Bookbug

Bookbug is a digital book club founded by Vashti and Maple. Each month, we select a book for members to read and share reviews on. This ensures that I continue to explore new material outside of my usual interests.

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March 2024: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin | Rating:👽👽👽

I reached the goal of reading one book per month, guys! These are my thoughts. I'm a huge fan of the high sci-fi genre, which consists of weird scientific and cosmological novelties. I must confess, that I had the wrong expectations, but I received a wonderful culture study. The interactions between the people of Gethen and Genly Ai felt so real!

There are some chapters that told old legends of Gethen. Personally they distracted me from the plot and it wasn't easy to stay motivated. I assume that they are precious for further understanding, but to be honest, it did not catch my interest so much.

I liked the idea that there are people on Gethen who can predict the future and how they consider this technique useless. Later, I developed a big sympathy for Therem/Estraven and liked the jouney he took to help Genly reaching his goal to integrate Gethen into the Ekumen. One particular point made me sad. People who read it, know what I am talking about.

One thing I do a lot is comparing sci-fi scenarios with Star Trek. In order to join the Federation one need to discover the warp drive. In TLHoD nothing of this is required, which made me think. They do not have something like the first directive, which I think makes the Ekumen more philantropic than the Federation.

A good read but not exactly my cup of tea.