I've read this book based on a recommendation in "Happier" by Tal Ben-Shahar, who calls it the most important book on self-esteem and especially praises it for Branden's method of 'sentence completion' as being one of the most helpful techniques for generating insights. Both of those are true. The book is very well written, full of practical advice and interspersed with Branden's personal experience from his own life.
Branden is quite famous for another thing: he was a long-time lover of the writer/philosopher Ayn Rand (born Alisa Zinovyeva in Petrograd, Russia), while they both were married to other people, and was, for a long period of time, second in command in the Objectivist movement that Rand started. Branden has written plenty on Objectivism, though he eventually left the movement, disillusioned with Rand and the personality cult around her. Rand subsequently excommunicated him from any Objectivist organization.
Branden then concentrated on psychotherapy and formulated his theory of Self-Esteem, which was the first time that term was used. He makes a great point that anyone's self-esteem can be raised, and we are not doomed with what we have been assigned at birth, or by the play of the circumstances. Another great point Branden raises is that self-esteem is not being omnipotent, or omniscient, or always being ready or have the right answer for anything, but a different level of feeling, on a much deeper level, that whatever comes along, we'll be able to handle it, regardless of the fact that at that moment we might have no idea how to do it. He also argues that one cannot have too much self-esteem, as arrogance is erroneously perceived as such, while arrogance, in fact, is a trade mark of too little self-esteem, not too much.
Branden further dedicates the main part of the book expounding what the six pillars or principles, of self-esteem:
1. Live Consciously
Being aware of each action that you do and it's consequences. Avoiding 'robotic' or 'sleepwalking behavior'. Not disowning or denying parts of you that you don't like.
2. Accept Yourself
Branden makes a point of saying unless we accept ourselves exactly the way we are, with all the flaws and imperfections, and even plain malice, there is no way to improve ourselves. Full and unconditional self-acceptance is the first step to improving ourselves.
3. Take Responsibility for Your Experiences
Do no deny part of you just because you don't like it. Do not deny your actions, or try to make someone else 'wrong' or 'guilty' just because it doesn't turn out the way you wanted it.
4. Assert Who You Are
Assertiveness is not aggressiveness. Assertiveness is being firmly grounded in who you are and not letting anyone remove you from that position. Not with aggressiveness or attack, but with refusal to budge, politely but firmly.
5. Live Purposefully
Do not settle because you are afraid to fail. Have a goal that inspires you, something bigger than yourself, something you can work your entire life on and still wonder if you will reach it.
6. Maintain Your Integrity
Be honest with yourself and others. It is very tempting to say a lie here and another there, since it seems like they don't hurt anyone. They do hurt you, your self-esteem knows about all of them. Being a person of integrity is much more fulfilling at the end.
The last two parts of the book are more like two essays, on self-esteem in parenting children, and self-esteem nurturing in managing companies. The first part is almost a standard now among modern families and teachers. The second part is not adopted as widely as it should be. There are still managers out there who pride themselves on their 'aggressive' techniques, which are just a front for them being completely incompetent and insecure, and are damaging the self-esteem and the well-being of the employees and the company in general with their mismanagement.
At the end of each chapter there are plenty of 'sentence completion' exercises which can fill up a better part of a year. This book is a basic manual on how the self-esteem mechanism within us works. It should be a required reading for every Homo Sapiens Sapiens.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
"Killer in the Rain and other stories" by Raymond Chandler
This book is a collection of four stories: Killer in the Rain, Fingerman, Goldfish and The Curtain. All of these stories were initially published in pulp fiction magazines, and later cannibalized to produce Chandler's first novels. 'Killer in the rain' is half 'The Big Sleep', 'Fingerman' being the other half. If you ever wondered why some elements seem to appear in 'The Big Sleep' once and then are never mentioned again, the short stories give the answer, as they are logical and all elements are well connected.
The plots in the stories are much tighter than in the novels where Chandler indulges in some of his favorite elements (like the hard-boiled dialogs, which I personally love). The detective in the first two stories is unnamed, and in the last two is Carmady, his original detective before inventing the unsurpassed Philip Marlowe.
This collection was published posthumously as Chandler did not allow these stories to be republished during his lifetime. Apparently the original book version has 8 stories in it, out of which the first, second and fourth Chandler's novels were written, but the audiobook version I read had only 4 stories on it.
The style is great and enjoyed reading these stories, however the best introduction to Chandler is reading 'The Big Sleep' and 'Murder, my sweet', and I would recommend those two novels to readers unacquainted with Chandler's work in order to really experience the shock, force and purity of his hard-boiled style.
