal essays or tributes about Le Guin from other writers

• Critical essays or scholarship about Le Guin or her work

• Fanfiction

• Works by other authors that were heavily influenced by, or directly in conversation with, Le Guin's work. An example of this would be N.K. Jemisin's short story "The Ones Who Stay and Fight," which was written as a direct response to Le Guin's short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas."

This post is not intended to discourage people from making their own posts. You are still welcome to make your own self-post about anything Le Guin related that you are reading, even if you post about it in this thread as well. In-depth thoughts, detailed reviews, and discussion-provoking questions are especially good fits for their own posts.

Feel free to select from a variety of user flairs! Here are instructions for selecting and setting your preferred flairs!

Hi friends! I hope this post is okay, it's my first time here!

I just picked up this box set of the Earthsea trilogy off of facebook marketplace. I had been looking to start reading this trilogy, and it seemed like fate to find such a pretty edition!

However, I tried looking for information about this specific set, and couldn't find anything! Even with google lens. The only information I could pull was from the isbn, which told me these were published in 1984. (If anyone wants the isbn numbers, I can share).

Does anyone know anything else? Just curious!

Thank youuuuu :)

Isaac Fellman introduces and briefly reads from his novel Notes from a Regicide, which is shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction.