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Pages : 128
Overall Mark : 7/10
When the inhabitants of a peaceful world are conquered by the bloodthirsty yumens, they find themselves forced into servitude, at the mercy of their brutal masters. Eventually, desperation causes them to abandon their strictures against violence and rebel against their captors. But in doing so, they have endangered the very foundation of their society. For every blow against the invaders is a blow to the humanity of the Athsheans. And once the killing starts, there is no turning back.
URSULA K. LE GUIN (1929-)
Ursula K. Le Guin is one of the finest writers of our time. Her books have attracted millions of devoted readers and won many awards, including the National Book Award, the Hugo and Nebula Awards and a Newbery Honour. Among her novels The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed and the six books of Earthsea have already attained undisputed classic status. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
VERDICT
Le Guin is an expert when it comes to turns of phrase, and this short book is filled with wonderful examples of her expertise. It is interesting to make comparisons between the treatment of the aliens in this book and the treatment of the Vietnamese people, as this book first came to light during the Vietnam War. The story starts off slowly, but gets much better towards the end of the book. Fans of James Cameron’s Avatar may be interested in reading this, as many comparisons can be made between the two.