The plots in the stories are much tighter than in the novels where Chandler indulges in some of his favorite elements (like the hard-boiled dialogs, which I personally love). The detective in the first two stories is unnamed, and in the last two is Carmady, his original detective before inventing the unsurpassed Philip Marlowe.
This collection was published posthumously as Chandler did not allow these stories to be republished during his lifetime. Apparently the original book version has 8 stories in it, out of which the first, second and fourth Chandler's novels were written, but the audiobook version I read had only 4 stories on it.
The style is great and enjoyed reading these stories, however the best introduction to Chandler is reading 'The Big Sleep' and 'Murder, my sweet', and I would recommend those two novels to readers unacquainted with Chandler's work in order to really experience the shock, force and purity of his hard-boiled style.
Monday, December 15, 2008
"The word for the World is Forest" by Ursula Le Guin
The next book in the Hainish cycle happens chronologically after 'The Dispossessed' and before all other books. The League of All Worlds has just been formed and the ansible is just starting to get produced. Earth has its own set of colonies where they are pretty heavy handed in exploitation of resources and subjugating or destroying the native races. The same thing happens on New Tahiti, and ocean planet, with mild weather and large islands completely covered in thick forests, something that is worth more than gold to the Terrans as Earth seems to have been completely stripped of any trees or other major vegetation. The Terrans show next to no respect for the natives on New Tahiti, which are 1m tall, covered in green fur and with big black eyes. The emissaries from Hain and Tau Ceti make it very clear that the natives come from the same Hainish stock as any other race in the known universe, and for some reason have evolved further from the base than most of other races on planets seeded by the ancient Hainish. This does not prevent the Terrans from treating them like animals, using them as slave labor, torturing them, killing them for sport, and raping their women which ends in their death. Davison, who is one of the terran officers on New Tahiti is especially brutal and unscurpulous, calling the natives 'Creechees' and propagating 'tough hand' approach for them. He is the stereotypical animal-like soldier that does not want or cannot understand anything beyond brute force, animal pleasure and power play, and reproduction instincts. Le Guin overdid his character somewhat as he is so one-sided, he seems like a caricature, and not a real person.
There is the leader of the colony, the Colonel, who is not as bad as Davison, but overlooks most of his misbehaving in the name of providing the maximum amount of exports to Earth. Here is Raj Lyubov as well, apparently a Russian-Indian (all the races have merged in the Earth's future, and everyone is of brownish color, whites have dissapeared) who is the HILFer, researchign the local people, learns their language and customs and discovers that they are very advanced race in terms of social order with top role of 'Lucid Dreaming' where some trained individuals can dream at will, merging the Dream World and the Real World, both of which have the same reality for the locals.
After some heinous atrocities, mostly lead by Davison, the natives rebel, and although murder and war was unknown to them before, they adopt these concepts from the Terran colonist and use them against them, destroying several camps until all of the human colonies are reduced to rubble and the remaining humans (no females were spared as for the Terrans not to reproduce) are gathered in one place waiting for the ship to come pick them up. When the League learns of all the atrocities committed, proclaims New Tahiti a quarantine zone and forbids any colonization or exploitation of the planet. The ship comes and picks up the remaining humans and the Hainish envoy asks the leader of the local rebellion would they forget the concepts of war and murder after every non-local has left the planet. Sam, as he is called by Terrans when he was their slave, says that they will try to go back to live as they did before the Terrans arrived, but they will never forget murder and war, and it might reoccur.
Le Guin shows her anthropological background in this story, and draws inspiration on many native cultures on our own planet that were destroyed when more advanced civilization, which considers the natives savages and their culture primitive and unworthy, have moved in to exploit resources and bring 'civilization' to the locals. Because of self-righteous individuals who take upon themselves to judge the value of other people and civilization by their own rules and ignorance, unmeasurable harm has been brought upon weaker natives through countless centuries. It is a valuable lesson shown in the book, but it becomes too didactic at times and the character are too cartoonish, so from story-telling perspective is not as enjoyable as some of her other books.
There is the leader of the colony, the Colonel, who is not as bad as Davison, but overlooks most of his misbehaving in the name of providing the maximum amount of exports to Earth. Here is Raj Lyubov as well, apparently a Russian-Indian (all the races have merged in the Earth's future, and everyone is of brownish color, whites have dissapeared) who is the HILFer, researchign the local people, learns their language and customs and discovers that they are very advanced race in terms of social order with top role of 'Lucid Dreaming' where some trained individuals can dream at will, merging the Dream World and the Real World, both of which have the same reality for the locals.
