author results for Le Guin, Ursula K.

Tales From Earthsea

Le Guin, Ursula K. — Thu, 31 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Explores further the magical world of Earthsea through five tales of events which occur before or after the time of the original novels, as well as an essay on the people, languages, history and magic of the place.

The Lathe of Heaven

Le Guin, Ursula K. — Fri, 31 Jan 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Changing Planes

Le Guin, Ursula K. — Fri, 31 Jan 2003 00:00:00 GMT

A Wizard of Earthsea [graphic Novel]

Le Guin, Ursula K. — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

City of Illusions

Le Guin, Ursula K. — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

He is a full-grown man, alone in a dense forest, with no trail to show where he has come from and no memory to tell who or what he is. His eyes are not the eyes of a human. The forest people take him in and raise him, teaching him to speak, training him in the knowledge and lore of the forest, but they cannot solve the riddle of his past. At last, he sets out on a perilous quest to find his true self—and discovers a universe of danger.

City of Illusions is a part of the acclaimed Hainish Cycle, set in a galaxy colonized hundreds of thousands of years ago by a variety of humanoid species. Since the golden age of the League of All Worlds, Earth, like the rest of the known worlds, has fallen to the Shing, who rule through subtle mind control. Scattered groups of humans endure in a state of paranoia and semibarbarism. Is there one who can stand against the Shing?

The Left Hand of Darkness

Ursula K. Le Guin — Mon, 31 Jan 2000 00:00:00 GMT

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION—WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY DAVID MITCHELL AND A NEW AFTERWORD BY CHARLIE JANE ANDERS
Ursula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking work of science fiction—winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...
Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

A Wizard of Earthsea

Ursula K. Le Guin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The first novel of Ursula K. Le Guin's must-read Books of Earthsea.

Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge at the renowned school for wizards, he tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world.

This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, a classic fantasy adventure where he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

With stories as perennial and universally beloved as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings—but also unlike anything but themselves—Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea novels are some of the most acclaimed and awarded works in literature. They have received accolades such as the National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, the Nebula Award, and many more honors, commemorating their enduring place in the hearts and minds of fantasy readers and the literary world alike.

Join the millions of readers who have explored these lands. As The Guardian put it: "Ursula Le Guin's world of Earthsea is a tangled skein of tiny islands cast on a vast sea. The islands' names pull at my heart like no others: Roke, Perilane, Osskil . . ."

The Books of Earthsea include:

A Wizard of Earthsea

The Tombs of Atuan

The Farthest Shore

Tehanu

Tales from Earthsea

The Other Wind

Tales from Earthsea

Ursula K. Le Guin — Wed, 31 Jan 2001 00:00:00 GMT

The tales of this book explore and extend the world established by Ursula K. Le Guin's must-read Books of Earthsea.

This collection contains the novella "The Finder" and the short stories "The Bones of the Earth," "Darkrose and Diamond," "On the High Marsh," and "Dragonfly." Concluding with an account of Earthsea's history, people, languages, literature, and magic, this edition also features two new maps of Earthsea.

Join the millions of fantasy readers who have explored these lands. As the Guardian put it: "Ursula Le Guin's world of Earthsea is a tangled skein of tiny islands cast on a vast sea. The islands' names pull at my heart like no others: Roke, Perilane, Osskil . . ."

The Books of Earthsea includes:

A Wizard of Earthsea

The Tombs of Atuan

The Farthest Shore

Tehanu

Tales from Earthsea

The Other Wind

No Time to Spare

Ursula K. Le Guin — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

From acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin, a collection of thoughts—always adroit, often acerbic—on aging, belief, the state of literature, and the state of the nation.
Ursula K. Le Guin on the absurdity of denying your age: "If I'm ninety and believe I'm forty-five, I'm headed for a very bad time trying to get out of the bathtub."
On cultural perceptions of fantasy: "The direction of escape is toward freedom. So what is 'escapism' an accusation of?"
On breakfast: "Eating an egg from the shell takes not only practice, but resolution, even courage, possibly willingness to commit crime."
Ursula K. Le Guin took readers to imaginary worlds for decades. In the last great frontier of life, old age, she explored a new literary territory: the blog, a forum where she shined. The collected best of Ursula's blog, No Time to Spare presents perfectly crystallized dispatches on what mattered to her late in life, her concerns with the world, and her wonder at it: "How rich we are in knowledge, and in all that lies around us yet to learn. Billionaires, all of us."
"The pages sparkle with lines that make a reader glance up, searching for an available ear with which to share them." — Melissa Febos, New York Times Book Review
"Witty . . . deeply observed." — USA Today
"A book that truly does matter." — Houston Chronicle

