It's a Hugo winner. It's in a collection of winners I have, edited by Asimov.

I've haven't taken any notice of Hugo or Nebula for a long time, ever since I realized how many of the winning novels were rubbish. For example, Larry F. Niven and L. Ron F. Hubbard (the "F" is my own addition) have won the Hugo, Niven many times.

Forgive my snobbery, Frankie. I'm glad Le Guin got recognition for it.

L. Ron Hubbard didn't win a Hugo. In my collection, Asimov talks about the convention where his followers showed up demanding that he win. There was this weird tone in Asimov's writing when he talked about it.

L. Ron Hubbard didn't win a Hugo — frank

Ah, maybe I was looking at nominations.

I like some Asimov quite a bit.

Sounds fun. — Jamal

I’ll put it on my list. Give us your thoughts when you’re done.

Aye aye, sir.

Explosion in a Cathedral (also translated as The Age of Enlightenment) by Alejo Carpentier.

Russian Gothic by Aleksandr Skorobogatov — Jamal

(Original title, Sergeant Bertrand)

Excellent story. Written in 1991 but takes on new meaning now, although it also has the feel of the classics, especially Gogol.

The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin.

I’ll put it on my list. Give us your thoughts when you’re done. — T Clark

It's a little more solemn and preachy than I would normally go for but she's such a great writer she won me round. Definitely recommended. It really packs a punch; lesser authors like the more recent space opera guys take 3 or 5 hundred pages to do a lot less than she does in just over 100.

It's not simply an anti-imperialist allegory for America's actions in Indochina, although it partly is that. It's also classic, masterful science fiction, and more subtle and complex than it seems at first.

The Eye of the Heron is another short, preachy one. I'm not sure how she gets away with it, but I think part of it is that she's so smart, you trust her and want to listen. We're used to preaching from people who shouldn't — so there's a sort of double offense — but I just don't seem to mind being preached to by her, which is an odd experience.

I just don't seem to mind being preached to by her, which is an odd experience — Srap Tasmaner

Exactly.

The Eye of the Heron — Srap Tasmaner

Added to the list.

Definitely recommended. — Jamal

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism - Gershom Scholem
Culture and Value - Wittgenstein
Faith in a Hard Ground - Anscombe

The Ontology of Social Being, Volume 3: Labour
by György Lukács

Friedrich Schiller - Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man

Reread. I think Schiller's ideas are very relevant. I see him in a constellation with Adorno, Luhmann, Deleuze, Berardi, and Stiegler. If you're interested in the philosophy of art, in particular, I highly recommend it (though the implications are much wider than the field of art).

The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin.

I’ll put it on my list. Give us your thoughts when you’re done.
— T Clark

It's a little more solemn and preachy than I would normally go for but she's such a great writer she won me round. Definitely recommended. It really packs a punch; lesser authors like the more recent space opera guys take 3 or 5 hundred pages to do a lot less than she does in just over 100.

It's not simply an anti-imperialist allegory for America's actions in Indochina, although it partly is that. It's also classic, masterful science fiction, and more subtle and complex than it seems at first. — Jamal

Just read it. Seems like the original Avatar story, only the aliens were small and green rather than big and blue.

Just read it. Seems like the original Avatar story, only the aliens were small and green rather than big and blue. — praxis

Ewoks, ewoks, ewoks.

I'm toying with the idea that the crucial moment of the book is when Colonel Dongh goes to speak with Selver, which comes after many pages in which we've been in the forests with the Athsheans:

"Now the first thing is," he said when they were all settled, the yumens standing, Selver's people squatting or sitting on the damp, soft oak-leafmold, "the first thing is that I want first to have a working definition of just precisely what these terms of yours mean and what they mean in terms of guaranteed safety of my personnel under my command here."

There was a silence.

"You understand English, don't you, some of you?"

"Yes. I don't understand your question, Mr. Dongh."

When I read this, I found the sudden intrusion of clunky, bureaucratic language extremely jarring. Language as instrumental, striving for control, as opposed to the Athshean language that includes touch, and of course dreams. Dongh's language is part of the apparatus of domination. (But now I'm ripping off the review I just wrote on my website).

Dongh's language is part of the apparatus of domination. (But now I'm ripping off the review I just wrote on my website). — Jamal

Link?

Yes, that was interesting. How the Athsheans dreamt was also interesting and I wish that was a little more developed.

Link? — praxis

In my profile.

How the Athsheans dreamt was also interesting and I wish that was a little more developed. — praxis

Yeah but for a novella of just over 100 pages, it's pretty well developed.

Nice review.

One odd thing I liked about the book is how it started with Captain Davidson's point of view. At the end of that part I was like, am I supposed to like this guy? And then later, feeling a little dirty that on some level and to some extent I was on Davidson's side. We Americans are easy to trick that way.

Yeah, now you mention it I see how cool that is. The point of view goes from Davidson to Lubyov and then to Selver.