After some heinous atrocities, mostly lead by Davison, the natives rebel, and although murder and war was unknown to them before, they adopt these concepts from the Terran colonist and use them against them, destroying several camps until all of the human colonies are reduced to rubble and the remaining humans (no females were spared as for the Terrans not to reproduce) are gathered in one place waiting for the ship to come pick them up. When the League learns of all the atrocities committed, proclaims New Tahiti a quarantine zone and forbids any colonization or exploitation of the planet. The ship comes and picks up the remaining humans and the Hainish envoy asks the leader of the local rebellion would they forget the concepts of war and murder after every non-local has left the planet. Sam, as he is called by Terrans when he was their slave, says that they will try to go back to live as they did before the Terrans arrived, but they will never forget murder and war, and it might reoccur.
Le Guin shows her anthropological background in this story, and draws inspiration on many native cultures on our own planet that were destroyed when more advanced civilization, which considers the natives savages and their culture primitive and unworthy, have moved in to exploit resources and bring 'civilization' to the locals. Because of self-righteous individuals who take upon themselves to judge the value of other people and civilization by their own rules and ignorance, unmeasurable harm has been brought upon weaker natives through countless centuries. It is a valuable lesson shown in the book, but it becomes too didactic at times and the character are too cartoonish, so from story-telling perspective is not as enjoyable as some of her other books.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
"The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula Le Guin
This is chronologically the fourth book in the Hainish cycle and happens after the Shing are defeated (somehow) and the Ekumen of 83 worlds is formed. The book details the adventures, problems and successes of Genry Ai, a 'mobile' of the Ekumen, and an envoy to Gethen, to try persuade the governments to join the Ekumen. The gethenians are hermaphrodites which are sexually inactive for most of the lunar month, while only being activated for a few days each month, which period they call Kemmer, and when through hormonal negotiations of willing partners, one becomes female while the other male. Every person on Gethen has a womb and menstrual cycle, is able to both father children and bear them to birth.
Genly is amazed by the social consequences of not having sexes. One is that war is virtually unknown, which Genly thinks is because war comes out of male sexual frustration. Genly is black male from earth, as in the future the white race has disappeared, and the black and yellow races have merged into a brown-black one. He is considered a 'pervert' on Gethen because they cannot understand how can one be sexually capable all the time and still be normal. The Gethenians consider all the other planets and races perverts and don't want much to do with them, if they believe they exist at all. The situation is further complicated by the two main nations on Gethen, Karhaid and Orgoreyn, one being a kingdom and the other a communist-like oligarchy, are bitter enemies and both want the other to take the risk first to make contact with the alien federation. Both countries are on a technological level of approximately late 20 century Earth, but have arrived to that level not through industrial revolution, but through a very slow evolutionary path, as nobody hurries for anything on Gethen.
Genly becomes persona non grata after his main friend Estrevan, the prime minister of Karhaid, is exiled because of political power play, and goes to Orgoreyn, where at first he's accepted with great honors, just to be thrown in a labor camp in the north to die of exhaustion afterward. Estrevan, who escaped to Orgoreyn too, helps him escape and they hike over the huge northern glacier area to go back to Karhaid and form a very strong personal bond. Estrevan is killed when they arrive in Karhaid, but Genly is received by the king and Karhaid enters the Ekumen, which was the goal of Genly's mission.
The book is obviously feminist fiction and tries very hard to dissect the different ways women are subjugated in our own society, by exploring the different traits that Gethenians developed. This detracts from the enjoyment of the book, since at times seems too didactic, but provides for the very in-depth analysis of the Gethenian society and interpersonal relationships, and artifacts like 'shiftgrethor' which can be translated as personal prestige or personal shadow. The possibility and meaningfullnes of divination is also explored in the religion of karhaid and their rituals. Love between sexes, whether same, different or non-existent, is explored at depth and the reader is gently introduced to the concept that sexes are irrelevant for love, but only the human beings matter.
One very annoying and very unrealistic thing on which Le Guin obstinately insists, is that the Ekumen, or any very advanced civilization, will send its envoy(s) alone and completely unprotected, on the mercy of the primitive and sometimes very different occupants of the new planet. This is obviously an inheritance from Le Guin's father who was an antropoligist and vocal for protection of the less-developed peoples around the world whose societies are destroyed when the white men (usually) came and introduced their own society and technology. This she calls 'cultural embargo', however it is preposterous to think any self-respecting star-spanning culture would throw some of its own people (highly trained and intelligent) into the jaws of the lions with no protection, to be imprisoned, tortured, even murdered. That would be extremely unethical for the star society itself towards its own people (i.e. it would require some kind of benevolent kamikaze indoctrination), and although the natives definitely should be protected and introduced gradually to the new society, the first envoys will always be sent with enough power and protection to absolutely guarantee their life and well being - at the minimum.