The Lathe of Heaven

Ursula K. Le Guin — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT

This science fiction classic by the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author is "a rare and powerful synthesis of poetry and science, reason and emotion" (The New York Times).
In a near-future world beset by war, climate change, and overpopulation, Portland resident George Orr discovers that his dreams have the power to alter reality. Upon waking, the world he knew has become a strange, barely recognizable place, where only George has a clear memory of how it was before. Seeking escape from these "effective dreams," George eventually turns to behavioral psychologist Dr. William Haber for a cure. But Haber has other ideas in mind.

Seeing the profound power of George's dreams, Haber believes it must be harnessed for the greater good—no matter the cost. Soon, George is a pawn in Haber's dangerous game, where the fate of humanity grows more imperiled with every waking hour.
As relevant today as it was when it won the Locus Award in 1971, The Lathe of Heaven is a true classic, at once eerie and prescient, entertaining and intelligent. In short, it does "what science fiction is supposed to do" (Newsweek).

"When I read The Lathe of Heaven as a young man, my mind was boggled; now when I read it...it breaks my heart. Only a great work of literature can bridge - so thrillingly - that impossible span."—Michael Chabon

The Tombs of Atuan

Ursula K. Le Guin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

One of the Time 100 Best Fantasy Books Of All Time

The Newbery Honor–winning second novel in the renowned Earthsea series from Ursula K. LeGuin.
In this second novel in the Earthsea series, Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, and everything is taken from her—home, family, possessions, even her name. She is now known only as Arha, the Eaten One, and guards the shadowy, labyrinthine Tombs of Atuan.

Then a wizard, Ged Sparrowhawk, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Tenar's duty is to protect the Ring, but Ged possesses the light of magic and tales of a world that Tenar has never known. Will Tenar risk everything to escape from the darkness that has become her domain?

With millions of copies sold worldwide, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere, alongside the works of such beloved authors as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

The Dispossessed

Ursula K. Le Guin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels

"One of the greats. . . . Not just a science fiction writer; a literary icon." —Stephen King

"Engrossing . . . Ursula Le Guin is more than just a writer of adult fantasy and science fiction . . . she is a philosopher; an explorer in the landscapes of the mind." — Cincinnati Enquirer

Ursula K. Le Guin's Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Award–winning classic, a profound and thoughtful tale of anarchism and capitalism, individualism and collectivism, and one ambitious man's quest to bridge the ideological chasm separating two worlds.

The Dispossessed is the spellbinding story of anarchist Shevek, the "galactically famous scientist," who single-handedly attempts to reunite two planets cut off from each other by centuries of distrust.

Anarres, Shevek's homeland, is a bleak moon settled by an anarchic utopian civilization, where there is no government, and everyone, at least nominally, is a revolutionary. It has long been isolated from other worlds, including its mother planet, Urras—defined by warring nations, great poverty, and immense wealth. Now Shevek, a brilliant physicist, is determined to unify the two civilizations. In the face of great hostility, outright threats, and the pain of separation from his family, he makes an unprecedented trip to Urras. Greater than any concern for his own wellbeing is the belief that the walls of hatred, distrust, and philosophic division between his planet and the rest of the civilized universe must be torn down. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and explore differences in customs and cultures, determined to tear down the walls of hatred that have kept them apart.

To visit Urras—to learn, to teach, to share—will require great sacrifice and risks, which Shevek willingly accepts. Almost immediately upon his arrival, he finds not the egotistical philistines he expected, but an intelligent, complex people who warmly welcome him. But soon the ambitious scientist and his gift is seen as a threat, and in the profound conflict that ensues, he must reexamine his beliefs even as he ignites the fires of change.

The Other Wind

Ursula K. Le Guin — Wed, 31 Jan 2001 00:00:00 GMT

The final book in Ursula K. Le Guin's must-read Books of Earthsea.

The sorcerer Alder fears sleep. The dead are pulling him to them at night. Through him they may free themselves and invade Earthsea.

