Incredible Good Fortune
Ursula K. Le Guin, . . Shambhala, $18 (96pp) ISBN 978-1-59030-314-6
One of the world's most honored authors of science fiction (
Reviewed on: 10/24/2005
Genre: Fiction
Paperback - 96 pages - 978-1-59030-422-8
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- TALES FROM EARTHSEAUrsula K. Le GuinIn this stellar collection, which includes a number of original stories, Le Guin (The Telling; Four Ways to Forgiveness; Continue reading »
- THE OTHER WINDUrsula K. Le GuinWhat a year it's been for Le Guin. First, there was The Telling, the widely praised new novel in her Hainish sequence, followed by Continue reading »
- THE BIRTHDAY OF THE WORLD: And Other StoriesUrsula K. Le GuinDeeply concerned with gender, these eight stories, although ostensibly about aliens, are all about ourselves: love, sex, life and alienation are all handled with illuminating grace. Le Guin's Continue reading »
- TOM MOUSEUrsula K. Le GuinThe creators of A Ride on the Red Mare's Back here take readers on another diverting ride. Tempted by the travel tales of a hobo rat who rides the rails on Continue reading »
- CHANGING PLANESUrsula K. Le GuinA starred or boxed review indicates a book of outstanding quality. A review with a blue-tinted title indicates a book of unusual commercial interest that hasn't Continue reading »
- GIFTSUrsula K. Le GuinLe Guin's (the Earthsea Cycle) fantasy, a brilliant exploration of the power and responsibility of gifts, begins as 16-year-old narrator Orrec reflects upon recent events. Emmon, a runaway Continue reading »
- LaviniaUrsula K. Le GuinIn the Aeneid , the only notable lines Virgil devotes to Aeneas’ second wife, Lavinia, concern an omen: the day before Aeneus lands in Latinum, Continue reading »
- Cat DreamsUrsula K. Le GuinShort, nearly telegraphic verse by Le Guin (who collaborated with Schindler on the Catwings series) conjures up the inner life of a tortoiseshell cat, whose time, when not hunting or planning Continue reading »
- Cheek by JowlUrsula K. Le GuinThe work of poet and novelist Le Guin (Lavinia, The Left Hand of Darkness) spans genres, including science fiction, fantasy and kid lit, and here she collects scholarship and opinion on the Continue reading »
- The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the ImaginationUrsula K. Le GuinPrincipally known as a writer of fantasy fiction, Le Guin here proves herself to be a skilled and thought-provoking writer of nonfiction as well. Her persnickety, opinionated voice often leaps off Continue reading »
- CatwingsUrsula K. Le GuinDown an alley in a dumpster, Mrs. Jane Tabby gives birth to four kittens. But these are no ordinary offspringeach has a pair of wings. Although Mrs. Tabby is unperturbed by her kittens' appearance, Continue reading »
- Catwings ReturnUrsula K. Le Guin, Leguin/ SchindlerIdentical in format and length to its predecessor, Catwings , this new book picks up where that one left off. The four winged catsThelma, Roger, Harriet and Jamesare content in the country barn where Continue reading »
- Fire and StoneUrsula K. Le Guin, LeguinThis intriguing myth is vividly illustrated by newcomer Marshall. A dragon terrorizes a town until a boy and a girl, Min and Podo, realize that the dragon's cry, ``RRRAAAHHHX!'' is his attempt to ask Continue reading »
- TehanuUrsula K. Le GuinThe publication of Tehanu will give lovers of LeGuin's enchanted realm of Earthsea cause for celebration. In Tehanu , LeGuin spins a bittersweet tale of Tenar and Ged, familiar characters from the Continue reading »
- Searoad: Chronicles of KlatsandUrsula K. Le GuinIdiosyncratic stories, connected loosely but powerfully by their rugged Pacific Northwest shore setting, portray small-town residents in a sympathetic but unsentimental manner. Continue reading »
- A Ride on the Red Mare's BackUrsula K. Le GuinText and artwork of extraordinary beauty highlight this stirring tale of a girl who rescues her brother after he is captured by trolls. In the haunting, singsong language of an epic poem, Le Guin Continue reading »
- The TellingUrsula K. Le GuinIn this virtually flawless new tale set in her Hainish universe, Le Guin (The Left Hand of Darkness; Four Ways to Forgiveness) sends a young woman from Earth on her first mission, to the planet Aka Continue reading »
- A Visit from Dr. KatzUrsula K. Le GuinWhen Marianne has to stay in bed with the flu, what she needs is a visit from Dr. Katztwo catsto pass the time. ""Dr. Katz comes in on eight white paws, and goes two different directions,'' this Continue reading »
- Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, PlacesUrsula K. Le Guin``Chronologically arranged, these 33 talks and essays and 17 reviews of books and films, dating from 1976 through 1987, eloquently record Le Guin's responses to ethical and political climates, the Continue reading »
