Ursula K. Le Guin

Roman - Science-Fiction-Jubiläums-Edition

Die linke Hand der Dunkelheit

Lisa-Maria Hofmann

I consider myself as a feminist as well as a science fiction enthusiast. After reading this book I feel I have to reconsider both. 

I was sure this would be something I could like or at least appreciate as a classic. 

But I could not.

Felt more like hard Fantasy rather than soft Sci Fi. While the genre is personal preference, and I also don‘t mind being creative with those, the bland and uninspired world building wasn’t helping. The dry and confusing political intricacies in the first half of the book were especially draining. The (way to many) characters were hard to distinguish in character and behavior, due to their unemotional and wooden depiction. The author gave me absolutely nothing to like about any of them or their culture.

The only part I liked was in the second half when the protagonist was finally showing any kind of emotion and the travel got some kind of momentum. But this part neither would have needed a fictional planet nor an androgynous species to make it work.

And finally: For a story that talks a lot about genitalia and sexuality there is a baffling lack of sexual tension.

Die linke Hand der Dunkelheit Roman - Science-Fiction-Jubiläums-Edition

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