Alder seeks advice from Ged, once Archmage. Ged tells him to go to Tenar, Tehanu, and the young king at Havnor. They are joined by amber-eyed Irian, a fierce dragon able to assume the shape of a woman. The threat can be confronted only in the Immanent Grove on Roke, the holiest place in the world, and there the king, hero, sage, wizard, and dragon make a last stand.

In this final book of the Books of Earthsea, Le Guin combines her magical fantasy with a profoundly human, earthly, humble touch.

With stories as perennial and universally beloved as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of The Rings—but also unlike anything but themselves—Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea novels are some of the most acclaimed and awarded works in literature. They have received accolades such as the National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, the Nebula Award, and many more honors, commemorating their enduring place in the hearts and minds of readers and the literary world alike.

Join the millions of fantasy readers who have explored these lands. As The Guardian put it: "Ursula Le Guin's world of Earthsea is a tangled skein of tiny islands cast on a vast sea. The islands' names pull at my heart like no others: Roke, Perilane, Osskil . . ."

The Books of Earthsea includes:

A Wizard of Earthsea

The Tombs of Atuan

The Farthest Shore

Tehanu

Tales from Earthsea

The Other Wind

Ursula K. Le Guin: the Complete Orsinia (LOA #281)

Ursula K. Le Guin — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Library of America gathers for the first time the entire body of work set in the imaginary central European nation of Orsinia—the enchanting, richly imagined historical fiction series written by Hugo, Nebula, and National Book Award winner Ursula K. Le Guin.

In a career spanning half a century, Ursula K. Le Guin has produced a body of work that testifies to her abiding faith in the power and art of words. She is perhaps best known for imagining future intergalactic worlds in brilliant books that challenge our ideas of what is natural and inevitable in human relations—and that celebrate courage, endurance, risk-taking, and above all, freedom in the face of the psychological and social forces that lead to authoritarianism and fanaticism. It is less well known that she first developed these themes in the richly imagined historical fiction collected in this volume, which inaugurates the Library of America edition of her works.

Written before Ursula K. Le Guin turned to science fiction, the novel Malafrena is a tale of love and duty set in the central European country of Orsinia in the early nineteenth century, when it is ruled by the Austrian empire. The stories originally published in Orsinian Tales (1976) offer brilliantly rendered episodes of personal drama set against a history that spans Orsinia’s emergence as an independent kingdom in the twelfth century to its absorption by the eastern Bloc after World War II. The volume is rounded out by two additional stories that bring the history of Orsinia up to 1989, the poem “Folksong from the Montayna Province,” Le Guin’s first published work, and two never-before-published songs in the Orisinian language.
LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

The Daughter of Odren

Ursula K. Le Guin — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT

The Daughter of Odren is a short fantasy story of betrayal and revenge set in the world of Earthsea, in which Weed, the daughter of Lord Garnet, waits for the day she will have her father back.

For fourteen years, Weed, as she is called, the daughter of Lord Garnet, has brought offerings to the standing stone. Alone in a shallow valley, she implores the stone not to forget her. To remember who he is and the life he led. To wait until the day he will be avenged.

Now the day has finally arrived. After fourteen long years of waiting, he will have his revenge and she will have her father back. Or will she?

Master storyteller Ursula K. Le Guin takes readers back to Earthsea with this hauntingly beautiful dark fantasy story of betrayal and revenge.

The Books of Earthsea includes:

A Wizard of Earthsea

The Tombs of Atuan

The Farthest Shore

Tehanu

Tales from Earthsea

The Other Wind

The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories, Volume 2

Guin, Ursula K. Le — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

"Creates imaginary worlds that restore us, hearts eased, to our own."—The Boston Globe

"Admirers of fine literature, fantastic or not, will cherish this rich offer-ing."—Publishers Weekly

Outer Space, Inner Lands includes many of the best known Ursula K. Le Guin nonrealistic stories which have shaped the way many readers see the world. She gives voice to the voiceless, hope to the outsider, and speaks truth to power—all the time maintaining her independence and sense of humor.

Ursula K. Le Guin has published twenty-one novels, eleven collections, essays, poetry, trans-lations, and books for children. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

The Lathe of Heaven

Guin, Ursula K. Le — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Many dream of changing the world. But George Orr's dreams do change it—for better or for worse. Made desperate by this unsought power, George consults a psychotherapist who promises to help him. However, it soon becomes clear that the scientist has his own plans for George and his dreams.