On the whole, extremely well written book, emotional, intelligent and interesting read.
Genly is amazed by the social consequences of not having sexes. One is that war is virtually unknown, which Genly thinks is because war comes out of male sexual frustration. Genly is black male from earth, as in the future the white race has disappeared, and the black and yellow races have merged into a brown-black one. He is considered a 'pervert' on Gethen because they cannot understand how can one be sexually capable all the time and still be normal. The Gethenians consider all the other planets and races perverts and don't want much to do with them, if they believe they exist at all. The situation is further complicated by the two main nations on Gethen, Karhaid and Orgoreyn, one being a kingdom and the other a communist-like oligarchy, are bitter enemies and both want the other to take the risk first to make contact with the alien federation. Both countries are on a technological level of approximately late 20 century Earth, but have arrived to that level not through industrial revolution, but through a very slow evolutionary path, as nobody hurries for anything on Gethen.
Genly becomes persona non grata after his main friend Estrevan, the prime minister of Karhaid, is exiled because of political power play, and goes to Orgoreyn, where at first he's accepted with great honors, just to be thrown in a labor camp in the north to die of exhaustion afterward. Estrevan, who escaped to Orgoreyn too, helps him escape and they hike over the huge northern glacier area to go back to Karhaid and form a very strong personal bond. Estrevan is killed when they arrive in Karhaid, but Genly is received by the king and Karhaid enters the Ekumen, which was the goal of Genly's mission.
The book is obviously feminist fiction and tries very hard to dissect the different ways women are subjugated in our own society, by exploring the different traits that Gethenians developed. This detracts from the enjoyment of the book, since at times seems too didactic, but provides for the very in-depth analysis of the Gethenian society and interpersonal relationships, and artifacts like 'shiftgrethor' which can be translated as personal prestige or personal shadow. The possibility and meaningfullnes of divination is also explored in the religion of karhaid and their rituals. Love between sexes, whether same, different or non-existent, is explored at depth and the reader is gently introduced to the concept that sexes are irrelevant for love, but only the human beings matter.
One very annoying and very unrealistic thing on which Le Guin obstinately insists, is that the Ekumen, or any very advanced civilization, will send its envoy(s) alone and completely unprotected, on the mercy of the primitive and sometimes very different occupants of the new planet. This is obviously an inheritance from Le Guin's father who was an antropoligist and vocal for protection of the less-developed peoples around the world whose societies are destroyed when the white men (usually) came and introduced their own society and technology. This she calls 'cultural embargo', however it is preposterous to think any self-respecting star-spanning culture would throw some of its own people (highly trained and intelligent) into the jaws of the lions with no protection, to be imprisoned, tortured, even murdered. That would be extremely unethical for the star society itself towards its own people (i.e. it would require some kind of benevolent kamikaze indoctrination), and although the natives definitely should be protected and introduced gradually to the new society, the first envoys will always be sent with enough power and protection to absolutely guarantee their life and well being - at the minimum.
On the whole, extremely well written book, emotional, intelligent and interesting read.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
"CIty of Illusions" by Ursula K. Le Guin
The third book in the Hainish cycle, and maybe the most ambitious one, many more characters, plots, subplots and even more unanswered questions left at the end. The book is very short, 160 pages, but intense. I wish she would write a part II to it.
The book starts when a naked human is found in the primordial forest of eastern united states in a very bleak future. The League of All Worlds is destroyed and the Earth ruled and the humans kept in perpetual savagery by the "Shing", an alien race from the depths of the Galaxy, far beyond the limits of the League. They have the ability to lie in MindSpeach, i.e. to mindlie, which is considered absolutely impossible by all the people of the League, which leads to their downfall as the Shing infiltrate them (they look similar to humans) and destroy them.
Falk (yellow), as the naked man is called by the forest people, has no memory of who he is or where he comes from (he's in his 20s) and the people living in the forest, in 'Houses' or individual settlements of about 5-50 people, take him in and teach him to speak Galaktika, and about the Earth and the Shing. Falk looks exactly like human except for his yellow eyes with huge black pupils and no iris. After 5 years the master of the house sends Falk to find his destiny as he hopes that Falk is emissary from another planet which can help the Earth humans free themselves from the Shing.
Falk travels west by foot, to find the city of Es-Toch, which is the only city remaining on earth, ruled by the Shing, and which is built on the edges of the Grand Canyon and across it. He goes through many misfortunes. Angry, scared people are everywhere and everybody is afraid of the Shing. Some have kept much of the technology of the League, while others have fallen into utter savagery like the Prarie nation of Basnasska, while others live in imaginary constructs like the King of Kansas. Falk is helped by a woman, Estrelle, who claims to be a wonderer, and leads him to Es-Toch. However once there she betrays him to the Shing.
