The Left Hand of DarknessThe Left Hand of Darkness
Score Classic
What it's about
Genly Ai is an envoy from the Ekumen, a league of worlds, sent alone to the icy planet Gethen to invite its people to join. The Gethenians have no fixed sex: for most of each month they are neither male nor female, and become one or the other only during a brief period of fertility. Genly struggles to understand them, and to know whether to trust Estraven, a politician who may be his only ally, as the two make a desperate journey across a glacier.
Why it's worth reading
It won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards and is one of the most important science fiction novels ever written. It changed how science fiction thought about gender.
You'll love it if you liked
Good to know
The opening chapters are slow, with a lot of invented politics. The journey across the ice is unforgettable.
By the numbers
- Readers61 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics80 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller37 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #38 of the 313 science fiction books we rank
- #128 of the 762 classics we rank
- #411 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous, Thought-provoking
More by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Dispossessed
A Wizard of Earthsea
Powers
Always Coming HomeIf you like this, read next
The Lord of the Rings
Foundation
Ficciones
Rendezvous with Rama
The Gods Themselves
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Quick answers
Is The Left Hand of Darkness worth reading?
Yes. It won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards and is one of the most important science fiction novels ever written. It ranks #411 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 79.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Left Hand of Darkness about?
Genly Ai is an envoy from the Ekumen, a league of worlds, sent alone to the icy planet Gethen to invite its people to join. The Gethenians have no fixed sex: for most of each month they are neither male nor female, and become one or the other only during a brief period of fertility. Genly struggles to understand them, and to know whether to trust Estraven, a politician who may be his only ally, as the two make a desperate journey across a glacier.
How long does it take to read The Left Hand of Darkness?
About 8 hours (304 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Left Hand of Darkness won?
Hugo Award winner (1970); Nebula Award winner (1969).
What should I read after The Left Hand of Darkness?
If you liked it, try The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin or Dune by Frank Herbert.