Helpful Score: 3
Of at least a dozen Ursala Le Guin books I have read, this is the only one I would not unequivocally endorse. In this one, ALL the characters are undeveloped and one-dimensional. A new planet has been populated by a prison colony of total rejects from earth. One group, formerly thieves, killers, rapists, has established control. They live in the small town they call The City. The other, slightly smaller colony lives on the outskirts of town and functions as slave labor for the other group. Their part of the colony is called Shanty-town, and they are pacifists, to a degree that might have alarmed Ghandi. Of course, things don't turn out well for the pacifists, but Le Guin puts a sort of spin on things that is obviously designed to show how they nobly achieved their goals. All in all, it is hard for me to see how Ursala Le Guin, who can be so subtle, could be so ham-handed as she is in this book.