The Shing want to give Falk his previous personality, which they themselves mind-razed together with all the crew of the Alterra space ship, because they want to know they coordinates of Alterra, either to destroy it or to persuade the Alterrans that they Shing are humans, who invented the story of the Enemy to unite the different humans who were engaged in interstellar civil war when the League was corrupted. This is the story they tell to Falk and tell him that the price of restoring his previous personality, Prince Ramarren, is that his current personality must be destroyed.
Falk mistrusts them, and senses they are lying, but goes through with it. Unbeknown to the Shing he keeps both personalities and eventually unites them. As Ramarren he has superior mental powers and can tell when the Shing are mindlying, which is probably why the Shing mindrazed all the crew on Alterra. The Alterrans have developed and perfected the techniques of mindguarding much above the League or even the Shing. Falk-Ramarren pretends everything is ok until at a good moment puts one of the three Shing on earth under mind-control and goes to the space ship prepared for his and Orri's travel (though he knows he is to be killed as soon as he gives the coordinates, and only Orri is to return to Altera with the story the Shing implanted in him).
On the ship his suspicions are confirmed. The controls and mathematics on the ship is not Cetian, which is the common math for all League worlds, but thoroughly alien. He finally succeeds and the ship takes off for Alterra, with him, Orri and the Shing Ken inside. Here the book ends abruptly and leaves you yearning for more, however Le Guin never explains what happened, and the Shing are never explained again in any further book beyond what is already mentioned in the 'City of Illusions'. Very unnerving! In the next book 'The left hand of Darkness' the 'Age of the Enemy' is 600 years behind, and the main character remembers it as a dark and cruel age, but no explanation is given as to how it ended, how were the Shing defeated and who or what the Shing were in the first place.
The book is very dynamic, becoming even more so towards the end and reads like thriller or adventure novel. Le Guin's theme of high technology being of not much help and very easy to lose or forget is present everywhere. Many of the humans remaining on earth have either digressed to savagery or intentionally limit the use of high technology to minimum. Savages with spears and axes regularly beat up and capture Falk though he has laser gun with him. The Shing make extensive use of high technology but it brings them no happiness or safety, they are constantly afraid of being exposed, overthrown or killed, which is their largest fear, from which they instituted their only law that life must not be destroyed. That's why they mindraze their enemies instead of killing them and leave them to die in the wilderness, and also eat only vegetarian food, well masked with complex spices.
The book starts when a naked human is found in the primordial forest of eastern united states in a very bleak future. The League of All Worlds is destroyed and the Earth ruled and the humans kept in perpetual savagery by the "Shing", an alien race from the depths of the Galaxy, far beyond the limits of the League. They have the ability to lie in MindSpeach, i.e. to mindlie, which is considered absolutely impossible by all the people of the League, which leads to their downfall as the Shing infiltrate them (they look similar to humans) and destroy them.
Falk (yellow), as the naked man is called by the forest people, has no memory of who he is or where he comes from (he's in his 20s) and the people living in the forest, in 'Houses' or individual settlements of about 5-50 people, take him in and teach him to speak Galaktika, and about the Earth and the Shing. Falk looks exactly like human except for his yellow eyes with huge black pupils and no iris. After 5 years the master of the house sends Falk to find his destiny as he hopes that Falk is emissary from another planet which can help the Earth humans free themselves from the Shing.
Falk travels west by foot, to find the city of Es-Toch, which is the only city remaining on earth, ruled by the Shing, and which is built on the edges of the Grand Canyon and across it. He goes through many misfortunes. Angry, scared people are everywhere and everybody is afraid of the Shing. Some have kept much of the technology of the League, while others have fallen into utter savagery like the Prarie nation of Basnasska, while others live in imaginary constructs like the King of Kansas. Falk is helped by a woman, Estrelle, who claims to be a wonderer, and leads him to Es-Toch. However once there she betrays him to the Shing.
The Shing want to give Falk his previous personality, which they themselves mind-razed together with all the crew of the Alterra space ship, because they want to know they coordinates of Alterra, either to destroy it or to persuade the Alterrans that they Shing are humans, who invented the story of the Enemy to unite the different humans who were engaged in interstellar civil war when the League was corrupted. This is the story they tell to Falk and tell him that the price of restoring his previous personality, Prince Ramarren, is that his current personality must be destroyed.
