LeGuinCon 2: Rediscovering the Hainish Cycle
Often, when we talk about the Hainish Cycle or the Ekumenical books, we think of two specific novels by Ursula K. Le Guin: The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. The Word for World is Forest might even get a mention. But this cycle is actually made up of six books. So, why aren’t City of Illusions, Rocannon’s World or Planet Exile talked about as much? Are they inferior within her bibliography, and if so, is this down to their quality? Is this in comparison to her other works? If the books had been written by any other author (a man, for example), would we be saying the same thing? What are these books like in comparison to others from the same time? There’s a lot to debate at this round table featuring Le Guin experts Míriam Cano, Iris Llop and Javi Férnandez Mata, led in this LeGuinCon closing event by convention organiser Cristina Xifra.
