Jan. 22, legendary and renowned Science Fiction and Fantasy writer, Ursula K. Le Guin passed away. Having graced the literary world for 60 years, Le Guin left her mark on American literature and paved the way for female writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Her works have been made into films, televisions shows, and mini-series. Today, we honor her career and legacy with a list of five of her most influential novels that every would-be wizard and fantasy fangirl will adore.
1. The Left Hand of Darkness
This Sci-fi marvel has been lauded as a literary classic in the genre for decades. Winner of both the Nebula and Hugo award, this novel’s fascinating story examines the human condition under the pressure of strife and hardship while exploring speculative and complex gender dynamics, social norms, and human sexuality. While Fantasy fandoms will surely find themselves enthralled by the plot, prose, and masterful character development, readers of all genres will find an incredible depth of story. It’s got all the good stuff.
2. The Lathe of Heaven
Another Sci-fi classic, “The Lathe of Heaven” inspects the lines between dream and reality as the main character navigates his life, fearful of the power of his dreams. This prescient novel is a genius combination of sci-fi, fantasy and a dash of surrealism for some extra kick. This is a short, quick novel for anyone looking for a glimpse into the human psyche under pressure and fear of oneself. Trust us, you’ll love it.
3. The Word for World is Forest
Le Guin was no stranger to themes of dystopian futures, environmentalism and the folly of human recklessness surrounding the natural world, so you shouldn’t be either. This dystopian novel aptly inspects the inner conflict of people hoping to conquer hate and violence without being consumed by the evils of the world themselves. This is an easy-to-read novel that encompasses human emotion, inner turmoil and hope for the future.
4. The Beginning Place
“The Beginning Place” is a masterful novel about self-discovery and the journey into the unknown. Something we college students can definitely relate to! Readers will venture into the story of a man at the crossroads of fear and wonder as he finds a new world when searching to escape the monotony of his daily life. Again, very relatable. In his search, he finds love, meaning, belonging, and epic danger. This book is lyrical, magical and haunting. With vivid prose and storytelling, this novel will unnerve and unsettle readers as the story unfolds. It really gets spooky in there. In any event, it really is a fantastic novel.
5. A Wizard of Earthsea
My personal favorite of the bunch, “A Wizard of Earthsea” has been a well-loved fantasy classic for 50 years. Le Guin has an incredible ability of packing a ton of story into few pages, and this novel is no different. Le Guin continued her longstanding tradition of making POC visible in the realm of fantasy novels and promoting the power of understanding the cultures and civilizations of differing people. The story inspects the glory of youthful exuberance and the folly of young pride as the young Wizard Ged comes of age. The ScyFy mini-series and the Ghibli movie adaptation seriously do no justice to this book. Read it yourself to experience its wizardly glory.
As a foremother of American Sci-fi and Fantasy, the contributions that Le Guin has made to the world of these literary genres are immeasurable. Her death has left a hole in the literary world that can never be filled and will leave us fantasy fangirls heartbroken for the foreseeable future.
Giving voice to poorly represented female characters and exploring human realities that others dare not examine, Le Guin’s influence is still felt to this very day, and she will be sorely missed. While I feel immense sadness that I will never again read a new novel from her, I do take great pleasure in all of the literary works that she left behind. I hope that you do, too.
All photos by Candace Archie.