Le Guin's first novel is not great. However, it already displays some of the maturity one comes to expect from her work. In its blend of science fiction and fantasy elements it intriguingly introduces the world of the Hainish Cycle while exploring time dilation and the impact of technology and intra-galactic conflict on a backwards planet settled by humanoids with feudal and "primitive" socioeconomic structures. Truly the child of an anthropologist, Le Guin uses an ethnologist for the protagonist of the novel. Along the way in his journey to end attacks on the planet by an aggressive member race of the League, Rocannon learns more about the understudied aboriginal populations of the island. What particularly stood out for this blog was the prologue, "Semley's Necklace," for an evocative short story about one native woman's encounter with advanced alien technology and the time dilation from her trip to another planet and back. Le Guin convincingly captured the wonder of advanced technology to someone from a "feudal" or fantasy-inspired setting, while also exploring the ethical dilemmas of maintaining galactic peace. Definitely a worthy read for a more intelligent example of 1960s anthropological science fiction.
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