Why not, after all, forge a brave new world—one free from war, disease, overpopulation, and all human misery? But for every man-made dream of utopia, there is a terrifying, unforeseeable consequence; so George must dream and dream again, forever seeking a more perfect future as the very essence of cosmic reality begins to disintegrate.

The Dispossessed

Ursula K. Le Guin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

"One of the greats....Not just a science fiction writer; a literary icon." – Stephen King

From the brilliant and award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin comes a classic tale of two planets torn apart by conflict and mistrust — and the man who risks everything to reunite them.

A bleak moon settled by utopian anarchists, Anarres has long been isolated from other worlds, including its mother planet, Urras—a civilization of warring nations, great poverty, and immense wealth. Now Shevek, a brilliant physicist, is determined to reunite the two planets, which have been divided by centuries of distrust. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have kept them apart.

To visit Urras—to learn, to teach, to share—will require great sacrifice and risks, which Shevek willingly accepts. But the ambitious scientist's gift is soon seen as a threat, and in the profound conflict that ensues, he must reexamine his beliefs even as he ignites the fires of change.

Powers

Ursula K. Le Guin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Young Gav can remember the page of a book after seeing it once, and, inexplicably, he sometimes "remembers" things that are going to happen in the future. As a loyal slave, he must keep these powers secret, but when a terrible tragedy occurs, Gav, blinded by grief, flees the only world he has ever known. And in what becomes a treacherous journey for freedom, Gav's greatest test of all is facing his powers so that he can come to understand himself and finally find a true home.

Includes maps.

For Better and for Worse

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

2009 Audies® Finalist for Best Audiobook Adaptation Category

"How could I look at my wife, the mother of my children, and feel only the need for revenge?" From Do You Know Where I Am? by Sherman Alexie

Moving stories about married couples' powerful and complicated loves

Sherman Alexie's Do You Know Where I Am?

read by Keir Dullea

A native couple's rocky college love affair lasts a lifetime

Ursula K. Le Guin's The Wife's Story

read by Joanna Gleason

A supernatural tale of marriage and transformation

Karen E. Bender's Eternal Love

read by Joanne Woodward

A mother nervously chaperones her retarded daughter's honeymoon

Shahrnush Parsipur's Mrs. Farrokhlaqa Sadraldivan Golchehreh

translated by Kamran Talattof and Jocelyn Sharlet

read by Frances Sternhagen

The unexpected twists and turns in a longtime marriage. (This story was banned by the Iranian government in the mid-1990s)

Luis Alberto Urrea's Bid Farewell to Her Many Horses

read by Robert Sean Leonard

A grieving man visits the reservation to bury his young wife and makes amends with her family

Ethan Canin's We Are Nighttime Travelers

read by Harold Gould

The arrival of a mysterious visitor sets off new sparks in a longtime marriage

Selected Shorts is an award-winning, one-hour program featuring readings of classic and new short fiction, recorded live at New York's Symphony Space. One of the most popular series on the airwaves, this unique show is hosted by Isaiah Sheffer and produced for radio by Symphony Space and WNYC Radio.

"For Better and for Worse has many wonderful moments, which make the collection worth committing to for a few hours." -from Publishers Weekly

Voices

Ursula K. Le Guin — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In this second novel in the Annals of the Western Shore trilogy, Ursula K. Le Guin brings readers a haunting and gripping coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of violence, intolerance, and magic.

Ansul was once a peaceful town filled with libraries, schools, and temples. But that was long ago, and the conquerors of this coastal city consider reading and writing to be acts punishable by death. And they believe the Oracle House, where the last few undestroyed books are hidden, is seething with demons.

But to seventeen-year-old Memer, the house is a refuge, a place of family and learning, ritual and memory—the only place where she feels truly safe.

Then an Uplands poet named Orrec and his wife, Gry, arrive, and everything in Memer's life begins to change. Will she and the people of Ansul at last be brave enough to rebel against their oppressors?

Voices is a novel that readers will not soon forget.