Falk mistrusts them, and senses they are lying, but goes through with it. Unbeknown to the Shing he keeps both personalities and eventually unites them. As Ramarren he has superior mental powers and can tell when the Shing are mindlying, which is probably why the Shing mindrazed all the crew on Alterra. The Alterrans have developed and perfected the techniques of mindguarding much above the League or even the Shing. Falk-Ramarren pretends everything is ok until at a good moment puts one of the three Shing on earth under mind-control and goes to the space ship prepared for his and Orri's travel (though he knows he is to be killed as soon as he gives the coordinates, and only Orri is to return to Altera with the story the Shing implanted in him).
On the ship his suspicions are confirmed. The controls and mathematics on the ship is not Cetian, which is the common math for all League worlds, but thoroughly alien. He finally succeeds and the ship takes off for Alterra, with him, Orri and the Shing Ken inside. Here the book ends abruptly and leaves you yearning for more, however Le Guin never explains what happened, and the Shing are never explained again in any further book beyond what is already mentioned in the 'City of Illusions'. Very unnerving! In the next book 'The left hand of Darkness' the 'Age of the Enemy' is 600 years behind, and the main character remembers it as a dark and cruel age, but no explanation is given as to how it ended, how were the Shing defeated and who or what the Shing were in the first place.
The book is very dynamic, becoming even more so towards the end and reads like thriller or adventure novel. Le Guin's theme of high technology being of not much help and very easy to lose or forget is present everywhere. Many of the humans remaining on earth have either digressed to savagery or intentionally limit the use of high technology to minimum. Savages with spears and axes regularly beat up and capture Falk though he has laser gun with him. The Shing make extensive use of high technology but it brings them no happiness or safety, they are constantly afraid of being exposed, overthrown or killed, which is their largest fear, from which they instituted their only law that life must not be destroyed. That's why they mindraze their enemies instead of killing them and leave them to die in the wilderness, and also eat only vegetarian food, well masked with complex spices.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
"Rocannon's World" by Ursula Le Guin
This is the second book in the 'Hainish Cycle' (or the first, as some people consider the 'Planet of Exile' the second one), and follows the later life (and eventual death) of Rocannon, an ethnologist for the League of All Worlds, originally from the planet Hain, of Hainish mother and Terran step-father, but stationed on the planet of New South Georgia before his departure for Fomehault 2, the unnamed planet that will eventually bear his name.
The story begins with a prologue "The Necklace" which is a short story previously published in 'Astounding Stories' and on top of which the entire novel is developed. The prologue tells us about the trip of Semley, a noble woman of the Angyar race from Fomehault 2, to recover a necklace that is kept at the ethnological museum on New South Georgia, where Rocannon works. She gets the necklace, but incurs 'time debt' on her way back (on a starship lent to the Gdemiyar, a race of underground, gnome-like beings with advanced technology, by the League) and her husband is dead and her daughter grown up, which drives her to madness.
Rocannon arrives at Fomehault 2 many years later, Semley's daughter is an old woman now, and ethnological expedition comes with him to explore the varied races of the planet, which was placed in 'exploration embargo' until then by Rocannon himself. However another race from the planet Farradey, who got technology from teh League to help in the fight of an extra-galactic enemy, but instead chose to use the weapons to conquer and subdue League worlds, are using Fomehault 2 for their secret launch base on other worlds, and kill many locals to keep them in fear, also including destroying Rocannon's ship and all his colleagues.
Rocannon is angry and makes it his sole purpose to find the Faradeyan base and send message to the league by 'ansible' and instant-communication device, despite of distance, so that the Faradeyans can be destroyed. On the way he is joined by an Angyar, grandson of Semley, a feya Kia, feya being little, happy fairy-like creatures, and several 'midmen' looking mostly like Terrans (the Angyar being 8 feet tall), riding on 'windsteeds' a kind of flying, carnivorous lions or griffins.
They meet many obstacles on the way, and the novel goes mostly in heroic, a la 'Lord Of the Rings', fashion for most of its length, and many of the members of the 'fellowship' die in the process. Finally Rocannon alone, after getting the gift of 'mindspeaking and mindlistening' gets to the Faradeyan base and sends the message. The base is evaporated few hours later, and Rocannon goes back to the Angyar settlement on the south continent where he dies in 8 years, just short of the 9 years needed for the League ship to arrive from the nearest League world. They call the planet Rocannon's world, or Rokanan, in his honor.
