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The Left Hand of Darkness

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The Left Hand of Darkness

By: Ursula K. Le Guin, Charlie Jane Anders - afterword
Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Michael Crouch
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About this listen

The queen of science fiction’s trailblazing novel about a planet full of genderless beings

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary’s mission to Winter, an unknown alien world whose inhabitants can choose—and 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.

Exploring questions of psychology, society, and human emotion in an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of science fiction.

©1969 Ursula K. Le Guin / Author's Note ©1976 by Ursula K. Le Guin / Introduction reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown Group Ltd, London on behalf of David Mitchell ©2000 by David Mitchell / Afterword by Charlie Jane Anders ©2019 by Charlie Jane Anders, from The Left Hand of Darkness: 50th Anniversary Edition by Ursula K. Le Guin, used by permission of Ace, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.","year":"1969 (P)2024 Recorded Books Classics Epic Fantasy First Contact Science Fiction Space Exploration Fiction
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This title is for people who can enjoy world-building without much plot. There is a plot of course, but I feel like the book mainly focuses on the world and the culture of the Gethenians. It’s beautifully written, and so detailed that I could almost feel myself getting cold or anxious along with our characters. A big thanks goes out to the narrator - brilliant.

Brilliant and thoughtful

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A superb and subtle performance of a towering classic of science fiction from one of the all-time great writers of the genre.

An absolute must-read classic of science fiction.

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I'm not a huge fan of the new narrator, purely for the lack of range. Story remains amazing.

New Narrator-not great

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Great performance: good pace and differentiation between characters - glad I chose this version of the audiobook

Great book, well read

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I struggled to get into this book at first and didn’t find the characters very engaging but as the book went on it got better and better. The made up names for everything and one is a bit of a struggle. Overall it’s one of the most believable fictional worlds I’ve ever read. In fact the book reads almost like an anthropology book it’s so detailed and well thought out. The main overarching story is good when it gets going and the big theme of the book is - gender is really cleverly laid out.

Incredibly detailed world building

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