RIP Ursula K. Le Guin

[Rysky]

She passed away yesterday.

I wish I could say something more for her but I’ve sadly never read any of her works, but people I look up to and respect looked up to and respected her.

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

Bummer. Bad timing (then again, when is a good time???).

Sounds like a good time to try reading something of hers in her memory!

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

damn

[Lathiira]

I hope this isn't a portent of things to come this year....

I picked up a copy of her Earthsea quartet last year, never finished the last book. I think I need to find the time to do that now.

Fare thee well, great bard. May magic never fade on the paths you now walk.

[John Napier 698]

I should go to Half-price books and pick up whatever they have. ;_;

[Ambrosia Slaad]

Rysky wrote:

She passed away yesterday.

I wish I could say something more for her but I’ve sadly never read any of her works, but people I look up to and respect looked up to and respected her.

Yeah, I think more than most, RPG players and GMs can really appreciate how radical and groundbreaking her world- and character-building is from the majority. I would be extremely surprised if one of her books doesn't change how you think about people and/or RPG gaming. If you can find it used (or new), give A Wizard of Earthsea a try.

[thejeff]

Well damn. There is a great sadness upon me.

I'm currently reading one of her last books - Lavinia - kind of a period piece about a minor character from the Aeneid. The wife that Aeneas finds in Italy, over whom there is much fighting, but who doesn't get any actual lines or characterization in the poem. Not normally my kind of thing, but so well done.

[Cole Deschain]

Guess I need to dust off my copy of A Wizard of Earthsea this weekend.

Thanks for everything, Mrs. LeGuin.

[rokeca]

Rysky wrote:

She passed away yesterday.

I wish I could say something more for her but I’ve sadly never read any of her works, but people I look up to and respect looked up to and respected her.

I was given A Wizard of Earthsea by a beloved uncle shortly after my father died (I was 11). The book helped me deal with my silent grieving, and changed my life - making me appreciate the true power of words. It sent me on the path that ultimately led to my pursuing a career as a writer. When I started my own business, I named it after Ged's vessel, Lookfar.

I re-read the Earthsea Trilogy at another challenging time in my life, and Le Guin's thoughtful, timeless use of language spoke even more powerfully as an adult. Those books will always hold a special place in my life. I look forward to sharing them with my children.

[Aubrey the Malformed]

A Wizard of Earthsea is such a fantastic fantasy novel, I think I read it about twenty years ago and its whole approach to the genre was different and refreshing, creating a really interesting approach to magic, good characters and an interesting society. Plus a really scary dragon. For me it's her standout work. Many of her short stories are quite excellent too. Another one gone (though at a fine old age). <sigh>

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

"A Wizard of Earthsea" is amazing, but I'm pretty sure I like "The Farthest Shore" better. I did not like "Tombs of Atuan" and "Tehanu" the first time I read them in my early teens, but did when I reread them in my early 20s. Basically, everything I've read of leGuin has been pretty damn good. I've heard her described as 'preachy' and I suppose there is an element of that, but she was such a skillful writer I didn't care. Unlike Pratchett in his later years, I never felt the preachiness detracted from the story (of course I haven't read much of any late leGuin so she may have fallen into that trap too).

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

That's weird. Nobody's mentioned The Left Hand of Darkness? There's a book people could stand to bone up on right about now. To hell with gender wars, time to flush the whole pointless concept once and for all!

It might even be worth a movie, but knowing nothing of the plot beyond the setting and its special spiel, I have no idea whether it could work as a movie (then again, I watched Solaris. The 1972 Soviet version. All 2.76 hours in one sitting.).

[Charles Scholz]

My favorite is "The Lathe of Heaven".
I saw the movie when I was young and read the book as an adult.
Both were great.

Closet Clown, the Soviet Solaris was the best.

[Aubrey the Malformed]

I was going to mention The Left Hand of Darkness, but it isn't my favorite so I stayed with that. Funnily enough the aspect I enjoyed the most was the journey across the arctic volcanic landscape, which was really evocative. The gender aspects moved me less, to be honest. She wrote a short story set on the same planet which was also good (though I can't remember the name, I'm afraid - I'm sure someone out there knows it).

[Neriathale]

I borrowed the Earthsea books from the library aged about 8, then bought my own copies as soon as I had the pocket money to do so. Those copies are still on my shelf, in the 'you take these over my dead body' section.

I haven't read all of her books, but all the ones I have read Have stayed with me.

[Doodlebug Anklebiter]

I poured out my heart on various Facebook threads, so all I'll do here is sit in the corner and weep.

[Doodlebug Anklebiter]

Oh that, and say that The Tombs of Atuan was my fave.

[Corathonv2]

The Left Hand of Darkness was my favorite, but I also loved The Word for the World is Forest and The Lathe of Heaven.

[Coriat]

I poured out some whiskey to her ghost tonight. I bought this little flask a year ago so that I could do the same for my grandmother, and I'm finishing it now.

[GeraintElberion]

Only in silence the word,
Only in dark the light,
Only in dying life,
Bright the hawk's flight
On an empty sky.