It is a beautifully written book, more in the Tolkien fashion, with heroes, and swords, and beasts, and many races, gnomes, fairies, 'tall' humans and ordinary humans and appeals to the same emotions as Tolkien's books, except for the first and last 10 pages, which is more science-fiction like. One very important thing to note is that Le Guin is much more interested in the sociological and anthropological aspects of the 'aliens' on the planet, than in their technology or science, which puts most of Le Guin's books in the genre of 'soft' science fiction. Another very important theme, both in this book and in 'Planet of Exile' is Le Guin's presentation and emphasis that advanced technology and science is futile when the people are disconnected from the advanced society, and left to themselves they quickly digress into a lower society. An example of this are the Farborn in 'Planet of Exile' who, although from a society that developed inter-stellar travel technology level, are brought down to pre-historic civilization level because they don't have the means to maintain their technology, they forgot their uses, and because of the 'cargo laws' which restricted the use of many technologies.
In Rocannon's world, after his ship is destroyed, and especially after the almost-drowning in the great channel, Rocannon is left only with his impervasuit, and for the rest he's pretty much lowered to a level of a bronze-age hero, with the means only available from the bronze-age period, until almost the very end of the book. Thus, Le Guin, insists and constantly emphasizes, that there is no permanent safety in high technology, and no reason to feel secure, important or even 'above' races with lower technology, as the technological advantage can be lost very quickly and permanently, and then a being is left only to its initial devices and whatever strengths of body and mind alone it possesses. This is very well depicted in the helpless rage of the Farborn in 'Planet of Exile' against the 'primitive' HILFs, a rage that is futile, as the Farborn are already degenerating into the same civilization level and find themselves much less adapted physically and mentally to such life, thus becoming and considered inferior and 'weaklings' by the HILFs who are still at hunter-gatherer level of civilization.
The story begins with a prologue "The Necklace" which is a short story previously published in 'Astounding Stories' and on top of which the entire novel is developed. The prologue tells us about the trip of Semley, a noble woman of the Angyar race from Fomehault 2, to recover a necklace that is kept at the ethnological museum on New South Georgia, where Rocannon works. She gets the necklace, but incurs 'time debt' on her way back (on a starship lent to the Gdemiyar, a race of underground, gnome-like beings with advanced technology, by the League) and her husband is dead and her daughter grown up, which drives her to madness.
Rocannon arrives at Fomehault 2 many years later, Semley's daughter is an old woman now, and ethnological expedition comes with him to explore the varied races of the planet, which was placed in 'exploration embargo' until then by Rocannon himself. However another race from the planet Farradey, who got technology from teh League to help in the fight of an extra-galactic enemy, but instead chose to use the weapons to conquer and subdue League worlds, are using Fomehault 2 for their secret launch base on other worlds, and kill many locals to keep them in fear, also including destroying Rocannon's ship and all his colleagues.
Rocannon is angry and makes it his sole purpose to find the Faradeyan base and send message to the league by 'ansible' and instant-communication device, despite of distance, so that the Faradeyans can be destroyed. On the way he is joined by an Angyar, grandson of Semley, a feya Kia, feya being little, happy fairy-like creatures, and several 'midmen' looking mostly like Terrans (the Angyar being 8 feet tall), riding on 'windsteeds' a kind of flying, carnivorous lions or griffins.
They meet many obstacles on the way, and the novel goes mostly in heroic, a la 'Lord Of the Rings', fashion for most of its length, and many of the members of the 'fellowship' die in the process. Finally Rocannon alone, after getting the gift of 'mindspeaking and mindlistening' gets to the Faradeyan base and sends the message. The base is evaporated few hours later, and Rocannon goes back to the Angyar settlement on the south continent where he dies in 8 years, just short of the 9 years needed for the League ship to arrive from the nearest League world. They call the planet Rocannon's world, or Rokanan, in his honor.
It is a beautifully written book, more in the Tolkien fashion, with heroes, and swords, and beasts, and many races, gnomes, fairies, 'tall' humans and ordinary humans and appeals to the same emotions as Tolkien's books, except for the first and last 10 pages, which is more science-fiction like. One very important thing to note is that Le Guin is much more interested in the sociological and anthropological aspects of the 'aliens' on the planet, than in their technology or science, which puts most of Le Guin's books in the genre of 'soft' science fiction. Another very important theme, both in this book and in 'Planet of Exile' is Le Guin's presentation and emphasis that advanced technology and science is futile when the people are disconnected from the advanced society, and left to themselves they quickly digress into a lower society. An example of this are the Farborn in 'Planet of Exile' who, although from a society that developed inter-stellar travel technology level, are brought down to pre-historic civilization level because they don't have the means to maintain their technology, they forgot their uses, and because of the 'cargo laws' which restricted the use of many technologies.
