The Wind's Twelve Quarters
Ratings17
Average rating4
15
Ratings17
Average rating4
This is a collection containing, among other stories, the short story that started the Earthsea series." Along with "The Rule of Names," the story establishes the world and characters of Earthsea. First published in 1964 in an issue of Fantastic, the story can be found in a handful of anthologies but can be hard to lay hands on.
Reviews with the most likes.
Favorites:
Semley's Necklace
The Word of Unbinding
The Rule of Names
Things
The Field of Vision
The Day Before the Revolution
She's hung up on trees
sneaking up to wreck your car
filling you with fear.
These are LeGuin's earliest short stories but already there is a confident authorial voice on the page. The familiar themes are already in place: man's place in the universe; the battle between ignorance and knowledge; the nature of “alien” and man's relationship to it.
This volume contains two of her best stories (The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas and The Day Before The Revolution, the former a visceral metaphor for living in a Capilatist society, the latter a prelude to one of her finest novels, The Dispossessed) as well as a couple of stories from the Hainish cycle. In particular Winter's King is the first appearance of the planet Gethen, or Winter, which she would explore in more depth in her classic novel The Left Hand of Darkness.
There are only a few so called “genre” writers who transcend genre and LeGuin is one of them. Her stories speak to the human condition, how we live and our place in the world. They are universal in every sense of the word.
Series
6 primary books10 released booksEarthsea Cycle is a 10-book series with 6 primary works first released in 17 with contributions by Ursula K. Le Guin and Ginger Clark.
Series
1 primary book2 released booksThe Wind's Twelve Quarters is a 1-book series first released in 1962 with contributions by Ursula K. Le Guin.
