Rocannon's World

Science fantasy! Still love it. Very Tolkienesque (or Icelandic/Norse by way of Tolkien), but in a fruitful instead of purely derivative way. This is the first book published in Le Guin's Hainish Cycle and, I think, a good place to start it, especially if you're coming from her fantasy writing. Don't worry about it if you started somewhere else though, there's no real order to them-- "Cycle" is just marketing.

Gaverel Rocannon as a protagonist strikes a good balance between outsider and expert, in the ways of Fomalhaut II and its many species. He has an interesting relationship to the social order of the Angyar and of the rest of the hilfs. Mostly he seems to buy into the existing structures, or at least has no intent to disrupt them-- show more presumably initially in the way of a non-interfering anthropologist, but also more genuinely, especially following the death of his companions, when he abandons whatever dregs are left of his "observer" role and immerses himself fully into the cultures he was meant to be cataloguing. But of course he also disrupts their hierarchies by his mere presence-- a pale, swordless lord, of the Angyar and not of them, who confounds all those who encounter him, even the mindless.

It's clear that the League of All Worlds are no Star Trek Federation-- their first priority is not peaceful exploration, but winning the war against their Enemy. Rocannon is not placed morally above the inhabitants of Fomalhaut II, or if he is, it is in the way of conjurer who has lucked into a real trick or two. He has a few pieces of technology and knowledge, but he is not an enlightened paragon-- just a polite and resourceful scrounger fighting for a good cause. While we do get some helpful outsider perspective from him, we know it would be hypocritical for him to scoff at his companions. Like Mogien, he can be both noble and bloodthirsty. Like Yahan, he swings between loyalism and despair. I thought one of the most interesting parts of the book was Rocannon's self-reflection where he admits his own biases towards the hilfs he finds most attractive in a human/Hainish way-- I wish that idea was further explored.

The plot does not overstay its welcome but moves along at a fast clip. Yes, it is pulpy and tropey in that classic 60s way, but nonetheless has some of the germinating seeds of Le Guin's "great" science fiction. And I had forgotten what happened at the end since the last time I read, which was nice.

This book is the origin of the "ansible" device that has appeared by name in Orson Scott Card's works and by other names in many others.

Stefan Rudnicki is a good narrator. The cover art for the audiobook is atrocious. show less

Why haven't I read more Ursula K. Le Guin? I know that I read [b:The Tombs of Atuan|13662|The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea Cycle, #2)|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659761935l/13662._SY75_.jpg|1322146] for a a juvenile lit class, but otherwise, I can't remember reading any of her books. I decided to start with Rocannon's World, her very first novel and the beginning of the "Hainish Cycle," all set in the same future where the League of All Nations unites various humanoid civilizations from across the universe. ([b:The Left Hand of Darkness|18423|The Left Hand of Darkness|Ursula K. Le show more Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1488213612l/18423._SY75_.jpg|817527] is the most well-known book from the cycle, but I like to read series in order, even when they're not chronological.

Rocannon's World is a fascinating mixture of sci-fi and fantasy (Le Guin apparently said she was influenced by Norse mythology while writing this first novel). Gaverel Rocannon, an ethnologist, is the only scientist left alive after an attack on the planet he's been studying. As he tries to track down the group that killed his friends and co-workers, he takes an epic trip across the planet accompanied by and encountering various intelligent life forms along the way. There's a very Tolkienesque feel to this futuristic tale. Le Guin sucked me into the world in barely over 100 pages. I'm excited to read the rest of the novels in the cycle. show less

A very short, but entertaining, book. Le Guin manages to cram into 150 pages here a story that most authors would spend 500 pages telling. To accomplish this, the story is related as a tale of myth might be told: "five days later they reached the mountains" or whatever, without feeling the need to detail anything unnecessary to the main narrative. As such, the story has a vague, mythic, almost dreamlike quality that resonates in the subconscious longer than any details of the text will. Speaking of the story: you might think from the cover blurb that this will be another unoriginal "Avatar"-style "human goes native/rogue, rallies the natives to take down the technologically-superior bad guys" tale, and the first half or so seems to show more reinforce the illusion. It's not nearly so rote as that, though, and the swiftness and finality of the rather abrupt ending comes as something of a surprise. With this book, I gave Le Guin one final chance to win me over (after being underwhelmed with the Earthsea trilogy and The Left Hand of Darkness) and I was surprised to discover that she did. show less

It seemed more fantasy than science fiction and a little hard to follow in spots. The story always cleared up for me after the bumps. I liked the variety of beings with their non-technical life styles and their gallantry for the most part. This is the third book I've read in this series as I go through them in chronological order. It stands alone as did the other two. It is a short read, highly imaginative, and certainly held my attention.

This novella is LeGuin's first extended work. As in many of her subsequent novels the protagonist, Rocannon, is isolated within the cultures on his posthumously eponymous planet. However, since this is early in the history of her universe this is not a voluntary isolation, rather his ethnographic team is annihilated in an attack leaving him to fend for himself. And unlike many of her later novels, this tale is not of the difficulty of adapting to a foreign culture or cultures. Rather it is a fairly straightforward adventure as the protagonist, with Bronze Age comrades and technology, but tremendous mental gifts acquired during his journey, defeats the hi-tech enemy.

To one brought up on European myths the elements of this story are show more comfortable familiar. There are HILFs (Highly Intelligent Life Forms) who resemble Nordic heroes. They are arrogant, fight among each other, and meet their grim destinies with courage. There are elf-like HILFs and dwarf-like HILFs. There is a jewel of great price which is recovered at great cost. Great sacrifices are made for a noble goal and loyalty is one of the most prized virtues. Rocannon is nick-named "The Wanderer" like Odin. Like Odin he carries a staff and like Odin he must suffer in order to gain wisdom. The presence of interstellar concerns within this mythic cultural context is enjoyable.

As with many of LeGuin's novels the conclusion of the action and actual defeat of the enemy is tersely described.

There are some non-humanoid HILFs. Such beings do not occur in any of her other books set in this universe. The insect-like HILFs that Rocannon encounters are a surprising irony and a commentary on contemporary human society. show less

While I enjoyed the story, I found the sociological or ethnographic sections both hard to follow in audiobook format and dull. Sadly for me, the book opens with one of these sections so I started off with a bad impression...

Rocannon es un etnólogo destinado en una planeta del sistema Fomalhaut II por la Liga de Todos los Mundos. Su trabajo consiste en estudiar las diferentes formas de vida del planeta, destacando sobre todo cuatro de ellas: los Gdemiar, homínidos trogloditas nocturnos, de baja estatura; los Fiia, homínidos diurnos, también de baja estatura; los Angyar, homínidos diurnos, de gran estatura; y los Olgyor, sirvientes de los Angyar. Estos dos últimos viven en una especie de estado feudal, utilizando como monturas unos animales alados de aspecto felino. Pero todo se complica para Rocannon cuando una raza de invasores ataca a su equipo. Rocannon, junto a sus amigos nativos, deberá encontrar la manera de avisar a la capital de su mundo de show more dicha invasión.

'El mundo de Rocannon' es una novela entretenida en ciertos momentos y poco más. Es de lo primero que publicó Le Guin y se nota. La historia es irregular y a los personajes les falta profundidad. En su momento debió marcar un hito en la ciencia ficción, pero ahora se ha quedado como una mera novela de aventuras. show less