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Cover of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin

5/5
Ace 304 pages March 1, 1969

A lone human envoy is sent to the ice-bound planet of Gethen to convince its inhabitants to join a galactic confederation. But on Gethen, the people are ambisexual — shifting between male and female — and the envoy must navigate a world where gender as he knows it doesn't exist.

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Jim's Review

🐛
Le Guin didn't just write sci-fi — she rewrote how we think about humanity itself. This book takes the concept of gender, flips it upside down, and shakes it until all our assumptions fall out. The ice-trek across the Gobrin glacier is one of the most intense sequences Jim has ever burrowed through. Brilliant, challenging, and absolutely beautiful. Five worms — a masterwork from a master author.

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