- Soloman LeviathanUrsula K. Le GuinLe Guin tells the story of a contentious giraffe and a philosophical boa constrictor. The two of them had been living together on a ``runcible island'' until the day they found a beached boat and Continue reading »
- Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, PlacesUrsula K. Le GuinChronologically arranged, these 33 talks and essays and 17 reviews of books and films, dating from 1976 through 1987, record Le Guin's responses to ethical and political climates, the transforming Continue reading »
- A Fisherman of the Inland Sea: Science Fiction StoriesUrsula K. Le GuinIn her introduction to this reprint collection of eight of her more recent SF stories, Le Guin (Tehanu) defends the best work of the genre as ``beautiful.'' It is critics and reviewers, she claims, Continue reading »
- Searoad: Chronicles of KlatsandUrsula K. Le GuinIn these stories, connected loosely but powerfully by their rugged Pacific Northwest setting, LeGuin ( Buffalo Gals ; The Left Hand of Darkness ) portrays residents of a small Oregon shore town with Continue reading »
- The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science FictionUrsula K. Le GuinFor Le Guin, writing science fiction or fantasy is an intuitive, self-exploratory act, an inner-space voyage in which she unearths dreams and archetypes that connect her with the outer world. In Continue reading »
- Fish SoupUrsula K. Le Guin, Guin Le, Le GuinThis meager original fable by celebrated author LeGuin concerns two adult friends, Thinking Man and Writing Woman. He is impeccably neat; she could care less about being tidy. He thinks; she writes Continue reading »
- Unlocking the Air and Other StoriesUrsula K. Le GuinHugo and Nebula awards cling to her writings like iron filings to a magnet. Even so, Le Guin has written numerous stories with no hint of scientific speculation or fantasy--like the majority of the Continue reading »
- Four Ways to ForgivenessUrsula K. Le GuinMost of Le Guin's recent fiction divides into collections of stories bound by theme, such as Searoad, or novels such as the Nebula Award-winning Tehanu, in which the author has revisited worlds she Continue reading »
- The Twins, the Dream: Two VoicesUrsula K. Le Guin, Diana BellessiThrough correspondence, Le Guin, a prolific American writer (The Left Hand of Darkness; Unlocking the Air and Other Stories, etc.), and Bellessi, an Argentinean poet, collaborated on translating each Continue reading »
- Buffalo Gals and Other Animal PresencesUrsula K. Le Guin""The Le Guin mixture of prodigious talent and stubborn polemic . . . is once more apparent in this theme collection of her stories and poetry,"" wrote PW of this volume, characterizing it as Continue reading »
- The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin, Vol. 2: Outer Space, Inner LandsUrsula K. Le GuinSecond of a two-volume set, this bare-bones collection focuses on SFWA Grand Master Le Guin’s overtly fantastic visions. Settings of 20 stories, all previously anthologized, include both the science Continue reading »
- Diverse EnergiesPaolo Bacigalupi (et al.)Conceived in an effort to more judiciously represent ethnic and cultural diversity in YA fiction, this provocative collection, edited by SF author Buckell and literary agent Monti explores dystopian Continue reading »
- The World Split Open: Great Authors on How and Why We WriteMargaret Atwood (et al.)Marking the 30th anniversary of the nonprofit Literary Arts in Oregon, this collection of 10 lectures from celebrated writers reanimates the humanistic argument that, far from being a Continue reading »
- Steering the Craft: A 21st-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story[em] [/em]Ursula K. Le GuinThis is not a book for beginners, warns Le Guin (Cheek by Jowl), but it would be churlish to deny the benefits of this thoughtful, concise volume to anyone serious about becoming a writer. Continue reading »
- Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books, 2000–2016Ursula K. Le GuinLe Guin (The Real and the Unreal), an honored and prodigious fiction writer, will delight her many fans with these 67 selections of her recent nonfiction. The wide-ranging collection Continue reading »
- The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinThe 13 splendid tales in this huge collection (which, despite its title, does omit a few of Le Guin’s novella-length works) show why Le Guin is one of the most honored living writers of fantastic Continue reading »
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We spoke with Le Guin, who's seeing two volumes of her work published today by Saga Press, about her 50-year literary career, genre classification and the difficulty of putting Continue reading »
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