"Le Guin's crystalline prose and her ability to dramatise political and spiritual issues of our time are unequalled." —Amanda Craig, London Times

"As always, Le Guin's language is as airy and sensuous as her concerns are weighty and abstract, every sentence as precise as a spade cut." —Elizabeth Ward, The Washington Post

"Barbarians-versus-brainiacs may be well-trod turf, but Le Guin sure-footedly makes it new. She creates a protagonist with obvious appeal to her intended audience: a geeky girl with bad hair but a quick intelligence, who nurses a seething contempt for the illiterate thugs who run everything." —Anne Boles Levy, Los Angeles Times

The Annals of the Western Shore Trilogy includes:

Gifts

Voices

Powers

Gifts

Ursula K. Le Guin — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

In this beautifully crafted novel, the first of the Annals of the Western Shore trilogy, Ursula K. Le Guin writes of the proud cruelty of power, of how hard it is to grow up, and of how much harder still it is to find, in the world's darkness, gifts of light.

Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability—with a glance, a gesture, a word—to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness.

The Uplanders live in constant fear that one family might unleash its gift against another. Two young people, friends since childhood, decide not to use their gifts. One, a girl, refuses to bring animals to their death in the hunt. The other, a boy, wears a blindfold lest his eyes and his anger kill.

"A brilliant exploration of the power and responsibility of gifts." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"As always, Le Guin has delivered a story that captivates and draws the reader in. Anyone who enjoyed her Earthsea trilogy will relish this new work and fans of dark fantasy, such as Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, will want to check out this title as well." —BookPage

"In this moment in history, as well as in the current political climate, perhaps it's impossible not to see commentary behind every character in a young adult fantasy novel. But Le Guin's detailing of the consequences of greed, bullying and misused power is timeless as well as timely, and has the deep, lasting ring of truth that makes for well-loved, enduring young adult literature." —Erin Ergenbright, The Oregonian

"Gifts is an excellent read for teens of all interests. Fans of fantasy will be particularly drawn to it, but the world is grounded enough in earthly reality that it should appeal even to those who usually avoid the fantastical. Thought-provoking and suspenseful, with a dollop of action and romance, a novel like this is a gift to its readers." —Lynn Crow, TeensReadToo

The Annals of the Western Shore Trilogy includes:

Gifts

Voices

Powers

Changing Planes

Ursula K. Le Guin — Fri, 31 Jan 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Sita Dulip has missed her flight out of Chicago. But instead of listening to garbled announcements in the airport, she discovers a method of bypassing the crowds at the desks, a nasty lunch, whimpering children, their punitive parents, and the blue plastic chairs bolted to the floor: she changes planes—literally. Sita discovers entire planes of existence and visits societies not found on Earth—bizarre societies that share similarities with Earth's cultures and sometimes open doors into the alien.

The Farthest Shore

Ursula K. Le Guin — Mon, 31 Jan 1994 00:00:00 GMT

Return to the windswept world of Earthsea in the third book of this magnificent fantasy saga.
As a young wizard, Ged boldly entered the sacred labyrinth of Atuan to steal the magical ring of Erreth-Akbe from the dark forces of the world. Now, as Archmage and Dragonlord, an older Ged faces an even greater challenge. Prince Arren has
come to tell him that the magic has gone out of Earthsea. All over the world, mages and wizards are forgetting their spells, and the springs of magic are running dry.
With Arren by his side, Ged sets off on a harrowing quest for the source of darkness slowly creeping over the world. The journey leads the pair past enchanted islands, fire-breathing dragons, and cunning villains—and straight to
the shores of death. Only there can hope be found for the wounded land.
Lauded as one of the best-loved fantasy classics of this century, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea saga will sweep you into a fantastic land of wizardry and high adventure.

The Tombs of Atuan

Ursula K. Le Guin — Mon, 31 Jan 1994 00:00:00 GMT

One of the Time 100 Best Fantasy Books Of All Time
The Newbery Honor–winning second novel in the renowned Earthsea series from Ursula K. Le Guin
In this second novel in the Earthsea series, Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, and everything is taken from her—home, family, possessions, even her name. She is now known only as Arha, the Eaten One, and guards the shadowy, labyrinthine Tombs of Atuan.
Then a wizard, Ged Sparrowhawk, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Tenar's duty is to protect the Ring, but Ged possesses the light of magic and tales of a world that Tenar has never known. Will Tenar risk everything to escape from the darkness that has become her domain?
"Atuan, like Earthsea, is located in the mind of its maker, but was created out of the very stuff of mythology and reflects universal patterns that were once embodied in Stonehenge and in the Cretan labyrinth."—The Horn Book