Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“Praise then darkness and creation unfinished”

The Left Hand of Darkness: A Novel by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Cbr18bingo Left The Left Hand of Darkness is a Hugo and Nebula award winning novel first published in 1969. It is the story of an alien envoy named Genly Ai who has come to a remote planet called Gethen or Winter in order to speak to its leaders about joining the Ekumen, a kind of alliance of other worlds devoted to the service and betterment of humanity. Genly has arrived at a time when the nations of this planet are on the verge of war, […]

Killing time between planes

Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Bingo Square: Or (this collection explores alternate planes of existence and inter-dimensional travel) Quotes: “Although his campaign had become increasingly outspoken against “godless” and “foreign” elements of Obtrian society, many Astasa voted for him. They wanted a strong leader, they said. They wanted a man who would stand up against the Vens and restore law and order to the cities, which were suffering from overpopulation and uncontrolled mercantilism.” – from “Woeful Tales from Mahigul” “the Islai had been strong on practical physics, agriculture, architecture, urban […]

A king, a princess, the masters of wizardry, and a dragon walk into a grove

The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin

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CBR 17 BINGO: “O” (for “Other”) BINGO:  Rec’d, Culture, O, Green, White I started reading Ursula K. Le Guin’s Books of Earthsea last year, and I just recently completed the final (sixth) novel in the collection: The Other Wind. As I mentioned in my earlier review of the initial trilogy, there’s something unique about reading a long-established classic and genre-defining series for the first time. The Books of Earthsea are epics in the vein of Lord of the Rings, and something every fantasy enthusiast should […]

Giving a voice to the voiceless

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin

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“Of arms and the man I sing,” begins Virgil’s Aeneid, though women are pivotal in his story of war and love. Upon one character, Lavinia, hinges the relationships between the Latins and the Trojans, and yet she has no lines at all in the poem and is tellingly described by Virgil as “ripe for marriage.” Ursula K. Le Guin attempts to correct this injustice by retelling the poem through Lavinia’s eyes. Lavinia is an interesting novel in that, not only does Le Guin give voice […]

“There is no safety. There is no end…the dance is always danced above the hollow place, above the terrible abyss.”

The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Typically when I read a book series, I try to break things up by alternating with books from outside of the series. I’ve found that if I read too many books from one author in a row, I get burned out and have to take a break from that author for a while. However, in Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea Cycle, I may have found the exception to that rule. I read the first two books, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan a few years […]

The making of a wizard

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin

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The thrill that comes from reading a classic of any particular genre is you get to see the early formation of that particular class of fiction. That can also be a problem, as the object of inspiration often leads to greater literary feats that can sometimes make the early attempts feel underwhelming. That’s sort of how I felt about the first three books in the Earthsea series, though I definitely got more engaged as I made my way through the trio. A Wizard of Earthsea […]



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