In Rocannon's world, after his ship is destroyed, and especially after the almost-drowning in the great channel, Rocannon is left only with his impervasuit, and for the rest he's pretty much lowered to a level of a bronze-age hero, with the means only available from the bronze-age period, until almost the very end of the book. Thus, Le Guin, insists and constantly emphasizes, that there is no permanent safety in high technology, and no reason to feel secure, important or even 'above' races with lower technology, as the technological advantage can be lost very quickly and permanently, and then a being is left only to its initial devices and whatever strengths of body and mind alone it possesses. This is very well depicted in the helpless rage of the Farborn in 'Planet of Exile' against the 'primitive' HILFs, a rage that is futile, as the Farborn are already degenerating into the same civilization level and find themselves much less adapted physically and mentally to such life, thus becoming and considered inferior and 'weaklings' by the HILFs who are still at hunter-gatherer level of civilization.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
"Planet of Exile" by Ursula Le Guinn
Usually taken to be the first book to be written in the 'Hainish Cycle' by Ursula Le Guinn, the action of the book happens towards the middle of the period covered by the eight (so far) novels within the cycle. Located on the third planet of the Gamma Draconis star, the book depicts the interaction and mutual characterization of two hominid groups on the planet. One group are the native High Intelligent Life Forms (HILFs), who have inhabited the planet for millenniums and are well adapted to the 60-earth-year orbit of the planet around the star with nomadic lifestyles and neolitic level of technology. The other group are the Alterrans, a mix-breed of Terrans from Earth and another species, which arrived on the planed 600 years ago (10 local years) to try to include the planet in the "League of Worlds".
However the League entered heightened state of war at the time of the Landing and the starship that brought them had to go back, tacking with it the 'ansible' and instantaneous communication device regardless of spatial parameters, and pretty much all advanced technology. The people that remained on the planet lost most of their advanced technology, some through 'cargo laws' and some through ignorance, and although living in real houses and cities, are lowered to the level of hunting with spears and knives, as the locals do.
The locals have some strange customs, like never looking directly in the face of another person, and consider the Alterrans and inferior breed, non-humans, which feeling is reciprocated by the Alterrans themselves, however they are much weakened numerically and because of their abandonment of their original superior technology. The Alterrans also have breeding problems; they have very few children and are slowly disappearing. This is exacerbated by the fact that the locals (Tevarans) and the colonists (Farborns) cannot interbreed, though they theoretically have a common ancestor in the people from Hain, which colonized most of the known universe with their own genetic code.
The Alterrans and the HILFs are forced to unite, just before the oncoming of the 15-year long winter, when a barbarian horde from the North comes and destroys the Tevaran city and tries to do the same with the Alterran one as well. The united people, or what is left of them, succeed in defending the new city and become more friendly towards each other, the leader of the Alterrans, Jacob, taking a HILF wife, Rolery. During the battles the Alterran doctor realizes that their bodies started to adapt to the local conditions to the point where they can be infected by local bacteria. This leads him to think that Alterran-HILF breeding would soon be possible and a new race will emerge.
Towards the end of the book, after successfully defending the city, Jacob realizes that they are no more on a planet of exile, but that the planet has become their home too.
However the League entered heightened state of war at the time of the Landing and the starship that brought them had to go back, tacking with it the 'ansible' and instantaneous communication device regardless of spatial parameters, and pretty much all advanced technology. The people that remained on the planet lost most of their advanced technology, some through 'cargo laws' and some through ignorance, and although living in real houses and cities, are lowered to the level of hunting with spears and knives, as the locals do.
The locals have some strange customs, like never looking directly in the face of another person, and consider the Alterrans and inferior breed, non-humans, which feeling is reciprocated by the Alterrans themselves, however they are much weakened numerically and because of their abandonment of their original superior technology. The Alterrans also have breeding problems; they have very few children and are slowly disappearing. This is exacerbated by the fact that the locals (Tevarans) and the colonists (Farborns) cannot interbreed, though they theoretically have a common ancestor in the people from Hain, which colonized most of the known universe with their own genetic code.
The Alterrans and the HILFs are forced to unite, just before the oncoming of the 15-year long winter, when a barbarian horde from the North comes and destroys the Tevaran city and tries to do the same with the Alterran one as well. The united people, or what is left of them, succeed in defending the new city and become more friendly towards each other, the leader of the Alterrans, Jacob, taking a HILF wife, Rolery. During the battles the Alterran doctor realizes that their bodies started to adapt to the local conditions to the point where they can be infected by local bacteria. This leads him to think that Alterran-HILF breeding would soon be possible and a new race will emerge.
Towards the end of the book, after successfully defending the city, Jacob realizes that they are no more on a planet of exile, but that the planet has become their home too.
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